Justin’s POV
A frustrated groan left my lips as my gaze roamed around the room. It’d been three days since we arrived here; three days since Hera had been avoiding me.
She spent most of her time with Desmond and Adrian; planning God knows what. I had requested, demanded, and complained, but to no avail. They refused to let me be a part of their discussions. Correction; Hera was the one who didn’t let me stay in the same room as her.
I fidgeted with the locket around my neck. If I didn’t find out what was going on, I would go crazy. Drawing in a deep breath, I went in search of Hera.
There were so many tunnels and caverns that you could spend the entire day walking and still find a fresh path. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath; hoping to catch Hera’s scent.
Nothing; I smelled nothing apart from the damp air. My eyes stung with tears of frustration and I tore my hair. How in the world did I end up being so helpless and pathetic?
A soft whirring sound echoed in the tunnel. My eyes snapped open, and I caught a glimpse of Hera’s back before the wall slid shut.
I rushed to the spot; I had just seen Hera. Patting the rocky surface of the tunnel, I found the lever that made the mechanism work.
After a few tugs, I managed to open the section of the wall. It opened into a section of a broader tunnel. This section was more open and well lit.
A Soft gust of wind hit my face. Unlike the rest of the maze, the air here was fresh with a soft undertone of a floral fragrance.
Walking along the tunnel, I reached a hall where Desmond and Hera were deep in discussion. They were so engrossed that they didn’t notice my entrance. Either that or they had finally decided to let me be a part of their discussion.
“If we are meticulous, we can destroy the Wanderwood and Brookhaven packs by tomorrow. That will finally break their backbone.” Desmond said, pointing to a section on the table.
It was then I noticed the top of the table. It was structured like a small strategic model usually used to plan attacks.
“I don’t think that would be enough, Desmond. The Blackmoor Pack is pretty powerful. I heard that the Lycan King covets that pack very much. We need to destroy that one too.”
My heart went numb on hearing Hera’s words. Licking my dry lips, I stuttered, “What is going on here, Hera?”
She raised her head to look at me; her expression unreadable, “Is something wrong?”
“I…I thought we were here for the peace treaty…. You, umm… you made a magical pact with The Lycan King to discuss the peace treaty with Desmond.” My eyebrows drew together in a deep frown. “Right?”
Her lips curved slightly as her gaze shifted to Desmond. “I did mention the peace treaty…”
“She did.” Desmond’s eyes lit up, and he grinned broadly. “We spent about ten minutes talking about what The Lycan King wants. I guess that counts as a discussion.”
“You heard him, Justin.” Hera’s expression hardened. “I discussed the treaty with Desmond as promised. I never said I would make it work.”
Hera’s words made my mind go numb. I staggered a bit and a single word left my lips. “Why?”
“Seriously?” She rolled her eyes. “You, of all the people, should know the answer to that, Justin. You know how much I hate those power-crazy creatures.”
My gaze drifted from Hera to Desmond and back to Hera again. “What do you plan to do?”
“There is no plan, Justin; only an objective, revenge.” Hera’s gaze took on a sinister edge. “The vampires, werewolves and witches destroyed my life for their petty ambitions. Now, it is my turn. I am going to crush them, torment them, and clip their wings. I will make sure that their flights of ambition can never ruin another life.”
I held her by her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Don’t you think this is a bit too extreme, Hera? Not all of them are bad. There are good vampires, witches and werewolves too….”
Hera snorted and shook her head. “Where were these so- called good people when my life was shattered? When I cried tears of blood?” Her eyes turned red with anger. “Did any of them step forward to help me? No! They remained oblivious to my plight, lost in their own little bubbles.”
Her jaws clenched and she spat, “They can continue to stay in their bubbles while I crush the world around them.”
Her voice held such intense vehemence that it made me shudder. She had turned into this version of Hera that I didn’t recognise. I cupped her face, urging her to listen to me, “If you hold on to hatred like this, it will destroy you…” My voice became choked. “Can’t you let it go?”
