The Bride He Hates-Chapter 84: Pride And Wonder

Victor was summoned immediately, along with the rest of the inner council.

"Your Majesties, I was told this was urgent. What happened?" Lord Cedric asked.

Azrael stood at the centre of the room with Lyanna at his side. The table was covered with Sienna’s documents.

"Lady Sienna has made a serious accusation." Azrael said. "She claims there’s a traitor in our inner council. Someone who has been leaking information to the Crimson Cross."

The room erupted in shocked murmurs.

"A traitor? Among us? That’s impossible!" Cedric said.

"Is it?" Sienna stepped forward. "I know this is shocking, Lord Cedric. I was shocked too when I discovered the evidence. But facts are facts."

"What evidence? What are you talking about?"

"These documents." Victor said, pointing at the documents on the table. "They contain information about Thornfield’s defensive capabilities, the king and queen’s daily schedule, and transcripts of private council meetings."

Cedric was shocked. He walked closer to the table. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Let me see those." He said, pointing at the documents.

"The correspondence refers to an old councillor." Sienna said. "You’re the eldest member of His Majesty’s council, Lord Cedric. You’ve been here for three centuries. Who else would fit that description?"

"Dozens of vampires!" Cedric panicked. "I’m not the only elderly council member! Lord Cassius is over four hundred years old! Lady Morgana has served for..."

"But you are the one commonly called the old councillor."

Lyanna studied Cedric’s face carefully. She had been trained by Helena to read people, to spot lies from their expressions and body language.

Cedric looked shocked, hurt, confused but not guilty. She stepped forward.

"May I see the documents?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. Though I’m not sure what a vampire with only a few months’ experience would notice that we haven’t already..."

"The language." Lyanna interrupted Sienna, picking up the first letter. "The writing style is formal court language, but it has different dialects."

The room fell silent. Everyone stared at her.

"So?" Sienna asked.

Lyanna looked up from the document, and then at Cedric.

"Lord Cedric is from the south, isn’t he? He wouldn’t use northern expressions. It’s not in his speech pattern."

Cedric’s expression transformed from fear to relief to gratitude so quickly that it was almost comical. Azrael was staring at Lyanna with pride mixed with surprise.

"Her Majesty is right. Linguistic analysis is an investigative technique. Cross-reference these documents against known speech patterns of north born council members." Victor said.

"There are only two." Lady Morgana replied. "Lord Cassius and Lady Vera."

Lyanna’s mind raced as she remembered council meetings, conversations, and casual interactions.

"Lord Cassius has only been on the council for five years. So, he can’t be the old councillor."

"Lady Vera has served for twenty years." Azrael said.

"There’s more. During the discussion about the embassy opening last month, Lady Vera specifically asked detailed questions about my schedule during the ceremony. I thought she was concerned about protocol but what if she was gathering intelligence about my movements?"

Azrael’s expression went cold.

"Victor, summon Lady Vera immediately, and search her chambers. I want every document, and her every personal thing examined."

As guards rushed out, Sienna moved closer to Azrael.

"I apologize for the incorrect identification." Sienna said. "In my hurry to warn you, I made a mistake. But the important thing is that we know there is a traitor in your court."

"Indeed." Azrael said as she looked at Lyanna. "And we might not have identified the right one without my wife’s observation. Thank you, Lyanna."

The public acknowledgement, the genuine gratitude in his voice, and the way he called her wife, made Lyanna’s heart boom with happiness.

"Your Majesty, I am in your debt. When I was accused, when I saw suspicion in everyone’s eyes, I thought my centuries of service meant nothing. You proved my innocence when others were ready to assume I was guilty. I will not forget this." Cedric said.

"I just noticed patterns, Lord Cedric." Lyanna replied. "Anyone trained in linguistics would have done the same."

"But it wasn’t anyone. It was you. Helena would be proud." Azrael said.

The mention of Helena made her sad. Helena had decided to return to her hometown. She wanted to retire after everything that had happened.

The moment was interrupted by the guards.

