Chapter 94 - The hidden hands that lurk under the shadows

The only thing that she could do now, was to get back to Polis and gather the armies, before marching to Arkadia, and that was exactly what Lexa did. Despite everything that she had witnessed there, Lexa still couldn't believe that her friend, her mentor had betrayed her, and for what? A boy that she had slept once or twice over her, the rightful ruler of the coalition? As she was gently caressing the hair of her blonde girlfriend, Lexa heard a knock on her door.

The flamekeeper, Titus walked inside the room, and as soon as he glanced at the commander, his eyes narrowed at the girl in her arms. While he didn't voice it, she did spot a flash of what could be disappointment in his dark eyes before his face got completely blank again as if everything was just an illusion.

"We have a problem bigger than what Skykru did, commander."

"I agree with you, but this does not only concern Ontari, Titus. She may be night blood that Nia had kept hidden from us, but that doesn't mean she would inherit the flame once I die. Until we resolve the Skykru problem, I will spend more time with the conclave, myself, and I will solely teach them their lessons otherwise, the care of the younger night bloods will be handled by someone else. Even though I trust you, we better make their job as hard as we can."

For a second Titus almost glared angrily at her and his breath became slightly heavier at the rather not-so-subtle lack of respect, but despite that, the man knew better than to argue with her. While it was his job to train the night bloods, what the current commander did, had cut his time and influence over them by more than half, then again, maybe it was for the greater good, at least until the whole Azgeda mutiny is resolved.

This might be the first time since she had met him, and yet today, for the first time in his entire life, Titus was left speechless by what he was ordered to do. Still, the look on his face almost made Lexa smile triumphantly at her revenge. After all, Titus was the only one to reject the relationship she and Clarke shared.

"That is all for now, Titus. You can leave, if I need anything else from you, someone will call you to me."

Titus wanted to say something, but the unwillingness that was clearly shown on the commander's face made him swallow his words before he stormed out of the room, not bothering to bow to the commander.

Sadly for Lexa and Clarke, the commander was called to answer the clans again. Not long after the guards escorted her to the throne room, Lexa looked at all of the angry representatives before she made her speech.

"I know that you are angry, because so am I. Skykru betrayed our trust and even massacred our people, not once, but twice and yet they still believe we will not retaliate, because we are scared of them. All they have achieved is proving that Skykru can become the next Mountain Men with their entire tech"

No one spoke or even yelled, but surprisingly enough, Roan, the prince of Azgeda walked forward until he stood just a few meters away from Lexa. She didn't know why would Roan do this, but whatever his reason might be, she wouldn't trust him that easily, not even after she swore to challenge his mother when she arrives.

"If the commander wishes, then The Ice Nation will stand side by side with the rest of the clans against this enemy that threatens our coalitions for a fair price, of course."

"Rise, Prince of Azgeda. What are wishing for in exchange for your support?"

"I want Ontari to be included in the conclave. It's her blood right, Heda."

She didn't like the girl, not even a little bit, but despite that, she was forced by their law to allow the Azgeda nigh blood to become part of the conclave. Then again, why not make sure that the girl wouldn't become an enemy, after all, no one says that she should join the conclave and the rest of the night bloods instantly. She needs to be tested before she would be allowed to take part in the selection, once Lexa dies.

"Before I agree with you, I want to talk with the girl in private, am I allowed to do that, or does Azgeda wishes to force me to accept their demands?"

Roan gritted his teeth for a second before he agree to Lexa, nevertheless, Ontari was part of the Ice Nation and she wouldn't betray them, no matter what Lexa or anyone else promises her.

Dismissing the representative and Roan, Lexa waited patiently on her throne for her guards to bring the night blood to her.

As soon as she was brought into the room, her dark eyes locked onto the seat before Ontari raised her face and looked directly into Lexa's eyes.

"Are you going to kill me now? Or what?

Even a child would have noticed the mocking edge Ontari used to address the commander. However, it was obvious that the younger girl was afraid but would never admit to it either. Her sudden arrival was already a sign that Azgeda was the one to send the assassins, not to mention hiding night blood that was supposed to be brought to Polis from the moment they were found.

Lexa stared down at the night blood meeting her mocking gaze that seemed unfazed waiting for the commander to order her death. Contrary to what Ontari and Roan hoped to happen, Lexa was neither dumb nor a hot-blooded person, besides she had her own plans that included the young nigh blood as well.

"You speak as if I was going to kill you. So let me ask you a question. Do you wish to die?"

Even though she didn't say it out loud, it was clear that Ontari didn't want to die, not now at least, and not by Lexa's hands, at least not before she got the throne. However, the commander wouldn't allow Azgeda to get their greedy hands on the throne and on the coalition, she knew that if Ontari wanted to have the slightest chance to integrate into Polis she would need to be honest with her so she simply waited in silence for the younger girl to explain herself.

"No, I don't want to die."

Her queen had planned everything, and if the current commander is foolish enough to allow her to become part of the conclave, then Ontari would challenge Lexa and take her place, getting rid of the Trikru influence in the coalition and their strange relationship with the Skykru.

"I'm glad to hear that, I truly am. I know that you are night blood and that it is your blood right to join the conclave, but if you were in my position wouldn't have you found this sudden arrival of a Nightblood, unknown to the flamekeepers, kind of strange and way too convenient?"

"I suppose so. I agree with you that my existence was hidden by my queen for this very reason, but until now, I don't think I've done something that would have made me a threat to the rest of the contestants."

"No, you hadn't done anything wrong, but you were brought here right after two assassins were found and a rogue army attacked the place where one of the children was recuperating after he was injured by an assassin."

"Does that mean that you will kill me in an accident? For example when I'm training or simply in my sleep by an assassin? After all, the alienage of those assassins wasn't found right?"

"If I wanted to kill you, I would do so by now. Rather than going through all of this just to find out that you are just a puppet in Roan's and Nia's grand scheme."

"I understand, Heda. Can I ask you something, not related to the conclave?"

"Ask."

"Now that Skykru had become our enemy, what are you planning to do with the bounty that is placed on their champion? Would you raise it or will you let it stay like that?"

"Are you interested in him? Or is this a way Roan wants to learn something about the man that beat him without even trying?"

"A little bit of both."

"To tell you the truth, there's nothing I or anyone in this city can do against Leon. He's way too dangerous to become our enemy officially and I'd rather not poke the hornet nest when I know that he's not part of this madness."

"I see…thank you for answering my question."

"You are welcome. You can leave now, also…your training starts tomorrow. Don't make me regret my decision."

(A/N: Would Ontari fall in love with MC or is this just a way for the ice nation to milk out more information about the boy that had made them bleed in the past couple of weeks? Stay tuned for the next episode of dragon... )

<Visit my patr3on for more chapters for this novel (at least ten chapter ahead - right now there are 30 more chapters than here - plus R18 chapters) >

< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>