Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 41 - Connections

"Where is this Carduran? When last did anyone see him?" Kay asked, and Adrian and Claudia glanced at each other.

"Not since before the first revolt. Everything about him is hearsay, and then Megan was born, and she became his public face. For a time, a rumor circulated that an accident left him horribly disfigured, and he allowed only Megan and his closest henchmen near him," Adrian said, and a frown tugged at Kay's brow.

"Smoke and mirrors. So, when you were kept in his dungeons and used in his games, all you ever saw was Megan? She was little more than a child in those days, was she not?" she said, and from the way that Adrian glanced at her, she had just confirmed that their exchange of memories had been mutual.

"Yes."

In the mirror reflecting her image in her peripheral vision, her eyes glowed blue as her mind puzzled over everything. That was new. Or was it?

"What if there is no more Carduran? If he is just the bogeyman? Maybe Megan is a seedling, not a born vampire. Azera could have manufactured her from Carduran's DNA, which could all be an elaborate ruse. A brilliant plan which would require a traitor in Thane's house, one very close to him and Akira, while Azera carefully created this image of herself as an unstable, unpredictable, psychotic queen, dangerous but a threat that could be handled. Manipulated," she said, watching their reactions and feeling it.

"When in all actuality she is a brilliant tactician with a plan she has implemented one step at a time for millennia. Cool, calculated, and insanely patient. Azera played us, which, given the facts, was not hard. She played Thane and Akira, which is a game many have tried their hand at and failed," Adrian realized.

"The perfect actress who fooled the entire world into seeing an image of her that has no basis in truth," Claudia agreed, worry etched into her features as she toyed with the edge of a pillow.

"If I am right, it all started long before that first revolt. Azera's first gambit was to alienate Thane from his seedlings and family. She put up a barrier in him and fueled his paranoia until he trusted only Akira."

None of this ever entered their minds, but now that she said it, they saw the possibility of it as clearly as she did.

"And with Akira at Azera's mercy, the dark queen showed her the image she wanted her to witness and created the image of the near-insane ruler of the dark fae. With Akira as a witness, she cemented that image so firmly in Thane's mind, he did not realize the truth. Whatever he noticed, he attributed to Carduran until Carduran became the strategist, the danger that should be kept in mind, yet dismissed for having no actual power over the dark."

The image her words painted made her shiver with foreboding.

"With me as the final instrument of her victory, the decisive die to be cast, she placed in me whatever knowledge she wanted Thane to have. She knew he would not attack her directly but come at her from an angle, and she placed her pawns out on the board. We took them, never realizing that we had exposed our king to her queen while we cheered our victory.

"We are in check, and whatever moves we make, she has already foreseen and countered them. All the remaining moves on the board are rigged for a single outcome—her victory. While we chased after her king, only to find he was never on the board. We only thought he was," she concluded, and the silence was absolute this time.

"Azera and Thane did not count on one thing," Adrian said, a small grin playing on her lips. "You, Kay." The smile reached her eyes but with something else there. "You were a pawn to Thane and Azira. Important in setting up the board, but with no real value in the final outcome.

"Thane has no idea what he created in you, and because he doesn't, neither does Azera. Just as she dismissed Akira, she scorned you. In her head, Akira is worth a thousand of you and yet does not compare to Thane. Getting away with all this for as long as she has, plus her effortless victory over us has seeded a very dangerous vice in Azera, and one she doesn't realize she has—arrogance.

"In her eyes, this war is already over, and she has won, but I disagree with her assessment," the alpha female leaned back, her eyes thoughtful and glowing with a dangerous light.

"This war is in its infancy," Adrian said with finality.

"How do we convince Father and Thane of this insane theory of ours?" Claudia asked, and Adrian smiled mysteriously.

"Darius and Marcus are not as single-minded as Thane; they will see the possibilities here," Kay said quietly when Adrian didn't immediately answer but didn't look any less focused either.

"We don't try to convince Thane; he will not be easily swayed, but Akira...' Adrian allowed the thought to settle in their minds.

"Akira differs from her father, and her hatred toward Azera is more focused and less general. Although she may not be easy to convince, she is not blinded by her own beliefs," Claudia admitted, but Kay had another thought.

"Leave Thane to focus on his war and sway Akira to our side without letting him realize he has been betrayed. It will leave their traitor blind-sided," she said, and Claudia seemed perturbed.

"If Akira is not that traitor, through some weird quirk of fate," Claudia countered.

Something in Kay violently opposed the thought. "No, she isn't." The words left her mouth almost of their own volition.

"How do you know that?" Claudia asked.

"I know."

"Is that your heart speaking or your head?"

Kay caught her gaze in an unflinching stare.

"It is the same way I know you will never betray me." Their bond seemed to strain and pulse with a life of its own.

Something stirred to life in her as if it had been slumbering. A planted memory waiting for her to fully awaken, and by accepting herself, her circumstances, new life, and family, she was no longer asleep.

***

Far away from them, Akira stirred in her sleep. Her eyes opened and glowed briefly blue. A small smile touched her lips as she relaxed into her bed.

Finally!

She forced her tired, aching body from her warm bed, in which she had spent far too little time for any real rest with the immortal world awash in blood.

Okay, so Azera might not have been the only one scheming. Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad under @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.