49. Chapter Forty-Nine - Wilder
Leigh’s fucking late.
I check my watch for the umpteenth time, my foot tapping on the floor.
The clock above the bar mocks me, its hands crawling at a snail’s pace.
I’m running out of excuses for Leigh’s whereabouts.
She’s not answering her phone, and Stellan is ready to leave, his impatience evident in the tightness of his jaw.
Stellan sits at a table surrounded by ten or more men, focusing on the door.
Alec’s lips are pressed into a thin line.
She and Meg have done me a favor by hosting this meeting, but Leigh’s glaring absence speaks volumes.
Did she go back to Borealis?
Or is she lying dead in a ditch somewhere?
I bring my phone to my ear again.
My muscles twitch with each unanswered ring.
Just as I’m about to hang up, Leigh bursts through the door with Gianna behind her, their faces flushed.
Relief fills me to the brim, but there’s no time for questions because Leigh is rushing toward me, and anger is burning in her eyes.
“You won’t believe what just happened.” Leigh grips my arm as if to pull me away, but Stellan’s been waiting nearly twenty minutes.
Whatever she wants to say, it can wait.
I’m not going anywhere.
“Tell me later. Stellan’s waiting,” I say.
Leigh frowns, glancing behind her.
I follow her gaze, but there’s no one there—Is she waiting for someone?
After the Brigid fiasco, I searched for Leigh, wanting to make things right between us.
Instead, I found Bennett sitting with Pallas in heavy silence at the kitchen table.
Bennett informed me he would be attending the meeting with Stellan as a representative of the Council.
I agreed to find him when it was time to leave.
However, I went without him at the last minute.
Bennett doesn’t need to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong.
Leigh and Stellan must come to terms with each other before the Council gets involved.
I lead a glaring Leigh toward Stellan.
“Well, this will be interesting . . .” Leigh’s words trail off as Stellan rises from his seat.
He grins, and Leigh stiffens in my grasp.
“Your Majesty,” Stellan says.
Leigh bares her teeth, and I suspect I was right about her coming here to confront him, not to collaborate.
But we all need to work together.
“Say something.” I nudge her.
She scowls at me.
Alec meanders around us, cautiously carrying a water pitcher and two glasses.
She sets them on the table before Stellan, her hand trembling as she pours.
“Please, sit,” I say.
“We need to do this for the sake of our people.”
She hesitates for a moment, her eyes never leaving Stellan’s.
I can see the wheels turning in her head, a calculated plan forming behind those fiery eyes.
Finally, with a curt nod, she sinks into the chair opposite Stellan.
“Fine,” she says, her voice sharp as a blade.
I take my seat beside her, suddenly uneasy.
I know Leigh, and I know that look in her eye.
She’s on a mission.
Something happened, something big, and I’m in the dark.
“Thank you for coming,” I say to Stellan, keeping my tone neutral.
“We have differences, but we all want what’s best for our people. Shall we begin?”
Leigh leans forward.
“Yes,” she says, her voice dripping with disdain.
“Let’s begin with the truth, shall we?”
“That is my specialty,” Stellan replies, challenging.
Leigh snorts.
“Hardly. You hide behind your computer, using your keyboard to crumble a regime, but you aren’t the brains behind your master plan. You have made a huge mistake.”
I blink.
What is she talking about?
“By mistake, do you mean creating a safe place for the Nebula people after your people persecuted us for a war we didn’t start?” Stellan mocks.
I place my hand on Leigh’s shoulder.
Come on, Leigh, work with me .
We all want the same thing.
Stellan reaches for his water glass.
“It’s funny,” Leigh muses.
“What is?” he asks before taking a sip.
“How do you expect me to believe you are operating with the Nebula people in mind when you’re sacrificing the same people you claim to care about to the wolves?”
I balk.
Stellan sits straighter.
“How do you mean?”
“Well, first, you are working with Lua to ensure your enclave happens while leaving the rest of us at their mercy. They are on their way here, aren’t they? When are they scheduled to arrive?”
A hush falls over the bar.
Is she serious?
Stellan said he had help, but the wolves?
What did he promise them?
Or what did they promise him?
My hands shake under the table.
This changes everything.
If Stellan works with the wolves, he’s not just a political opponent—he’s a traitor to our people.
I glance at Leigh, a tremor coursing through me, fueled by my rising unease.
Why didn’t she tell me about this before?
I take a deep breath.
We can fix this.
“Stellan, is this true?” I ask, my voice tight with anger.
“Are you working with the wolves?”
Stellan’s eyes meet mine, a challenge in his gaze.
“I think it’s time we had a real conversation, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I growl through my teeth.
“I think it is. But let’s be clear. If you work with the wolves, you’re not betraying the Epsilon but all of us. The Nebula people included.”
