Chapter 251
ATASHA’S POV
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I did not want to laugh, but something inside me could not hold it back anymore. What started as a low chuckle climbed higher and higher until it turned into full laughter that filled the corridor and bounced off the wet stone.
William stared at me like the sound itself was an insult.
I wiped at the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, still smiling, and leaned forward just enough for him to see my face clearly through the bars.
“Do you hear yourself right now?” I asked. “Do you know how you sound?”
His eyes narrowed, fury shaking behind them. “Shut-”
“You sound like a fool,” I cut in. My voice stayed calm, but the words were sharp. “A fool who thinks he can rewrite everything just by screaming louder.”
William’s mouth opened again, but he did not manage a full sentence. His breath came harsh, like he was swallowing rage and choking on it.
I stood.
The chair legs scraped against the stone as I rose, and the sound alone made him tense like he expected a blow. I stepped closer to the, stopping where the torchlight fell across his face and showed every twitch of panic he had tried to hide.
Then I turned my head slightly toward the two boys behind me.
“Aries,” I said. “Rico.”
They did not answer. They did not need to. They were already watching William like he was a problem that needed solving.
“Make him talk,” I continued. “I want the source of the poison. I want to know who made it, where it came from, and how long it has been in this pack.”
William jerked forward, gripping the bars again. “No-”
I looked back at him. “Do what you must,” I said, voice steady. “Just keep him alive.”
His eyes widened, and for the first time, the anger faltered.
“Don’t worry about hurting him too much, I can heal him,” I added. “Dying is too cheap.”
The words did not sound dramatic in my mouth. They sounded like a simple decision.
William’s face twisted. His body shook as he tried to drag himself up again, as if he could throw himself through iron with nothing but rage.
“You bitch!” he screamed, voice cracking as spit flew. “You filthy, ungrateful bitch!”
He slammed his fists into the bars hard enough that the metal rattled. Pain flashed across his face when the movement pulled at whatever they had done to his ankles, but he did not stop.
“I raised you!” he howled. “I fed you when no one else wanted you! I kept you alive!”
His voice turned ragged, almost hysterical. “You think you’re powerful now because you have the North behind you? You think you can threaten me? You think you can-”
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10:52 Fri, Jan 23 D
Chapter 251
Aries moved first.
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He stepped forward with a calm that did not match his age, then rouched beside the bars just out of William’s reach. The torchlight caught the edge of his expression, and there was no ply on it. Only focus.
Rico came in from the other side, blocking the corridor behind the like a door closing.
William’s rage stuttered when he realized they were not here to sten.
He snarled, eyes darting between them, then back to me. “Atasha” he roared, as if saying my name louder would force me to flinch. “Come back here! Fight me yourself! Don’t hide behing children!”
I tilted my head slightly. “They are not children anymore,” I said
The words seemed to hit him wrong. His face tightened, confusion flashing through his fury for half a second.
I let that half second sit. Then I smiled and leaned a bit closer. This time, I lowered my voice. “You were right…. about the Luna.”
His eyes widened. Yet, I already leaned back before he could react. “What?” he asked.
I did not respond this time. Instead, I stepped back.
“What the hell are you talking about! What about the Luna!? William’s voice rose again, spilling curses like he could drown the dungeon in them. He insulted me. He insulted Cassian. He spat out every filthy word he could reach for, and when none of it made me react, the shouting turned sharper, more frantic.
“Traitor!” he screamed. “Monster! You will pay! You will suffer for this! You think the North can handle what’s coming!? You are wrong! You are so wrong!”
Aries reached through the bars and seized William by the front of his shirt, yanking him close enough that William’s forehead nearly hit the iron. William tried to swing at him, but his position was wrong and his legs failed him again.
Rico stepped in and grabbed William’s wrist, twisting it just enough to force a gasp out of him.
William’s curses stumbled into a strained breath.
I looked at him one last time.
His eyes were bloodshot. His face was twisted with hate. His mouth was still moving, still spitting threats, but I could see it now underneath everything.
Fear.
Not fear of pain.
Fear of losing control.
“Keep him alive,” I repeated. “If he passes out, wake him up.”
William’s head snapped toward me. He screamed again, louder, like the sound could drag me back into the cell with him.
I did not stay to listen.
I turned and walked down the corridor.
The dungeon swallowed the noise behind me, but it did not fully disappear. It followed in echoes, bouncing through the stone and dripping water and rusted iron, stretching the sound of his rage into something uglier.
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10:52 Fri, Jan 23
Chapter 251
When I reached the entrance, the air changed.
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Colder outside, cleaner, even with the smoke and blood lingering in the distance. I stepped out into the night and stopped.
Cassian was there..
He had not moved from where he waited, his shape half in shadow, his presence solid enough that my body reacted before my mind caught up. I did not speak. I did not explain.
I walked straight into him and wrapped my arms around his wait
For a heartbeat, he stayed still, like he was measuring what I needed.
Then his arms closed around me.
Not lightly.
Tightly this time, as if he could feel the tremor I refused to show inside the dungeon. His hand pressed against the back of my head, holding me there, keeping me close.
I shut my eyes against his chest and breathed him in.
After what felt like forever, I looked at him and smiled. “Shall we go heal my father?”
I believe… It is now the time to learn about the truth.
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