The Forbidden Heiress At The All Male Alpha Academy-Chapter 174: The Play - The BIG reveal

Background Music: Runaway By Aurora.

For a heartbeat, Nothing happened.

The dagger rested against Kael’s chest, and his breath stalled, not from fear of death, but from the sudden understanding that something had changed.

Lyra’s hand trembled with restraint as she looked into Kael’s eyes.

Zeke stared back at her, and a smile almost broke out on his face. He knew something interesting was going to happen here, and it just did. The fierce gaze in her eyes was enough to tell him she was not going to go through as Lyra did, she wouldn’t stab him.

"This," She said softly, her voice carrying across the hall, "Is the moment you remember,"

The audience stirred, confused but captivated.

"The moment you all believe was always meant to be," Lyra continued, "The one written into song and stone and blood,"

She drew the blade back just enough for Kael to breathe again, "I saw myself kill you," she said, "I saw my hands shake, and I saw your blood stain my skin,"

Kael’s eyes searched hers in character, desperate for understanding.

"I saw a future where I obeyed fear and called it fate." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

A murmur rippled through the crowd, and more confusion began to arise from them.

Behind them, Aeron began to slowly rise from the floor, laughter curling low in his chest. Fake blood dripped from his sides where Kael had cut him open, thinking he was dead.

"Do it," He said smoothly, "You always do."

Lyra turned her head to Aeron, who was surprisingly being played by Finn. And she had to admit that he had actually done a very good job with the part, a little better than she would have done it.

"Every vision you fed me ended the same way," she said to him, "Because you were standing behind me in all of them,"

Aeron’s smile faltered. Actually, it was Finn’s smile that faltered because he knew that wasn’t part of the script, "W...what?"

"You showed me futures where he died," Lyra continued, her voice still unwavering, "But you never showed me what came after,"

"Just do it!!" Finn yelled.

Theo scoffed, then lifted her chin, "Because you could not,"

The hall erupted into a hush so deep it felt like they had all vanished into thin air, but they were all right there, getting more and more sucked in by the second.

Lyra stepped away from Kael and lowered the dagger. She turned back to Kael and pressed the hilt into his hand, "If blood must be spilled," she said, "let it be by truth, not obedience,"

Then she spun and faced Aeron once again, "I will not be the weapon you hide behind,"

Aeron snarled and lunged. Or rather, Finn did.

The only time Aeron was supposed to move after standing was after Kael had been stabbed and when he came forward to steal his power.

But whatever had gotten into Finn to move, it only fed the scene even more and his character.

The moment Aeron moved, Kael’s body also stirred on instinct and his wounded body collided with Aeron’s. Aeron grunted as he was forced back, but his madness was far more rooted than they thought and he came again. This time, he had pulled out a prop dagger that looked like the poisoned soaked ones.

The one he was supposed to use and cut Kael’s flesh open once he was dead.

This time, Theo stepped in between them and caught the dagger with her hand.

The crowd gasped, watching both of them pull back and forth.

Kael quickly jumped in assistance, and they both twisted the dagger around against Aeron and sent the dagger straight into his chest.

There was no fake blood this time to make it more real. Just pure, raw acting.

Aeron fell to the ground with a final curse on his lips, finally succumbing to his death.

They held their breaths, caught in the moment that it might just be real, before Kael and Lyra finally faced each other.

Everything was silent. Too silent. No one was sure of how to react now.

No music swelled.

No cue came from backstage.

No one clapped.

Kael and Lyra stood at the centre of the stage, breath still uneven, their hands stained with nothing but sweat and conviction.

Then, Zeke saw something in her eyes. It was a kind of conviction he’d never seen before, fire spreading rapidly and igniting every part of her eyes. She looked like someone who had made up her mind about doing something and was proud of it.

He wondered what.

Slowly, without taking her eyes off him, she lifted her hands to the mask.

A ripple of confusion moved through the audience, and whispers fluttered and died before they could become words.

Zeke stilled immediately, and his eyes slowly widened as he realised what she was going to do.

"Hellcat..." He murmured sharply, "What are you doing?!"

Her fingers trembled just slightly as she loosened the clasp behind her head.

"I’m in a tight spot already," She whispered, "And I chose to reveal my own secret my own way,"

"Wait...," She reached out for her hand, his eyes begging

"Don’t worry," She smiled behind the mask, "I’ll be fine, I promise,"

With that, she faced the crowd and began as the lights all fell on her, "This play," she said loud enough to bounce off the walls, "was meant to end with blood. It was meant to teach us that fate is unavoidable, and that betrayal is inevitable. That once a story has been written, the characters inside it have no choice but to obey,"

Her gaze swept the hall, taking in every stunned face, and every rigid body.

"But that is a lie we keep telling ourselves because it is easier than choosing differently."

Kael stared at her. But not as Kael, but as Zeke.

Theo turned to him then, her eyes brewing with unshed tears, "Lyra was not weak," she uttered, "She was manipulated. Isolated. Taught to believe that her power existed only to serve someone else’s ambition,"

She turned to the crowd again, and yelled, "But power that obeys fear is not fate. It is surrender,"

The audience was no longer breathing.

"Tonight," She went on, "Lyra chose differently. She chose not to be a weapon. Not to be a warning. Not to be a tragedy written for others to learn from while she disappears into silence,"

Her hand pressed briefly to her chest.

"She chose herself," There was a pause as Theo’s hand undid the final clasp, "And that is exactly what I’m about to do,"

The veil slid free, and the dark fabric fell away from her face like a secret. Gasps tore through the wall like a rising wave of noise that wouldn’t stop. Others leaned forward, their jaws dropping to the floor.

That moment in time was unforgettable. It was unbelievable, staring at a face that looked familiar... but so different. An aura that was familiar but different.

And the scent followed a moment later. The scent of a woman.

Theodora lifted her chin, eyes coiling with defiance and brutal strength, "I am Theodora Blackthorn," She said clearly, "And I refuse to believe that any story, past or present, gets to decide who we become!"

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Who is excited for the next Chapter?!