His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 125: Taken (6)

"Are you planning on releasing Soren?" I ask Ciro. "You’ve got me now; there’s no need to keep him."

Ciro tilts his head, a cruel smirk playing at the edges of his lips. "Are you certain you want him freed?"

At that moment, Asa and Pyrrhus enter the doorway, positioning themselves on either side of the cabin, keeping watch. They’ve exchanged their rags for nicer clothes, though the dark cloaks they still wear give them their usual air of menace.

"Why wouldn’t I?" I ask as Ciro saunters toward the door, peering at the sky and draping his hood low over his face.

Ciro fixes me with a cold, emotionless stare. "He’s the one who told us where to find you."

"What...?" My heart skips a beat, then begins to race in a frantic rhythm. The weight of his words crushes me. Soren... had he really betrayed me again? "Did you threaten Calix?"

It’s the last thread of hope I had left about my knight. I can bear Soren’s betrayal if it meant he did it to protect Calix. The thought alone gives me some semblance of peace. It wasn’t right, but I could accept it.

Asa tilts her head curiously. "Isn’t that the twerp’s friend? There’s no need to threaten a kid."

Twerp? Didn’t she call Xan that? I didn’t realise Xan and Calix knew each other.

But that also meant Soren betrayed me without any other cause. Was he really working for Deyanira this entire time?

I glance back at Ciro, my pulse hammering in my ears, silently urging him to tell me that’s not what happened. That Soren’s betrayal wasn’t as harsh as it seemed. But Ciro doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns his back to me, eyes flicking toward the sky before he vanishes in a blur of movement, leaving me sitting there in stunned silence.

The cold sinks deeper into my bones, and the feeling of betrayal wraps around me like a suffocating blanket. Soren. How could he? The weight of it leaves me in a daze, unable to fully process what just happened.

I sigh deeply, my breath ragged and weak, and mumble under my breath, "What now?" I try to move my toes, desperate for any sensation, hoping that they aren’t entirely frozen. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Pyrrhus notices my attempt, and with a flick of his fingers, a small ball of flame hovers near my toes. I gasp at the sudden warmth, relieved by the feeling, and give a small nod in gratitude. He doesn’t acknowledge me, though. Instead, he murmurs something about how it’s better I stay in one piece, his voice almost bored.

Asa’s voice cuts through the silence again, firm and straightforward. "We’ll release you if you agree to our terms."

I raise my eyebrows, still reeling from the news about Soren. "I don’t know if your spies are up to date... but I was on my way to Sun and Fury," I say dryly. I don’t know if I should have told them of my plans but I couldn’t ’help them’ with their evil takeover.

Pyrrhus frowns at my words. "To be with your mate."

I nod, the idea of being with Eryx giving me some faint hope in this situation. Although I messed up completely, I was sure Eryx and the others were working hard to find me. The peace treaty relied on it.

He scoffs. "Weres don’t understand how sacred it is."

I lock eyes with him, unblinking, not bothering to hide my disbelief. "Excuse me?"

"You raced here for your lover while your mate searches for you..." he trails off, his tone mocking.

I take a deep breath, finding the strength to respond calmly. "We only just agreed to be united."

We stare at each other in silence. Flames burned brightly in his Pyrrhus’ gaze with his growing scowl. I looked away, not feeling particularly energetic to deal with someone’s judgement. It did surprise me, however, that he thought so highly of mates.

"What do you all really want me to do? I’m quite useless and the worst pawn possible," I asked, my voice low and defiant while my mind scrambled for a way out. I’d already planted doubts into Ciro’s mind but it was easy to turn him against them.

I wasn’t really sure about the dynamics of these High Fae besides Cazimir being more powerful and their leader.

"You said you would release me if I agreed to your terms. Tell me." I wondered if they would speak to me without Cazimir.

Asa smiled at me gleefully like she’d already won some sort of game or maybe she’d tortured a rabbit before returning here. I couldn’t quite tell with this one.

"You’ll agree to help us, whether you like it or not. It’s simple, really. You have the blood of royalty, and you have magick now. You’ll help us tear down the kingdoms, one by one. And in return, we’ll grant you your freedom."

"After slaughtering my kind?" I scoff and glance at the flame, now wriggling my toes easily.

It wasn’t simple like Asa played it. I didn’t know how to use magick and if I actually had it, it would be nothing compared to theirs. They were full-blooded High Fae.