“Yeah, Stellan,” Leigh snaps, “tell him how they promised you could be king of an enclave if you let them use Aurora as a home base for their invasion of Corona.”
I gape at Stellan, but he doesn’t so much as flinch.
“I do not want to be king. I am not your uncle.” Leigh scoffs.
“I stand by my promises. The New Aurora will be a democracy. Prince Zeus and Prince Alden gave me their word.”
I wait for him to continue, to tell me he’s joking, but he doesn’t.
Is this a nightmare?
He’s helping another country invade ours to achieve his own ends.
He never planned to negotiate with Leigh; by the looks of it, she never intended to collaborate with him either.
I suspected as much but held onto the hope that I could convince her.
I thought .
.
.
well, my thoughts are irrelevant now.
Stellan lied, and Leigh will never forgive him.
“Did you think King Simon or his sons would let you rule unchecked?” Leigh sneers.
“You’re trading me in for a new monarch who will never trust you.”
I stand, turning away from them.
How did this go so sideways?
“All I want is a better world for the Nebula,” Stellan says calmly.
That’s all we all want, not just for the Nebula but everyone.
How does inviting a war to our lands achieve that?
“I’ve reread your articles dozens of times,” Leigh says, “trying to unmask the person feeding you information, but I came up short. I even spoke to my uncle to ensure it wasn’t him.”
The pain in her voice hits me like a punch.
She swore she’d never confront Don again.
Why didn’t she tell me?
Is this what she was doing in Borealis behind my back?
Did she think I would disapprove?
My energy depletes.
Will she ever stop keeping secrets?
Stellan huffs a laugh.
“My source tried to refuse me because they thought it would be too obvious. But it seems that is not the case.” Leigh scowls.
He’s trying to get under her skin, and it’s working.
“Who is it? They deserve to go down with you!”
Stellan grins.
“Why? It’s too late to get out of your marriage proposal—not that Alden wanted you anyway.”
The ground falls out from under me.
Marriage proposal?
What is Stellan talking about?
And why does Leigh look like she’s been caught red-handed?
“What proposal?” I ask.
Was she considering marrying Alden?
The thought sends a cold wave over me, but I force myself to take a deep breath.
We’re here to negotiate peace and find a way forward for our people.
Whatever is going on with Leigh and this marriage proposal can wait.
We need to convince Stellan to call off the invasion before the wolves arrive.
“Stellan.” I keep my voice controlled.
“When are the wolves set to arrive? Is there any way you can call them off? Tell them you no longer want to pursue the enclave. Tell them you and Leigh will fight if they don’t back off.”
Stellan’s eyes narrow.
“I made promises I intend to keep.”
I shake my head.
“And what about the Epsilon—the civilians caught in the crossfire? Are they just collateral damage in your grand plan?”
Stellan leans forward, his gaze intense.
“The New Aurora will be a haven for all, where everyone can live in peace and prosperity. But sometimes, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. The Epsilon have a choice: follow us or be left behind. The wolves are on our side, Wilder. You have nothing to worry about unless you refuse to join me.”
A chill runs down my spine.
Sacrifices, greater good—this rhetoric has been used to justify countless atrocities throughout history.
I glance at Leigh, hoping to find an ally in this fight.
But she’s still reeling from Stellan’s earlier comment, her eyes distant and unfocused.
“Where is Zeus? Did you know he took my grandmother?” Leigh asks him.
Stellan smiles.
“I understand you are worried about her safety, but so long as you agree to their terms, Queen Jorina will remain safe, I’m sure.”
“And if I don’t, are you saying they’ll kill her?”
Stellan clears his throat as Meg gasps.
“It’s been a pleasure, Your Highness, but our time is up. I am sorry it had to be this way. You seem nice, just born into a difficult circumstance.”
Stellan motions to his men and thanks the Erinye sisters for their hospitality.
His footsteps echo as he strides toward the door.
Panic rises in my throat, its coppery tang sharp on my tongue.
I have to stop him.
But he brought a dozen armed men with him.
He came prepared, while I had not.
“Stellan—” I start, but Gianna steps between him and the exit.
Her short frame is no match against his much larger one.
Stellan blinks, surprise flickering across his face.
“Move, girl,” he growls, but Gi stands firm, her chin lifted in defiance.
“You are making a mistake,” she says.
Leigh rises to her feet.
“Gi, don’t,” she warns, but Gianna ignores her, her gaze locked on Stellan.
Stellan scowls at Gi.
“I disagree. Epsilon like your father?—”
“ You are my father. And as your daughter, I am begging you not to do this. Don’t turn your back on Leigh. You can’t trust Zeus,” Gianna declares.
The room falls silent.
