Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder
Chapter 1128 - 39 : Hushabye Mountain

Chapter 1128: Chapter 39 : Hushabye Mountain

*Eva*

“Rion... Rion... Rion,” I sighed.

I had been so young when we were torn apart. In my memory, he had been an indestructible giant.

For the longest time, I believed him to be dead. But, I’d heard of a shifter living in the capital who seemed to heal miraculously fast. That was one detail about my brother I could never forget, watching how fast his bruises healed... like magic.

I gained hope that maybe he had survived after all and sent scouts to see if it was really him. When it was confirmed, I knew he would be capable of getting one of the Crimson children and bringing them to me, especially if it were to save me. I knew my brother wouldn’t hesitate.

When I first laid eyes on him at the exchange, it was like no time had passed between us. I remembered being excited, seeing my brother come for me, knowing that he would. But that excitement soon turned into disappointment.

He had not exchanged that princess for me. With growing disappointment, I realized he had fallen in love with her. And his behavior since we’d arrived at the mansion that was our hideout had left a lot to be desired, and I couldn’t help but be a bit irked.

How could he care for any of the royal family after all we endured?

I was still mulling over the problem of my brother when two of my followers walked into my makeshift throne room, looking both eager and uneasy at the same time.

“What?” I demanded.

One of the two spoke up, bowing low. “Mistress, We thought you should know that Rion has been visiting the Crimson girl on a regular basis.”

“Is that so?” I asked, scowling at my two followers.

The one who hadn’t spoken the news now piped up. “I swear it, Mistress. We’ve all seen him coming and going to see her.”

I sat back on my throne. “I see. Tell my brother I’d like to have dinner with him,” I said. “Tonight.”

The two bowed. “Yes, Mistress.”

As they left, I tapped one long fingernail against my teeth. Rion was sneaking off to see the pretty princess regularly, was he? Well, I had to put a stop to that.

Nothing could get in the way of the ceremony on the Blood Moon, not even my brother.

I just still couldn’t believe it. How could he even stand to be near anyone from that family? Just looking at her, a blend of the king and queen, made me sick to my stomach. No matter how Rion felt, she was still the daughter of the two people who had destroyed our lives.

Betrayal pricked my heart, but I decided Rion deserved another chance. He was the reason I had Daphne in the first place.

Yes, he was still my brother. He deserved another chance to prove he was loyal to me and the memory of our mother. And if he wasn’t, well, there were ways around that.

***

Later that evening, I sat at the dinner table waiting for Rion to show up. Finally, he did, looking wary.

I read the worry all over him and knew that it was for Daphne. I knew I’d lost him to her.

“Brother,” I said with a smile, regardless of what I knew. “It took you a while.”

“I had some things to think over,” Rion mumbled, hesitating at the table.

I gestured at the chair opposite me. “Sit. Let’s eat. You must be hungry.”

“True.” Rion sat down.

“Now,” I said, not even hinting to him that he was trapped in that chair, “I’ve been hearing some troubling reports.”

“Oh?” Rion asked.

Sure, play the innocent. “I’ve heard you’ve been going to visit our pretty little princess,” I pressed, letting him dig his own grave.

Rion swallowed. Then he squared his shoulders and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next. “Look, Eva. I love you... so much. You know that, right?”

“I do,” I replied, my tone measured. He’d already started digging.

“But... I also care very deeply for Daphne. I don’t want her to get hurt. I don’t want you to sacrifice her on the Blood Moon,” Rion said.

Every word that tumbled out of his mouth just made me more and more angry. “Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s so. Eva, stop this madness. We’re together now. Let’s just go find your children and we can live a quiet, peaceful life together. Doesn’t that sound better than sacrificing everything for some petty revenge?” Rion tried.

My blood boiled. “That bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Rion asked.

I slammed my fist on the table, rattling one of my forks. “I don’t know what spell she has you under, but I’m going to break it!”

“Daphne? She hasn’t got me under any sp–”

The doors to the dining room swung open, and Jasper from Rion’s crew was marched in, bound and chained.

“What’s this?” I demanded.

“Mistress, this man was caught on his way to the palace to inform them where to find the princess,” one of my most loyal followers said, kicking the man in the back of the leg so he fell to his knees.

“He was?! Kill him!” I shrieked.