No this had to be some sort of political game.

"They won’t all be killed..." Pyrrhus mused, playing with two small balls of flame again, swirling them around each other above his fingers. "We will be merciful like your kind had been to us."

I’m not sure if that is wise. "Why won’t you slaughter all of the Weres?" I ask, unable to stop myself. It would be a non-stop cycle of uprising for centuries between our kinds otherwise.

Asa crouches in front of me and smiles innocently. "Because Weres are good labourers and bed warmers. Work like that is beneath us," her child-like voice was far too sunny for the words she spoke. Ice trickles down my spine and through my veins at her words.

I release a huff of breath, my lungs a little painful from the cold. "You want me to be some sort of peacemaker?"

Cazimir returned to the doorway then, the morning light glittering on his hair and sending sparkles across the bleak cabin. His gaze was sharp, almost calculating, as he observed me from a distance. He didn’t seem to care about my resistance or my questioning. He merely watched, as though I was nothing more than an insect caught in a web.

"You will take your brother’s throne and destroy the kingdom from the inside out," Cazimir answers; his voice was so smooth, like the soft wind along the grass, yet so deadly. "We still have backup plans that were in motion before Pyrrhus mentioned your existence. You are expendable."

"It’s a lot of effort for someone so expendable." Though these living quarters and how I’d been left did make me wonder how truthful his words were.

"Easy once we learned the route you were taking," Asa shrugged moving away from in a singsong voice.

"Fine," I agree. Cazimir looks at me blankly, Pyrrhus narrows his eyes and Asa claps her hands excitedly. I add quickly. "I’d like some clothes, a warm room, food and a bed first."

"That’s all?" Pyrrhus asks suspiciously.

"I’m a simple girl. If you don’t know already from your spies, I haven’t exactly lived a glamorous life, and I’m sick of Deyanira and the court treating me like some vile creature that needs to be punished. I’ll gladly help you."

"You changed your tune quickly," Cazimir notes, his stare piercing.

I shrugged. "I had time to think about it."

"Overnight?" Pyrrhus says, doubt strongly evident in his voice.

"I presume you’re centuries old..."

"Ouch," Asa chuckles. "Correct, continue."

"The concept of time will differ between me and you. Overnight isn’t that short, especially for someone like me, where survival is my priority."

Cazimir’s eyes narrowed slightly at my words, but his expression remained unchanged. His posture relaxed ever so slightly as if he was considering my words, weighing them carefully.

"You’re just as manipulative as I’d expect," Cazimir murmured, moving closer, his steps slow and deliberate, as though to assert his dominance. "Your willingness to cooperate will make things easier... Don’t make me regret this."

I met his gaze, unblinking, trying to read his intentions. There was no malice in his words, but I could feel the warning in them, like a sharp edge hidden beneath a calm surface. I didn’t trust him, not one bit. But I knew I had no choice but to play along—for now.

"I’ll take my terms," I said, my voice steady, repeating what I said earlier. "I want proper clothing, warmth, food, and a bed and no more silver chains! I’ll help you, but I’m not a tool to be discarded the moment you’re done with me."

Asa beamed at me like I had just given her a gift, her dark eyes gleaming with excitement. "Done," she said with a smile that made me uneasy. "You’ll be treated with the respect you deserve... for now."

The words had a hollow ring to them, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were laughing at me in their minds. But I pushed the thought aside, not allowing myself to dwell on it.

"What happens next?" I ask, trying not to sound too eager as the chains magically fall away from my wrists.

"You will be released," Cazimir drawls, monitoring me. "Asa will return with you to the palace."

"Xan has already met Asa-"

"I will wear a glamour," Asa says, already expecting my questions.

"Glamour?" I tilt my head at the term.

"Magick like the one that blurs our faces," Pyrrhus explains with a scoff like I am a simpleton.

"Right... Glamour..." I nodded along as my mind reeled with how I would get out of the next part of the plan.

Kill them all, a small part of me seemed to say. I glanced at them. Definitely not possible. I didn’t wield such power.

𓆩:*¨༺✧ ♛ ✧༻¨*:𓆪

I didn’t get a bed, but I did get some warm clothes, food, and the broken windows covered to keep the warmth inside the cabin. I’m not sure where the Fae went but I couldn’t leave the cabin until the area was secured.

How big was the area? Did that mean a search party was nearby?