Destroy My Life In You-Chapter 118: Fled

Pacing up and down the courtroom, Alaric was distressed. Thoughts of how to apologise to Ravenna spun in his head, but none seemed satisfactory. He had made a grave mistake, and his punishment, he believed, should be equally grave. Should he kneel down to her till she was satisfied? Or maybe let her beat him or scold until she calmed down? Alaric was ready for anything as long as she wasn’t angry with him anymore.

"Will you stop that?" Finn said dryly, staring at Alaric.

Alaric paused, glaring at him, before something crossed his mind.

"How did you convince Nyx to forgive you?" he asked, taking a seat beside Finn.

But before Finn could reply, Zander’s rare impatient voice interrupted. "We’re not back here to discuss your personal matters, are we?"

Seth, who was sitting beside Zander, chuckled but instantly fell silent at Alaric’s warning side-eye.

"You can leave if you want," Alaric said flatly, then turned back to Finn. "What should I do?"

Finn cleared his throat, a sense of pride rising inside him. "There are many ways to apologise, but it’s determined by the weight of your mistake. How big is the mistake?"

Alaric thought about it for a moment, then said, "I think it’s the worst of all."

Finn blinked twice, unsure if he had heard correctly and thinking Alaric might be exaggerating. "And what’s that ’worst of all’ mistake you made?"

Alaric sighed and stood up. Somehow, when he thought about everything that had happened, his heart felt heavy, and frightened. He didn’t know why, but he could sense he would have to pay an unimaginably heavy price for his words. That quiet response from Ravenna wasn’t something he was used to. She used to argue and talk back. But today... she had remained silent. He would be a fool if he didn’t know he had hit the limit of her patience.

"I... told her she will never see Riven again," his quiet response fell heavy in the air, sinking deep into everyone’s ears and capturing their full attention, even those who hadn’t been interested before.

"What?" Zeke and Seth said in unison, their expressions dark and terrifying.

"What happened?" Luke asked calmly, though his eyes had already shifted to golden. Inside, he was anything but calm.

Alaric clenched his fists before replying. "She wants to leave Vetheris to help that... Liam." Saying the name was hard. It had been the root of everything wrong. Even though he didn’t know the man, he already harbored a deep hatred for him. Whether it was because Liam had caused a rift between him and Ravenna without even being present, or because she cared for him, Alaric wasn’t sure. All he knew was that Liam was bad news. And before he could drive his family further apart, something had to be done, even if it went against everything he wanted. If the only way to resolve this mess was to help Liam out of the Lycan King’s bondage... then he would do it. But only for his wife.

There was a brief silence before Zander broke it. "How long ago was that?"

"I think four... hours," Alaric replied, dragging the word as realization slowly dawned. "No. No. She wouldn’t do that. Would she?" His voice fell into a low whisper, and his eyes grew darker with every passing second.

"Would she?" Zander asked in return, his tone calm, as if nothing alarming had happened.

"Damn it!" Alaric cursed, bolting out of the room like a madman.

"What’s happening?" Seth asked, confused.

Finn sighed, resting his head against the chair. "The Queen might have ditched her King... and run away with the little Prince."

"What?!" Seth exclaimed, standing up in horror. "Wouldn’t you have said that sooner instead of speaking in riddles?!" He dashed out after Alaric.

Finn glared at his disappearing figure in disbelief. What had he done now? Wasn’t it Alaric and Zander who were speaking in riddles?

The rest of them left the hall soon after, following the same path, to find Ravenna.

******

The sun was about to set when Ravenna, little Riven, and Nyx arrived in City X. They went to a house, or rather, a mansion, that Nyx said was hers. The place was quite nice and comfortable, with the atmosphere of an ancient charm.

"Feel at home," Nyx announced, sitting leisurely on the sofa.

Ravenna offered a faint smile and took a seat on the opposite couch. She had little Riven in her arms, sleeping soundly, unaware of the chaos unraveling in the world.

"I didn’t know you had such a cool place," Ravenna said, placing little Riven gently on the couch before leaning back and resting her head. Her mind was flooded with thoughts. Was what she did right? She was feeling guilty and at the same time relieved she had a chance to make things right.

Nyx smirked weakly, then said, "I never thought I’d ever come back to this place either."

"Why?"

Nyx seemed to be diving into old memories, ones that clearly weren’t pleasant. "It used to be my and my sister’s home."

Ravenna jolted upright, alarmed. "Then... why would you bring us here? Isn’t it dangerous?"

Nyx shook her head, unbothered. "On the contrary, it’s the safest place. My sisters would never think I’d return here after what happened."

"Are you sure?" Ravenna asked, still unconvinced.

"Mmh." Nyx hummed. "A long time ago, my sisters tortured me here because I refused to go against Alaric, until I died. Later, after I rose again, I... did the same to them. In this very place."

Ravenna fell silent, somehow feeling sorry for Nyx. She had become a witch despised by her own kind simply because she chose to serve Alaric. But Ravenna knew that wasn’t the only reason. It was clear Finn had something to do with it all. She didn’t know their full history, but Nyx’s feelings for him weren’t new.

She sat down slowly, briefly glancing at little Riven, then back at Nyx.

"Let’s rest for a while. Then we’ll figure out what to do next."