Hera’s expression remained frozen. She seemed to have dissolved into a zone where nothing around her mattered. I shook her up and coaxed, “Hera, please…. Please give up on this craziness. For my sake….”
“For your sake?” She snorted and raised her eyebrow. “Who do you think you are?”
Her words sliced through me like a knife. I staggered and my hands dropped to my sides. Gulping the lump that had formed in my throat, I stuttered, “It’s okay if you don’t love me… But, how can you be so indifferent after all that I have done? I know that I betrayed you at first, but I tried my best to fix my mistake. I was willing to even die for you….”
“Really?” Her lips curved in a sneer. “YOU did all that.” She burst into a peal of mocking laughter. “How can someone be so naïve?”
Covering her mouth to stifle her laughter, she mocked. “Honestly, Justin. You deserved everything; for being too blinded; for being too stupid. You deserve to be used.”
“Used?”
“Umm… hmmm, used.” Hera said, clicking her tongue. She walked around me in a slow circle. “I was using you all along, but you never figured it out; not even after doing so much research. I am brilliant, aren’t I?”
Hera’s words didn’t register in my brain. I had spent enough time with Hera to know that she wasn’t this kind of person.
“If this is a part of your tactic to push me away, please stop.” My voice grew shaky with emotions. “I would rather die than hear such things. Hera.” I clenched the fabric of my shirt on my chest and whimpered. “Please, Hera… Please don’t do this to me.”
Hera walked over and laced her hand through Desmond’s, “I am an opportunist, Justin. All my efforts were directed at finding the great king of dragons. I needed his help to enact the last stage of my revenge.”
My knees weakened and my back bumped into the pillar behind me; my gaze drifting to their linked arms. If it were someone else, I would have given up. But this was Hera, and I knew her very well. She was probably doing this just to keep me safe.
Tears clouded my vision as an intense pang of regret and pain gripped me. I couldn’t let her do this to me; to herself. Letting out a deep sigh, I walked over and dragged her away from Desmond.
Pushing her against the wall, I placed both my arms on either side of her. Looking into her piercing eyes, I spoke through clenched teeth, “You were merely using me, right?”
“Yes.”
“Let us assume that it is true for a moment. Why did you spare my life when I betrayed you?”
“It was a part of my plan.”
Why did you give me the bloodflower Hera?”
“Part of the plan.”
“Why did you tell me to forget you and move on when I wanted to prove your innocence?”
“That was a part of my plan, too.”
A groan left my lips, and I threw my arms up in frustration. Taking a step back, I stated in a firm voice, “I don’t believe it. Nobody in this world can come up with such an elaborate plan.”
“You are forgetting, Justin. I am not just anyone. I am the wereheretic. I can do just about anything.”
I shook my head vehemently. There was no way I was going to believe that everything was just a part of her plan. Those sweet moments, that lingering gaze, everything was too deeply embedded into my heart to be a part of some scheme.
Hera crossed her arms over her chest. “The Lycan King had sent 20 men before you. Ever wonder why I killed them and spared you despite your clumsy acting?”
“I don’t think you killed those people, Hera.”
“Oh my God, Justin. Please stop.” Hera burst into a peal of maniac laughter. “You and your wishful thinking
Holding her stomach to control her laughter, she stated, “You might finally understand what is going on once I tell you the reason.” She bit her lower lip. “Then again, you don’t want to believe anything I say.”
She patted my shoulder. “Let us do this another way.” After a short pause, she instructed, “Open that locket and find out the reason, Justin.”
My hand flew to the wooden locket, and I held it between my forefingers. “This locket contains the reason?”
“Umm… hmmm, it does.”
The Lycan King’s words flashed in my mind. He wanted me to open the locket only if he was dead. My gaze drifted back to Hera, but her expression was unreadable. What exactly was she trying to pull off?
Did she want to use the locket as an excuse to make me believe whatever she was saying? There was only one way to find out.
