Chapter 22: Protection
"Please, I need to speak with Prince Cassien!"Seren’s hands slammed on the rusty bar in the dungeon, her face pressed on it. The guards ignored her pleas and turned towards the exit. "Hello!"
"Ugh!" She slammed the bar in rage and turned away walking to the corner in the dungeon. Her back pressed on the floor and she slid down pressing her fingers to her face. "Lysa."
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Back in the chamber.
"This should keep him sane until I figure out what kind of poison was injected into him." The old man got up gathering his tools. His face turned to Aeron who was deep in thought and he asked. "How about you? How are you feeling?"
Aeron’s eyes moved slightly before falling on him. "Fine." The words came out coldly.
The old man nodded and turned to the door preparing to leave. However, his eyes fell on Theron and he noticed the warm smile on his face, but they never reached his eyes.
"Hump!" The old man shrugged indifferently and continued walking until he was out of the room.
Right at the door closed after the Pack’s doctor, the smile on Theron’s face disappeared instantly. He faced Aeron and asked through clenched teeth.
"You could have punished the servant without going to such extremes to put her in danger. You know the reason why we have been keeping her close to us, and now she’s being discarded?"
"If you truly think that my decision was for her to be discarded. You must be really more foolish than how you look." Aeron snapped his words without pleasantries.
Theron was taken aback by his outburst and even had to blink twice to see if the man before him would disappear and his real brother would return.
Aeron got off the chair and started to make his way to the door.
"What are you planning to do, Aeron?" Theron stopped him. "I hope you’ve thought this through? It would cost us dearly if we made a mistake."
Aeron’s hands hovered on the door’s handle for some seconds before he grabbed and pulled the door back, walking out of the room.
Theron stood there in silence before his hand lifted and his fingers ran through his head in frustration.
"Let it be." Kael’s voice sounded in his ears and he turned towards his pitiful state. "Aeron knows what he is doing. This is his only way of protecting our little mate. You already know how smart Elowen is..." he struggled to get off the chair, then looked at him. "She would stop at nothing to get her hands on evidence when she finds someone or something suspicious."
Theron stared at him in silence before sighing and looking away "I know."
"Good. Since that has been taken care of, why don’t we find a solution to what Commander Draven informed us about?" He added.
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Aeron feet walked down the stairs to the dungeon in silence. It didn’t take long before he got to the place Seren was being held as a prisoner. He wasn’t supposed to be in this place especially now that Elowen had her eyes on him.
But he needed to see how Seren was doing to be able to have peace of mind and to ease his wolf’s restlessness.
"Open the gate." Seren’s ears perked up when she heard his voice and she got up from her sleeping position to stare at the door.
The iron door pushed to the side but Aeron didn’t step in. Instead, he remained standing outside staring at her in silence. Seren got off the floor and walked to him without stepping outside.
"Have you changed your mind?" She asked almost pleadingly. She wanted him to say yes and that was the reason why he came for her.
She wanted to hear that Lysa was safe!
However, fate has a cruel way of slapping her back to reality. Aeron calmly stared at her, his lips moving to speak, but something caught his eye, and his lips shut.
Seeing this, Seren misunderstood that he never wanted to answer her. Aeron’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at a shadow hiding from a pool far from where he was.
If it wasn’t because of his sight, he wouldn’t have caught that someone was spying on them. He faced Seren to see if there was a change of expression, but there was nothing.
’She has no idea.’ He thought. ’This is dangerous. If she can’t sense someone is here it makes her an easy prey. I have to get her out of here without making it suspicious.’
"Seren." He started, looking away from her to the shadow. The shadow moved forward and that confirmed his suspicion.
Whomever it is was trying to listen to their conversation.
"You will remain here until that servant has been executed. You can plead for your innocence later on and that way the sins from her won’t affect you-" he spoke but the more he spoke the more her brows pressed tightly together.
"Prince Aeron..." Seren’s hands clenched tightly beside her. " What are you saying? Are you asking me to betray my best friend just to keep my head? I will never do that! You should be standing up for your people instead of sending them to their deaths when they didn’t do anything wrong."
