Chapter 219: Push him over the edge
’Ronan, find the Crown Prince. He’s locked somewhere in the palace,’ Lucien’s voice cut through the mindlink. It was a sudden message made possible by a brief lapse in Molly’s focus.
Before Ronan could move, he saw two guards dragging Grayson and Renzo into the center of the courtyard. Both were battered, but Grayson was in worse shape; blood dripped from his bruised lips onto his chest.
Leia’s breath caught at the sight of her father, her eyes filling with rage as she looked up at the throne.
"Why are you doing this?!" Leia shouted. "We did nothing to you! You murdered my innocent mother and slaughtered countless others! Do you truly believe the packs will remain silent now? The entire world knows what you are!"
"Then we shall begin with you executing your own mate!" Francis sneered, taking a step toward her. "What do you say to that, little omega?"
Hidden in the shadows, Ronan caught Lucien’s subtle signal and darted deep into the palace corridors. With the entire royal army guarding the courtyard and dark witches surrounding the perimeter, finding Cesar was their only leverage to turn the tide.
"Don’t you touch my daughter!" Grayson rasped, dragging his battered frame forward against his chains. "Years ago, I was the one who refused your reign, Francis. Take your retribution out on me. Do whatever you want with me, but spare her!"
"Father, no! Don’t surrender to him!" Leia cried out, tears cutting through the dirt on her face. "Don’t let everyone’s sacrifices be for nothing!"
"You are the last of our bloodline, Leia," Grayson said, his voice trembling as he looked at her with unconditional love. "I will not stand by and watch him destroy you and your mates."
"What a touching family drama," Francis chuckled darkly. Drawing a gleaming silver dagger from his belt, he stepped down from his pedestal and advanced on Leia. "It almost makes me regret having to end it."
"Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!" Lucien growled, his voice laced with lethal intent, but Francis didn’t even pause.
Two more dark witches stepped into the courtyard to reinforce Molly. The first cast a silencing hex that instantly bound Lucien’s jaw shut, smothering his roars into muted gasps. The second began channeling a mind-control spell, dark purple smoke coiling around her wrists as she prepared to hijack his movements.
Francis grabbed Leia by her hair and yanked her upward, forcing her to her feet as a sharp scream tore from her throat.
"Let go of her!" Kieran roared, his silver chains rattling loudly against the iron post as he strained to break free.
Lucien thrashed against the magic, his veins blackening under the strain of the spell, but the witches’ combined power held him completely paralyzed as Francis drew the blade against Leia’s neck.
"You do have a sharp tongue, girl. Let me show you what it feels like to go against me," Francis sneered, pressing the cold silver edge of the dagger directly under her jaw.
Leia didn’t flinch. She refused to give him the satisfaction of her fear, especially now. Moments ago, a subtle shift in the air had brushed against her senses— Ronan’s pheromones. He was here, hidden somewhere in the palace, and she needed to stall for every second he could buy them.
"How did you kill my mother?" Leia demanded, staring straight into his eyes with cold defiance. "Tell me. How cowardice was it?"
"I simply poisoned her," Francis remarked, a sinister smirk spreading across his face. "Why? Do you wish to die like that? A slow, agonizing death. I heard she was a extraordinary healer despite being an omega. But she took the poison willingly to save her daughter—a daughter who turned out to be entirely useless. I know how timid you really are."
Tears spilled over Leia’s cheeks, burning her skin as the weight of his cruel revelation sank in. The way with which he recounted her mother’s final moments made her stomach turn. He wasn’t just a corrupt ruler; he was a monster devoid of humanity.
Grayson slammed his fists against his chains, his roar of helpless fury echoing through the open courtyard, but Francis only tightened his grip on Leia’s hair, pulling her head back to expose her throat to the silver blade.
"Now, how shall we begin?" Francis mused, his smirk widening as his gaze flicked between Leia and Kieran. "Should we start with Lucien? The strongest Alpha the world has ever seen? Look at him now. He can’t even fight off a single witch. Yet when his parents died, he slaughtered an entire coven. It seems one of you has to die just to push him over the edge."
Bound to the post, Lucien’s chest heaved against the spell, his eyes burning with fury.
"Don’t look at me like that, boy," Francis spat, pressing the flat of the silver dagger against Leia’s cheek. "You brought this upon your family the moment you thought you could play King."
Francis glanced at the third witch, who immediately began weaving a compulsion curse.
The purple mist enveloped Leia’s mind, dilating her pupils into vast, empty black voids. Her expression went completely blank as the witch controlled her consciousness.
Without a word of resistance, Leia reached out and took the silver dagger straight from Francis’s hand.
"Walk over to Kieran and stab him as many times as you can!" Francis commanded with a dark chuckle.
"Leia, no!" Grayson and Renzo screamed, straining against their chains until their wrists bled, but the dark magic blocked out every sound.
She turned and marched toward Kieran with lifeless, robotic steps. Kieran shook his head, staring at her in horror.
"Leia... please," he whispered softly as she raised the gleaming silver blade above his chest. Beside him, Lucien’s veinsbulged against his forehead, his rage straining against the silencing hex to the point of tearing his own muscles.
Leia brought the dagger down when a sudden flash of silver light sliced through the air.
Delia appeared behind the third witch, driving a dark blade straight through her spine. The witch gasped once, collapsing dead onto the cobblestones.
The compulsion spell ended instantly. Leia blinked, her eyes clearing just as the silver dagger slipped from her numb fingers and clattered against the stone floor.
"What?!" Francis roared, taking a hasty step back as his face twisted in disbelief. "Where the hell did this witch come from?! Catch her now!"