"Your Majesty, Lady Vera is not in her chambers. But we found this hidden behind a wall panel."

They put a leather satchel on the table. Inside were more documents, coded messages, and a small vial.

"Poison." Victor said. "She was prepared to either kill or be killed."

"Find her." Azrael ordered. "Lock down the castle. No one leaves until Lady Vera is found."

Guards flooded every corridor, every room, every possible hiding place. Victor’s intelligence network was activated. Lyanna and Azrael coordinated from the war room.

"She can’t have gotten far." Adrian said. "We locked down within minutes of discovering her absence. Unless she left before the council meeting..."

"She was at dinner three hours ago." Lady Morgana interrupted. "I sat beside her. She seemed normal."

"So she fled in the last three hours." Azrael calculated. "Probably before the formal council meeting. She must have had informants who warned her."

"She’s from the north. Where would someone from that region run when cornered?" Lyanna asked.

"Home." Victor replied. "But the northern territories are a week’s ride from here, even at vampire speed. She wouldn’t make it before we caught her."

"Unless she’s not going home." Lyanna said. "If I were a caught traitor, I’d run to the only people who’d protect me, my co-conspirators."

"There are three target areas within a day’s ride where the Crimson Cross could have established bases." Victor said.

"Split our forces." Azrael ordered. "Three teams, one to each location."

"I’ll go as well." Lyanna said.

Azrael opened his mouth to object but stopped himself.

"You’ll come with me." He said.

Within an hour, three hunting parties left Thornfield. Lyanna rode beside Azrael. They found Lady Vera within two hours. Her horse had collapsed.

"You’ve destroyed everything." Vera said, looking at Lyanna. "Vampire society was perfect before you ruined it with your human weakness!"

Before she could say anything more, the guards caught her and brought her back to Thornfield. She was thrown into the deepest dungeon cell.

"Why?" Azrael asked. "You’ve been on my council for twenty years. I trusted you, treated you with respect. Why did you betray us?"

Vera laughed bitterly.

"Because you were destroying everything! Vampires are meant to rule, not cooperate! We’re superior, apex predators, immortal and powerful! And you weakened our power by treating humans as equals!"

"So you allied with fanatics who want to eliminate all vampires?" Lyanna couldn’t hide her disbelief.

"The Crimson Cross has vampires and humans who agree that there should be a natural hierarchy."

"You’re delusional." Azrael said. "You’re just a tool to them."

"Better a tool than a king who is influenced!" Vera looked at Lyanna with hatred. "You’ve become weak. The Crimson Cross is coming. When they burn Thornfield to the ground and execute both of you, vampire society will finally be restored to its proper order!"

"How many members are there? Where are their headquarters and who leads them?" Victor asked, stepping forward.

I’ll never tell you. Torture me all you want."

"We won’t torture you." Lyanna said. "We’ll just keep you here, locked away, while we capture your allies one by one."

"You can make this easier for yourself." Azrael added. "Provide information, and you’ll receive some comforts in your imprisonment, like books, better food, and so on. Refuse, and you’ll sit here until the Crimson Cross is destroyed."

Vera spat at Lyanna’s feet.

"I’ll tell you nothing, human whore."

Azrael’s hand moved faster than Lyanna could see, backhanding Vera hard enough to snap her head sideways.

"You will address my wife with respect, or I’ll cut your tongue. Azreal said. "Victor get all the information from her."

They then left. They were halfway back to the main castle when Victor pulled Azrael aside, leaving Lyanna with the guards. When Azrael returned, he looked worried.

"What did Victor say?" Lyanna asked as they continued walking.

"He’s worried about how quickly we found Vera. As if she wanted to be caught."

"A distraction?"

"Possibly or she’s a sacrifice. Victor is implementing new security protocols, investigating every council member and staff member with access to sensitive information."

"Do you think there are more traitors?"

"It would be foolish to assume Vera worked alone without anyone noticing or helping her." He turned to her. "Which means everyone is a suspect until proven otherwise."