The Bride He Hates-Chapter 47: Who Is The Traitor?

The fragile moment between Lyanna and Azrael is broken by Victor’s urgent arrival. He doesn’t knock or wait for permission, he just barges through the door.

"Your Majesty." Victor was breathless. "The Leader has attacked again."

Azrael was on his feet instantly, regaining his composure as the king immediately

"Where? How many casualties?"

"Three villages simultaneously." Victor reported. "Including the one where we relocated the survivors from the first attack. The new territory we created to protect them is gone. Everyone is dead."

Lyanna felt the room tilt. Emma, Martha, and all the refugees she’d worked so hard to protect, the children she’d comforted, the survivors she’d promised safety were all dead.

"They left another message. It’s... personal this time." He handed a parchment to Azrael.

Azrael read it, his expression darkening with each word. Then he handed it to Lyanna without saying a word.

To the King’s Human Pet:

Your attempts to save humans are useless. They belong to us, not to monsters. We will purify them with fire rather than let them live under demonic protection. Surrender your territories or watch them burn, village by village, until you understand that resistance is pointless. The Leader has spoken."

Lyanna felt nauseous. The room spun slightly and she had to grab the edge of the table to steady herself. Emma’s face kept appearing in her mind. The guilt was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe properly, couldn’t think past the horror of what her good intentions had caused.

"This is not your fault." Azrael’s voice broke through her spiralling thoughts. "You didn’t kill them. The Order did. The Leader burned the innocent people alive. You tried to save them. You gave them the safety they wouldn’t have had otherwise. Their deaths are on the Leader’s hands, not yours."

But Lyanna couldn’t trust those words.

"They died because of me. Because I got involved. The Leader is using them to hurt me specifically. If I had just let them go to different territories, not brought them here, maybe..."

"Then they would have died alone instead of together." Azrael cut her off. "The Leader would have hunted them down no matter what. At least they had some peace before the end. At least they knew someone cared enough to try." He walked towards the door.

"Council. Now."

Within minutes, the council chamber was filled with Adrian, Helena, Victor, Morgana, and several other senior members of Azrael’s administration. The mood was dark and tense.

"We need aggressive military retaliation. We need to find the Leader’s base and destroy it immediately. We should burn their headquarters the way they’ve been burning our villages." Adrian said.

Victor shook his head.

"We don’t know where their base is. They’re mobile, and careful. We need to infiltrate first, and then strike precisely instead of blindly flailing around."

"Let’s reach out to other human kingdoms. Expose what The Leader is doing, isolate the Order diplomatically, and turn human kingdoms against them by showing they’re dangerous for everyone, not just vampires." Helena suggested.

The debate continued. Everyone had ideas, but none of them addressed the main issue that Lyanna could see. Lyanna had been silent through the entire council session, feeling guilty while still trying to think rationally despite the emotional turmoil.

"The Leader knows our movements." She said suddenly.

The council fell silent, all eyes turned to her. Azrael gestured for her to continue.

"Think about it, The Leader knew exactly where we relocated the survivors, they knew when the territory would be most vulnerable, they knew exactly how to target us for maximum emotional and political impact." She looked at everyone.

"This isn’t the first time. They’ve been anticipating our moves consistently, staying one step ahead of every plan we’ve made."

"What are you suggesting?" Victor asked.

"Either they have extraordinary intelligence gathering methods or someone is feeding them information from inside Thornfield."

The accusation of a traitor silenced the room. Vampires who’d been arguing a moment ago went suddenly quiet.

"If there’s a spy in our court, I’ll find them. I’ll tear this castle apart if needed. Every servant, every guard, every noble who has had access to sensitive information, I’ll investigate everyone." Victor said.

"Find them quickly. When you do, bring them to me alive. I want to personally handle their execution. I want them to know exactly what happens to those who betray Thornfield before they die screaming."

The council erupted into discussion again; about who had access to what information, who might have a motive to betray them, and how to conduct the investigation without alerting the spy.

After the council meeting ended and everyone left to begin their investigations and preparations, Azrael and Lyanna were left alone in the room. Lyanna was still shaken from the news.

Azrael immediately pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. It wasn’t sexual or possessive like his usual touches. This was protective, and comforting, as if he was trying to shield her from the guilt and pain that was crushing her.

"We’ll find who did this, and we’ll make them pay. I swear." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

It was the first time he’d offered her genuine comfort without any hidden agenda, without any plan related to his revenge or control. He was honestly comforting her because she was in pain and he couldn’t stand watching her suffer.

Lyanna clung to him, her hands gripping his shirt, seeking solace in the arms of the man who was her tormentor. She buried her face in his chest and felt everything she’d been holding back during the council meeting; the grief, the guilt, the overwhelming horror of children burning because she had tried to help them.

"They were innocent." She whispered. "They had already lost everything. I promised them safety. I told Emma that she was safe now. I lied to a child just before she died."

"You didn’t lie." Azrael said, tightening his arms around her. "She was safe when she was with you."

They stood there together, processing the weight of the failure, the betrayal, and the loss. For once, there was no power struggle between them.

Then suddenly Victor’s voice from the door, made them jump. They hadn’t heard him approach, they had been too focused on each other.

"Your Majesty, I think I’ve found something."

Azrael didn’t let go of Lyanna. He turned his head to look at Victor while still keeping her close.

"Spy?"

"Not exactly. It’s worse than that. The Order has been using magical tracking. We found traces of it in several locations where attacks happened. And the source...the tracking spell’s anchor point is embedded in something close to you.

Something the queen carries or wears all the time. They’ve been tracking her movements to identify targets. Every time she checked on the refugees, every time she talked about the new territory, the Order heard everything."

The implication was horrifying. Lyanna had unknowingly led the Order to victims. She had been the weapon used to kill them all. Lyanna felt like she might vomit. Her legs went weak, but Azrael’s arms stopped her from collapsing.

Azrael’s hold on her tightened. His eyes turned cold, and his voice dropped to a tone that screamed violence.

"Find it. Now. Search everything she owns, everything she wears, every object she has touched in the past months. Then find out who put it on her. Because when I find them, their death will take days, even weeks, if I feel creative."

Victor nodded and started the search immediately. Lyanna stood in Azrael’s arms, shaking and unable to process the horror.

I was the tracking device. I’m the reason they all died.

"It’s not your fault." Azrael said again, but this time, she couldn’t even hear him because of her crying.

The Leader had turned her into a weapon against everyone she tried to save, and she was completely clueless.