Chapter 130: Results of Deceit
ADRIAN’S P.O.V.
The room was suffocatingly silent as I continued. The flickering firelight played over their faces, painting shadows of disbelief, horror and sadness. I drew a deep breath, my tone deliberately even, though the memory of that night clawed at my chest like it was fresh.
"I was blinded by rage," I began, my voice low and deliberate. "Rage at Margaret’s words, rage at the witches for what they had done to me in the past, and rage at myself for the scars I carried that still ached centuries later. I didn’t think—I acted. My coven and I descended on the witches’ sanctuary with one goal: annihilation."
Lucian leaned forward slightly, his unseeing eyes fixed on me. It was unnerving how he could focus so intensely despite his blindness. "You didn’t hold back, did you?" he asked, his tone dry but his face taut with understanding.
I allowed myself a grim smile. "No. I didn’t. I laid waste to the entire coven. Every adult witch met their end by my hand. The screams, the blood, the destruction... it was merciless. I didn’t stop until the sanctuary was a smoldering ruin. The only ones spared were the witches’ children."
Teresa’s hand flew to her mouth. "The children. They must have been so scared," she whispered, her voice trembling.
I nodded, my throat tightening. "Even in my rage, I couldn’t bring myself to harm them. They were innocents, caught in a war they didn’t understand. But Margaret... she had other priorities."
Juliette’s eyes narrowed. "What priorities?"
I hesitated, the memory sharp and cruel. "As I tore through the coven, Margaret wasn’t by my side. She was inside the sanctuary, questioning the witches. She kept demanding to know where the ’girl’ was. At the time, I didn’t understand who she meant or what she was searching for. But her obsession... it should’ve been my first clue."
Lucian’s lip curled, his voice cutting through the tension. "You didn’t suspect anything? Not even then?"
"No," I admitted, the shame evident in my tone. "I was too consumed by my own hatred to see her deceit. It wasn’t until everyone was dead—everyone except Nancy, the high priestess, and the children—that the truth began to unravel."