Chapter 8
Nayra’s eyes sparkled with twisted delight. “Well, Balthar was very cooperative. He simply listened to my request and agreed to keep random healers away from you. But, of course, you just had to go behind his back and strike a deal with some foreign medics.”NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.
She let out a dramatic sigh, as if this deadly game bored her. “So, I had to accelerate things. A little poison slipped into Baltos food–courtesy of a maid I bought off. You know the one. The omega whose daughter was auctioned off by one of Night Howl’s nobles. No one ever notices them, not even you.”
My heart sank. No… she couldn’t mean- “Avery?” The realization hit me like a blow to the chest. The quiet maid who was always so devoted to Balto?
I stared at Nayra, frozen, my body numb under the weight of her words. My mind spiraling to piece together the horror she so casually confessed.
“You… you poisoned my son?” My voice trembled, barely audible, the words feeling jagged in my throat.
Nayra clapped her hands, gleeful. “Finally, you‘ re catching on! I’m impressed, sister. I was worried I’d have to explain it all to you like a child.”
My legs wobbled beneath me, and tears blurred my vision. “You killed him…” The words tasted like ash in my mouth as they left me.
Nayra‘ s expression softened, but not with kindness–only mock sympathy. “Honestly, if the boy had been as cooperative as his father, he might still be alive. But, oh well.” She shrugged, stepping closer. Her hand opened once more, palm out. “Now, give me the Lunar Crystalis, sister. And maybe–just maybe I’ll spare your life.”
In a surge of anguish, I grabbed Nayra‘ s arm, yanking her toward me as if demanding she face the weight of her actions.
“Why, Nayra? Why? How could you do this to your own nephew? What did Balto ever do to you?!” Nayra twisted free and sent a vícious kick into my abdomen, knocking the wind out of me. I crumpled to the ground, gasping for air, my hands sinking into the dirt.
Before I could recover, her boot came down hard on my head, forcing my cheek into the cold, rough earth.
“Because, sister,” she sneered from above me, pressing down harder. “You were always in my way. If I had been the one chosen to carry the Lunar Crystalis, none of this would matter. I would‘ ve become the strongest werewolf alive. I’d have my own pack to rule by now.”
She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me upright, pain shooting through my scalp. I cried out involuntarily, tears stinging my eyes.
“I could‘ ve killed you long ago,” she spat, her face inches from mine. “But no, you had to hold on to the Crystalis, never using it, never letting anyone know where it was. Now, at least give me a clue–where is it?”
With a grunt of frustration, she flung me to the side, and I hit the ground hard. “Damn the Goddess. Your stubbornness led to nothing but a wasteful death. Balto had to suffer because you couldn’t just give up!”
Her words cut deeper than any physical blow. My heart pounded in my chest, each word a dagger twisting inside me.
“But I’ll give the boy credit,” she added with a twisted smile. “Thanks to him, I got to test how potent my friend’s wolfsbane formula was.
Fury surged through me, though my body trembled with pain. I glared at her, my voice barely more than a growl. “You witch…”