Chapter 189 - 189
"Carter's daughters will be whores?" Adina asked, her eyes snapping open as she stared at Thessara, who currently had her hands filled with a herbal paste.
Thessara hummed, pulling Adina's clothes open to reveal her stomach. "That's what I heard. The nobles kept discussing it while leaving the palace. His majesty didn't tell you?" She asked, applying the cool mixture to Adina's stomach.
No, Thorne hadn't told her. They had barely spoken since their return to Obsidian. While she thought it had to be the stress of finding Carter, she understood that, but even so, she couldn't help but feel a little off…
"Okay, you're fine for now. We need to continue with the checkups daily. We can't risk the core moving deeper into your stomach. It could disrupt everything," Thessara said, not wanting to say it fully, even though they both knew what she meant.
The core was dangerous for her to have swallowed, especially as a half. While it had its powers and she being a sage could hold it even for a bit, she couldn't risk her pup.
"We must find the other half, mustn't we?"
Adina asked as she sat up, pulling her clothes down.
Thessara glanced at her over the washbowl, nodding. "We do. Once reunited, we can get the core out of you safely, and your pup can grow healthy without…" she didn't complete her words.
But Adina understood. Her pup could grow well without her powers, her mother's, and certainly the core.
She sighed heavily, her gaze straying out the window. The palace grounds were even busier than usual, every corner filled with guards who blinked on command. Her gaze strayed to the sky, and she could imagine Radek's head still hanging by the palace gates. It had been three days, and Thorne had no intention of bringing it down.
She felt Thessara beside her and looked over, only to find the older woman already staring at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the woman beat her to it.
"Radek, right?"
Adina blinked, taken aback. Had she spoken out loud without realizing it?
"I can't help but wonder how he got himself in the clutches of a man like Carter," she replied.
Thessara shrugged. "Carter or not, Radek is a deplorable man. He deserves to hang off a stake. A man who shares the same view as Carter, a faithful follower of Khaos, is not worth mourning."
At the mention of Khaos, Adina stiffened, her jaw tightening. The vision she'd seen rushed into her mind. Khaos had said Virelya had betrayed him. How? What could she have possibly done to have made him walk out on their bond the way he did?
She inhaled deeply, knowing it was time she asked the right questions. She glanced at Thessara, who was still talking about Radek and his downfall.
"Were Virelya and Khaos mates?" she asked outrightly. Thessara froze, not expecting the question at all.
She stepped back uneasily, looking away as though to find something to keep her hands busy.
"Thessara!" Adina called firmly. "Sooner or later, you will have to tell me all the things I'm missing. You can't keep me in the dark forever."
"Adina…" the woman called after a beat, her eyes cloudy with different emotions.
"Thessara, please. Help me understand who I am," Adina pleaded quietly, her voice breaking.
At this, Thessara's resolve crumbled, and she nodded, clearing her throat. "Virelya was older," she began.
"After years of not finding her mate, she assumed the goddess hadn't paired her with her mate and instead wanted her to devote her life to being a sage… and that's what she did. Virelya cut off everything that made her crave a mate, and for years, it remained like that… until she met Khaos. He was younger, brighter, and eager. For the first time, Virelya's heart skipped a beat. Her wolf called mate. An eager Khaos realized she was his mate too, but Virelya had coldly turned him down. She was just growing into herself. She couldn't hold him back just because their wolves called mate. Khaos didn't let go easily, not until she told him that once he had mastered all there was to being a sage, could she think about it. He did it. For years, he devoted his life to being the perfect sage, all so he could have Virelya. And when he finally became a sage, their relationship had to be a secret. Perhaps it was because Virelya felt ashamed of their age difference. Perhaps it was the power dynamic." She paused, shrugging slightly.
"No one but Virelya knows the reason. Her relationship with Khaos was kept a secret for a while, but suddenly it all changed. Khaos wanted more." She paused again, as if recollecting something. "He changed. A drastic, scary change. I remember Virelya was worried, so very worried. She'd get lost in thought, pace around, but never tell anyone what bothered her so deeply. Not until it was revealed that Khaos had fallen so deep, he couldn't be taken out anymore. He had dabbled in black magic, witches, powers banned for a sage. He had overturned everything a sage stood for. Virelya couldn't have it. She confronted him, and it led to a huge fight. Words were exchanged. It was a very difficult night. Virelya did what she should as head sage. She reported it to his majesty, and Khaos's powers were taken from him. This led to an even bigger problem. Khaos believed everyone had betrayed him, including his mate. He went blind with rage and vowed revenge against us all." She swallowed, shaking her head.
"Of course, we hadn't seen it coming. It was just the words of a scorned former sage. Only, that it wasn't. With his advanced knowledge of the realm and the sages, Khaos unlocked powers not known to man or wolves. He became a different entity. A beast. A man who could raise even the dead. His first victim was Virelya."