“Please, Eva,” Rion broke in, holding up his hands. “I sent him. I just want this terrible scheme of yours to end. We need to return Daphne. It’s the right thing to do.”

The ugly reality of what my brother had schemed washed over me like hot tar, and I stared at Rion with death in my eyes. “You did this?”

“Yes,” Rion said. He raised his chin. “So if someone has to die, let it be me. He was just following my orders.”

“F-following your orders.” Rage threatened to burn me up as I understood the full extent of my brother’s betrayal.

Rion reached across the table, but I recoiled, folding my hands underneath.

He sighed. “Eva, I don’t want to see you die for revenge. That’s not why I came to save you, and not the life I want for us, not anymore.”

“Have you forgotten what they’ve done?!” I yelled, digging in a pouch at my side. “Have you forgiven them for how they hurt us? How many other people do you think they’ve hurt, hmm? No. The Dark King and his bitch consort must be brought down, and we will need Mother to do it.”

“But Eva, I don’t want to lose you,” Rion begged.

I snorted. “The sister you knew died long ago. I was made for this. This sacrifice is my destiny, and it is our destiny together to bring down those hypocrites on the throne!”

“Why does it matter so much, Eva? Why can’t we just find your children and be happy?!” Rion argued.

“If you don’t know why it matters anymore, then I’m at a loss to explain it to you,” I seethed. I gripped a handful of powder, staring hard at my brother. “She has put you under some spell. But don’t worry, brother. I have the means of bringing you back to me.”

Rion tried to stand, then realized he was stuck to the chair with magic. “Eva... what...?”

I stood and blew a handful of yellow dust into his face.

Rion coughed. “What...?” he repeated.

I patted his cheek. “Don’t worry, Rion. This is just going to pull your memories into a fitting format. When you wake up, we will truly be brother and sister again.”

“Eva... no,” Rion gaped.

Then his eyes rolled back and he toppled forward onto the table with a loud smack.

Admittedly, I could have stopped the rough fall, but I was still a bit pissed off at him. “Unchain him and put him to bed,” I said to my followers. “Watch him carefully. Make sure the magic takes.”

“Yes, Mistress!” my followers replied as one.

I sat back down and watched the betrayers taken away one-by-one. The last, of course, was my brother.

I waved a hand and released the spell holding him to the chair. Two of my most loyal followers dragged him off it and started for his room.

“Don’t let him go to her again,” I said. “Whether the magic takes or not, he is not to see that bitch again until I’m slitting her throat and draining her of her blood. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mistress!”

Once I was alone, I threw a cup of wine at the wall. The metal chalice clanged off the wall and went rolling across the cave floor.

“How dare he make me stoop to such measures?” I hissed. “How dare he?!”

My thrice cursed brother ‘cared deeply’ about the Crimson witch? Wasn’t that what he said?

The only person he should care about was me.

The only thing he should care about was our mission.

I shrieked at the ceiling and it rattled the chandelier. I knew I would need to get this anger out of my system before I met my brother again.

We did need to be on the same team–brother and sister–once more. And if I took my anger out on him, he’d surely know something was wrong.

And then he’d get suspicious.

And then we’d have problems.

“Stupid bitch,” I cursed Daphne Crimson. “It’s a good thing you’ll be dead soon.”

Yes, once the Crimson brat was dead, things would get back to the way they were supposed to be. I would become a vessel for my powerful mother, and she, in turn, would bring the Crimsons to their knees. The White Queens would be toppled for good, and Hestia would rise to the throne as she always should have held.

My mother would rule with strength and fairness, not through fear and manipulation like those Crimson hypocrites.

And my last act as a good daughter, before I gave over my body to my mother for our great glory and vengeance, would be to make sure her son was loyal.

No, Rion would not be seeing that Crimson witch again, not until her blood was running out onto the ground, raising our mother’s spirit from the dead.

I grinned. Wasn’t it ironic that the blood of a White Queen was going to bring about the demise of all future White Queens?

My grin turned to a laugh. My laugh turned to a cackle.

If any of my followers had entered then, they might have thought me mad. But I was as sane as I had ever been... more sane, in fact.

As the moment of our greatest glory approached, my focus became more and more clear and sharp.

We would have our vengeance.

And no one, not even Rion, was going to stop it.