She stepped forward, her teeth clenched tightly. "I can repeat this a million times until you believe me. Lysa... is innocent!"
"Why can’t you believe me?" She added, her eyes stinging from tears.
Aeron stared at her for a while before a sigh left his lips. "I believe you."
Seren’s eyes blinked rapidly from surprise.
"But this is the only way to keep Elowen from hurting you. I suspect she’s the one responsible for the poisoning and I don’t want her to get it in your system. You won’t be able to last as long as we did." He stepped forward until he was inside the cell.
Seren took some steps back, her eyes never leaving him.
"One dose of it. And you will be dead."
"I didn’t know." She whispered, rubbing her arms. She paused slightly and looked at him. "What’s going to happen to Lysa now? You ordered a public execution."
Seren’s voice trembled as the question left her lips. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her worn dress as though she could squeeze the answer she wanted out of it.
Aeron watched her quietly.
For a brief moment, the tension in his shoulders eased.
"Do not worry about that." His voice was calm, firm. "I already have everything under control."
Seren frowned slightly, confusion crossing her face.
"What do you mean?"
Aeron’s gaze shifted briefly toward the dungeon corridor before returning to her.
"I thought about everything before announcing that she would be executed," he said. "I do not make decisions without planning several steps ahead."
His tone carried a quiet certainty that made Seren pause.
"But—"
"You trust your friend, don’t you?" he interrupted.
"Yes."
"Then trust that I will not allow an innocent person to die for a crime they did not commit."
Seren stared at him, searching his expression for any hint of deception, but all she saw was the same unreadable calm he always wore.
For a moment, relief flickered through her chest.
But it disappeared just as quickly when Aeron’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His attention drifted again toward the corridor outside the cell.
Seren noticed the shift.
"What is it?"
Aeron’s voice lowered.
"There is something else you need to know."
Seren’s heart skipped.
"There is someone outside."
Her breath caught.
"What?"
"Someone was hiding beyond the archway earlier," Aeron said quietly. "Listening."
Seren’s body went rigid.
"I do not know if it was a human or something else," he continued, his voice growing colder. "But whoever it was stayed long enough to hear part of our conversation."
A chill ran down Seren’s spine.
"I... I didn’t notice anyone," she said weakly.
Her eyes darted nervously toward the dungeon hallway.
The shadows suddenly looked deeper.
The silence felt heavier.
"I didn’t know," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Aeron studied her face for a long moment.
Her fear was genuine.
He could hear the way her heartbeat had quickened.
Slowly, he turned away from her.
The dim torchlight cast long shadows along the dungeon walls as he walked toward the iron door.
Seren watched him, anxiety tightening in her chest.
Was he leaving already?
Just as he reached the doorway, Aeron paused.
Then he looked back at her over his shoulder.
"Stay here for a few days," he said.
Seren blinked.
"What?"
"Remain in the dungeon."
Her brows knitted together.
"But—"
"It is safer this way."
His voice was steady, leaving no room for argument.
"If someone is truly spying on us, removing you now will only raise suspicion."
Seren slowly lowered her gaze.
That made sense... even if she hated it.
Aeron continued.
"When everything has settled, I will order my men to escort you out of here."
Seren looked up again.
"You mean... I won’t stay here forever?"
Aeron didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his gaze lingered on her for a brief second longer.
"No," he said at last. "You won’t."
The iron door began to slide shut.
Before it fully closed, Aeron added one last thing.
"And Seren..."
She lifted her head.
"Do not trust anyone who comes here unless my men bring them."
Her stomach tightened.
The door slammed shut with a heavy clang.
The sound echoed through the dungeon corridors before fading into silence.
Seren stood alone inside the cell, staring at the empty doorway.
Her mind raced.
Someone had been spying on them.
Lysa was still scheduled for execution.
Slowly, Seren sank back down onto the cold stone floor. Her arms wrapped around herself. For the first time since being thrown into the dungeon...
She felt truly afraid.
