Chapter 442:

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For a moment, neither of us spoke. There was something in her eyes that made me hesitate. Victoria wasn’t begging for her life. She wasn’t even asking me to trust her. She was asking me to wait.

“I don’t know whether you’re protecting someone or buying time,” I said quietly.

“I don’t know whether you would believe me if I told you the truth.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

I stared at her for another few seconds before stepping away. “You’re going back to your chambers. Guards will remain outside your door. You are not to leave the palace, and you will not contact anyone connected to this matter without my permission. If you attempt to escape, I will consider that an admission of guilt.”

Victoria nodded.

“And Victoria?”

She paused at the door.

“If I discover you’re lying to me…”

“You won’t.”

𝘞𝖾 𝗎𝗽𝘥a𝘁e 𝘦𝘷𝖾r𝗒 we𝖾𝘬 𝗼𝗻 ga𝗹n𝘰𝗏𝗲𝗹ѕ.𝘤o𝗺

The guards escorted her out, and the door closed behind them. I remained standing in the silence, staring at the place where she had been.

Damon had been sitting quietly near the window throughout the interrogation. He finally rose and walked toward me. “She knows who framed her,” he said. “And she’s protecting that person.”

I looked at him. “That’s what worries me.”

“Why?”

“Because Victoria looked more afraid of naming that person than she did of being executed.”

Damon’s expression darkened. Before either of us could say more, the door opened again.

Abel walked in with Commander Sorian. The moment I saw their faces, I knew it wouldn’t be good news.

“How bad?” I asked.

Sorian closed the door behind her. “Bad enough that I think you need to hear it before the council does.”

I leaned against Nero’s desk. “Talk.”

She removed her gloves and placed them on the table. “The Rashford refugees are putting pressure on everything. The healers are overwhelmed. The kitchens are using supplies faster than expected. We have soldiers guarding the temporary camps day and night, and those soldiers are being pulled away from their normal duties.”

My stomach tightened. “How many?”

“Enough that I’ve noticed the difference during training.”

Abel dropped into one of the chairs. “And they’re noticing too.”

I looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“The Moonstone wolves.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “They’re talking. Some think the Rashford pack brought the Chimera to our gates. Others think we’re going to be forced into a war because we let them inside. And the Rashford wolves hear those rumors. They’re already frightened, Kade. Some of them are beginning to wonder whether Moonstone will actually protect them.”

Sorian nodded. “They have children sleeping in tents. They have no homes to return to. They’re surrounded by wolves who don’t know whether to trust them. It’s a dangerous combination.”

I turned to the window. From this side of the palace, I could see the temporary camps spread across the lower grounds. Fires burned between rows of tents. Healers moved from one shelter to another. Wolves carried water and supplies. Children slept beneath blankets taken from Moonstone’s own stores. They had arrived with nothing, and now they were consuming what little we had.

“Are the soldiers ready for Nero’s return?” I asked.

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