Chapter 727: A Truth He Buried
Chapter 726: A Truth He Buried
Orion was quiet for a while, and then he spoke softly.
"Did Victoria tell you your family was with her?" he asked Josiah.
"Yes," Josiah said. "She did. I left the pack one day searching for my family since no one was going to help me. Gina and Fiona wouldn’t leave like that. I knew that, so I searched for them, and I encountered one of Victoria’s warriors. They told me my family was with them and that Victoria wanted to speak with me. So I left, and I met with her."
Orion stared at the man.
"You are certain you met with Victoria?" he asked him.
Josiah nodded. "Yes."
Then he added, "I’m not crazy. I know I met with her. She knew I was looking for my family, and she’s the only one who extended a hand to me to help."
To Sophia, Josiah looked pitiful. Perhaps what he said was the truth, and her mother had decided to use his vulnerability against him.
"Did Victoria show you evidence of your wife and child?" Orion asked him.
Josiah paused, staring directly at Orion, his eyes wide.
"I’m not crazy," he said to Orion. "She has them."
"I never said you are," Orion replied.
The matter was more complicated than Orion had first thought. Annabeth spoke the truth, and Josiah did also.
But Orion also knew that while both were truths, only one was real. Josiah believed what he was saying was the truth, but Orion was certain Victoria had manipulated him, using his vulnerability against him.
Josiah’s family was dead. But he chose to believe they were still alive. And though he claimed he wasn’t crazy, he didn’t dress like he was crazy nor did he behave like he was, but he had a mental issue. Orion was sure of that. So in a way, yes, Josiah was crazy, but Orion had to be certain.
"I’m going to ask again," he told Josiah. "Did Victoria show you evidence of your family? Did she show you anything to let you know that they are with her?"
Josiah shook his head. "No," he said. "No, she didn’t. But she swore they were with her. She promised they were with her. She swore on the goddess... she couldn’t have lied. They are with her."
Orion’s expression was blank.
"What did Victoria tell you to do?" he asked.
"She just told me to observe the Silver Creek pack. That was all she wanted before, but then when she found out the Silver Creek pack were planning to escape, she made me change missions. She told me to follow them to where they were going if at all they managed to escape," Josiah said.
Annabeth wiped her tears, though they still kept pouring down.
"Were you the one to inform Victoria and her warriors about our escape that day?" Annabeth asked him. "Were you the reason she sent warriors after us?"
"I would do anything for my family!" Josiah told her.
"The Silver Creek pack is your family," Annabeth said.
"When Fiona fell sick, everyone did everything in their power to make sure she recovered, even when we had very little resources due to the attack by Victoria herself. When Gina sustained an injury, we did everything we could to help her. Did you fucking forget who killed them? Do you forget the reason they are dead now? Have you forgotten the amount of children and families that we lost due to the numerous attacks Victoria had on our pack? Did you fucking forget that?" she asked him, her voice breaking on the words.
"No," Josiah said, shaking his head. "I know Victoria is evil, and that’s why I wanted her to help me find my family. They are not dead. They are alive. They are with her."
"They are dead!" Annabeth screamed at him. "They are dead. And you made us lose even more people because you refuse to accept the fact that they are dead. You made us lose families. Nathaniel is gone, most of our friends are gone, and all for the fact that you wanted to save your dead family?!"
"No, no, no. You are wrong. I’m just... I was just trying to get my family back. I just wanted to protect them. That’s all."
Annabeth wanted to speak, but it was obvious she was getting agitated, and even Josiah was too.
Ronan held her back, dislodging her hold from the iron bars. He whispered in her ear then.
"Calm down, sweet girl," he said.
"Don’t tell me to..."
"We’ve not gotten what we wanted, and you’re hyperventilating. Don’t hurt yourself. Calm down. Take a deep breath," he told her softly.
Perhaps it was his words that calmed her down. Perhaps it wasn’t, but Annabeth took a deep breath, calming herself.
The torchlight flickered in the dungeon, casting long shadows that danced across the stone walls. Brynhild remained in her corner, her eyes never leaving Josiah, her presence a silent reminder of what could come if the lies continued. The air was thick with tension, heavy with the weight of grief and desperation.
Orion studied Josiah for a long moment. The man’s hands were still clenched in his lap, his knuckles white. His breathing had become shallow, uneven, as if he was holding himself together by sheer will. There was no malice in his eyes, no cunning. Just a desperate, aching hope that refused to die.
It made things more difficult.
If Josiah had been a simple traitor, motivated by greed or power or revenge, the path forward would have been clear. But this was something else entirely. This was a man who had been broken by loss and then rebuilt by lies. A man who had been handed a lifeline by the very person who had destroyed him.
Victoria had not just manipulated Josiah. She had hollowed him out and filled the space with false promises.
Orion exhaled slowly.
"I’m confused, though," he said. "If Victoria told you to just observe the Silver Creek and stay with them... did she contact you again? Because I can’t believe she only just told you to observe."
Josiah chuckled. It was a dry, hollow sound, devoid of humor. "But that’s what she told me. She has not contacted me again..."
"...how does she contact you? You don’t have to meet with her personally?" Sophia asked him.
