Chapter 37: In the end, I am just disappointed...
"Patriarch Dorian, I am sure that this girl is Blood Moon."
Then another voice rang out, this time muffled by the distance, probably through a communication crystal. The deep and slow voice of the Patriarch.
"Steward Mallory, you should give up. You failed in your mission to prevent Daemon from becoming a Chi user. Now you are attacking his servant?"
Daemon remained frozen on the threshold. His fingers tightened on the wooden handle.
"Patriarch," replied Mallory, and her voice was firm, "I have always made sure to dissuade anyone, master or otherwise, from releasing their energy center. But if this girl, Luna, is Blood Moon, she is undoubtedly the cause."
"Good." The Patriarch paused. "I will arrange for a witch to read her memories. Even though I doubt that Blood Moon is a woman..."
"If I am telling the truth," Mallory cut in, "I hope that Daemon will be punished for allying himself with a criminal. And you will seal his energy center."
Dorian sighed, and the sound of his breath echoed in the crystal. "Fine."
The communication ended.
Mallory slumped into her chair. ’If his Chi core is sealed once again, the Dragon Slayer will no longer have any reason to kill him.’
She sighed, a slight satisfied smile on her lips.
Daemon pushed the door open.
She turned around, and her face changed instantly. The satisfaction disappeared, replaced by surprise.
"So, you also see me as a monster?" Daemon asked calmly.
"Da-Daemon? Since when... When did you...?"
"I heard everything." He closed the door behind him. "So you too... I who thought that I could only trust you..."
He clenched his teeth. Mallory had been like a mother to him. She had raised him after his father’s death. He told her all his plans to convince a master to unseal his Chi core, and every attempt failed systematically even when he used his title, goods and even marriage with other clans... Now he understood why. She herself, who knew about his projects, wanted to keep him as a pathetic and powerless person.
Since his father’s death, this was the greatest pain he had felt: the betrayal of someone in whom he had placed blind trust.
"Answer me, Steward!" His voice rose. "Did you know that I am the bearer of the beast’s mark?"
Mallory lowered her eyes. "Indeed, young master..."
"So you also believe that I will become a monster?"
Mallory’s heart tore. She would have liked to tell him the truth, to tell him about the Dragon Slayer who wanted to kill him if he could use Chi... But she could not. If she spoke, she would only accelerate the confrontation that would lead to the destruction of everything: the Armageddon.
She clenched her teeth. "Young master... I just want to protect you from yourself. I..."
"How are you different from Persephone?" he shouted. "Everyone is trying to bring me down, damn it! But you, Mallory... You who raised me like a mother... I who believed..."
He shook his head, unable to finish his sentence.
Mallory remained silent.
"I who believed I was your son," he continued, and his voice broke. "In the end, I am just disappointed... "
He turned around and left the room.
Mallory remained motionless in her chair, her hands flat on the desk. Her eyes misted over, and she did not wipe them. The tears flowed slowly down her cheeks, and she let them fall onto the files placed in front of her.
***
Luna had been imprisoned in a dungeon for two days, and she had still not seen Daemon. No one had come to see her. The cell was damp, the walls oozed icy water that formed small puddles on the floor. She was sitting in a corner, her knees pulled up against her chest.
She let out a long sigh. "I was really an idiot. I should have run away. I unnecessarily put my life in danger." She shook her head, staring at the opposite wall. "If it was me six months ago, this would never have happened." She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "I have really become an idiot."
She then thought of Daemon’s face, of the way he had whispered in her ear. Trust me. Why had she listened? Why had she let the guards take her away when she could easily have killed them? She clenched her fists.
When suddenly, the door opened with a creak. The light from the torches in the corridor flooded the cell, and Luna had to squint.
She jumped to her feet, the chains stretched between her wrists. "It’s about time," she said in a biting tone.
But the silhouette that stood out in the doorway was not the one she was expecting. The man entered, closed the door behind him, and his features were illuminated in the semi-darkness.
"I see that it is not me you were expecting," said Kristian, his face remaining perfectly neutral.
Luna took a step back, wary. "Lord Kristian, what are you doing here?"
Kristian did not answer immediately. He approached slowly, and she could see that he had a nervous face. His eyes scanned the cell. One did not know what he had in mind, and this uncertainty made Luna even more on guard.
He stopped two meters from her and spoke in a low voice. "Luna, a witch is already on her way. She will probably arrive in the evening... She will use her mystical skills to read your memories. And then, she will discover that you are Blood Moon."
Luna remained silent. Her heart was beating faster, but her face showed nothing. She stared straight into his eyes. "Why are you telling me all this?"
Kristian sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I knocked out the guards on my way here. I hope you can escape before that happens."
Luna widened her eyes. "I don’t understand. You are so sure that I am an assassin, but you are still helping me?" She narrowed her eyelids. "Is it Daemon who sent you?"
"No, it is not Daemon." Kristian shook his head insistently. "Time is running out. Hurry."
"And who tells me that this is not a trap?" she asked, her voice becoming colder.
Kristian looked at her for a long time. In his eyes, there was something that resembled guilt, or perhaps sadness. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Listen to me carefully. I take full responsibility for what you had to endure... It weighs on my heart to ask this... Andromeda."
Luna felt as if the ground was slipping away from under her feet. She widened her eyes so much that her pupils trembled. Kristian knew her true identity. No one was supposed to know who she was...
’Did he also conduct an investigation into my origins?’