Drawing in a deep breath, I took off the locket and clasp of the wooden heart. A folded slip of paper fell out of the locket. My heart skipped a beat when I looked at the pictures in the locket.
Why was mother’s image placed with the Lycan King?
My breath hitched and my heart raced as I picked the fallen piece of paper and opened it.
‘You are my son.’ The words scrawled on the paper glared at me in mockery. A peal of dry laughter left my lips. “What is this? Some kind of sick joke?”
“It is true, Justin. You are the sole heir to ‘The Lycan Throne.’” Hera word’s shook the very foundation of my existence. My eyes narrowed, and I looked at her; accusation seeping into my voice. “You knew about it?”
Her lips puckered, and she shrugged. “Why else do you think I went to all that trouble of weakening you?”
I shook my head numbly and licked my chapped lips. “What do you mean?”
“Remember that ritual we performed on Daciana? The one that broke your bond with your wolf.” Her lips curved in a smirk. “That was a part of my plan, too.”
“Impossible! I don’t know what you are trying to pull off, but this isn’t true.” My words lacked conviction even as I spoke them. “This can’t be true.”
“How long are you going to remain in denial, Justin?” Hera snapped with disdain. “This is getting exhausting now.”
A gust of wind left her lips, and she ran her fingers through her hair. “Fine, I will explain everything to you as a form of last courtesy. But, after that, you better get going. I have more important things to handle.”
Hera walked over to the table and started narrating everything she had done. “Twenty failures. It took twenty failures for The Lycan King to finally send his own son.
At first, I was a bit worried that you would be clever and well trained. But you turned out to be naïve, with no understanding of the power play going on around you. This made my work easier.
I let you believe that you were winning and took that opportunity to set fire to that castle and kill Lord Andres.
You developing feelings for me was like icing on a cake. It allowed me to execute my plan so smoothly.
I gave you the blood flower and confessed so that you will feel guilty when I am finally captured. That was my shield against execution; something that would protect me until the dragons decided to make a move.”
I held my head in my hands, my mind still in a state of shock and denial. “You are not that kind of person… You have been through so much…”
“You are right, Justin. I have been through so much that my heart has turned into a rock.” She patted her chest and her lips curved into a wry smile. “There is nothing here, Justin. It is just a vast space of emptiness.”
Slash! The cold metal of the sword was pressed against my throat and someone grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. The blade dug slightly into my skin. A hiss left my lips as warm liquid trickled down my neck.
“We are really grateful, Hera.” Adrian’s voice sounded next to me. “Thanks for bringing along the sole heir of the Lycan Kingdom. Nothing can stop us from attaining our objective once he is killed.”
My heart clenched and my lungs constricted; making it impossible for me to breathe.
“Hera…” A gasp left my lips, and I looked at her with a horrified expression. “Please tell me that you didn’t lead me here deliberately. At least, this wasn’t a part of your plan, right?”
The smile on her face widened and her gaze turned dead cold. “Desmond, I know that you are desperate to kill him but…”
“But?”
“I think it would give us more satisfaction if we send him back.”
“How so? Desmond scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Don’t tell me that you want to save his life.”
“His life or death means little to us.” Hera snorted with disdain. “Look at him; weak, wolfless. Killing him is like swatting a fly.”
“What do you have in mind?”
Hera’s eyes lit up with mirth. “Why not send him back to the Lycan Kingdom? Imagine the commotion, dread and desperation that would ensue when they find out that their precious Lycan Prince is wolfless.”
Adrian lowered his sword and pushed me to the floor. “She is right. It would be fun to see him grapple helplessly.” A powerful kick landed on my back; making me howl in pain. It was followed by Adrian’s pompous words. “You better pick yourself up and get lost before we change our minds.”
Adrian stomped out of the room, followed by Desmond. With an agonised wince, I propelled myself to a sitting position to find Hera eyeing me with scorn. Her lips puckered in distaste, “You should pick your senile self and leave before you embarrass yourself any further; not that you had any self-respect to begin with….”
She shook her head in disdain and then walked away without so much as a second glance.