I grip the chair, staggering from the impact of Gianna’s words.
Stellan is her father.
I had assumed he had information on her father’s identity because of his role as a journalist, not because he was the man himself.
Stellan stares at Gianna, his eyes wide with shock.
His mouth opens and closes as he struggles to find the right words.
I stand there, my world rocked to its core.
Stellan betrayed us, Leigh betrayed me, and Gi kept the truth from me.
I am an idiot for believing I could fix things.
I look at Leigh, searching for some sign of remorse, some hint of the woman I thought I knew.
But her eyes focus on Gianna and Stellan, and her expression is unreadable.
Did she know about this?
Was this another secret she kept from me, another lie in a long line of deceptions?
What is left of my resolve disappears.
I trusted her and believed in her, and now I don’t know what to believe anymore.
Stellan has a daughter, an Epsilon-raised daughter, which somehow changes everything and nothing simultaneously.
Stellan’s face crumples.
For a moment, he looks lost, like a man adrift in a storm-tossed sea.
But then his expression hardens, and he shoves past Gianna, his movements jerky and uncoordinated.
“I have to go,” he mutters.
“Wait!” Gianna cries, but Stellan’s guards block her from getting to him.
The door slams shut behind him with a sense of finality.
The following silence is deafening, broken only by Gianna’s soft sobs.
Leigh slumps back into her chair.
“That was a disaster,” she murmurs, and I can’t help but agree.
But it’s her fault, too; her secrets and lies have brought us to this point.
“You could have tried harder,” I snap.
“ Me? ” Leigh laughs, the sound hollow and acidic.
“Did you not hear me? Zeus has my grandmother! Stellan’s helping him!”
I shake my head.
“How do you even know that?”
The door opens, and I expect to see Stellan standing there, maybe with a change of heart, but I jerk back as if I’ve seen a ghost.
The sudden onslaught of rain has made her red hair longer and plastered to her face.
Instinctively, I summon fire to my palms.
“Marlowe?”
Marlowe offers me a smile.
I see red.
The last time I saw her was at the Domna Trial.
She had plans to blow up the capitol.
After I forfeited the competition, she’d skipped town, knowing I’d leave that arena and come for her.
She abandoned Nyx’s cause and left her scruples.
I shake my head, not believing that she’s here to turn herself in.
She wants something.
“Wilder, before you do anything stupid, you should know I am here to help you,” Marlowe says.
The fire in my palms flares brighter, the heat licking my skin.
“You betrayed me. You made me believe I could be Domna and we would fix things together. Instead, you just planned to use me to aid in a terrorist attack. You knew Chiron kidnapped Leigh and locked her in that vault, yet you said nothing! Why? ”
I trusted her, believed in her, and she used that trust to further her agenda, to manipulate me into becoming her pawn.
“Tell me,” I demand, searching for a glimmer of the person I once thought she was.
“Tell me why you tarnished everything we stood for. Tell me why you are here now.”
“I saw no other option to make things right for the Nebula,” Marlowe says, running a hand over her face that’s lost some of its fullness.
The dark bags under her eyes tell me she’s been troubled these past few months.
Some of the fight drains out of me.
“None of us knew what the letters said. You kept things from me, Wilder, like how you and Leigh had teamed up with Chiron to find the letters. Even though I was in charge, I also expected more from you.”
I scoff.
She can’t fault me for her actions.
“I should arrest you.”
“I am under Leigh’s protection. She gave me immunity in exchange for the information about her grandmother and the wolves.”
I look at Leigh.
She pardoned Marlowe?
My girlfriend is a stranger.
“Wilder, Zeus has my grandmother. Marlowe told me about Stellan’s duplicity.”
“Believe it or not, I am here to help,” Marlowe argues.
“This is un-fucking-believable!”
Leigh flinches.
“Save your freak out for later,” Marlowe begins.
“While outside, I overheard some of Stellan’s men talking. The wolves are here. Zeus and his brother’s troops arrived an hour ago. Stellan’s gone to see them.”
Leigh’s mouth hangs open.
More tears fill Gianna’s eyes.
The sisters swear.
Wolves in Aurora?
I am living in a goddamn fucking nightmare.
“I need to warn Eddo and the other Blades,” I say, my voice steady.
Leigh stands.
“I’ll notify the Council.”
I nod, pushing aside my resentment for now.
“Good. We don’t have much time. If Stellan and the wolves join forces, it could be too late. We should move fast before they can consolidate their power.”
Determination hardens their expressions.
Even Marlowe is ready to fight, though I am hesitant if we can rely on her.
She may run again the second things don’t go in her favor.
“Let’s go,” I say, resolve strengthening.
“We have a city to save.”
We’ll deal with our personal issues later.
Right now, Aurora needs us.