Luna. Chapter 190

(Kael's POV)

The door to Adrian's private quarters was unlocked.

That should have been my first warning.

I pushed it open slowly, every sense alert for potential threats. The room beyond was dimly lit by a single lamp, casting long shadows across expensive furniture.

The suite was larger than I'd expected, with a sitting area, private office, and what looked like a bedroom through an open doorway.

But something was wrong with the atmosphere. The air felt heavy. Oppressive. Like the space hadn't been properly ventilated in days.

"Adrian?" I called out.

No response.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me. My enhanced hearing picked up the sound of breathing from the bedroom. Slow. Labored. Unhealthy.

That's where I found him.

My brother was sitting on the edge of his bed, head hanging forward like he was studying something in his lap.

"Adrian."

He looked up slowly, and I saw immediately that something was very wrong.

His face was pale, almost gray in the dim light. Dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn't slept in days. His skin had a waxy quality that reminded me of serious illness.

But it was the marks on his skin that made my blood run cold.

Black lines traced up his arms like branching veins, disappearing under his shirt sleeves. The pattern was familiar. Disturbingly familiar.

I'd seen it before, years ago, when we were children and our grandfather had been poisoned by political enemies.

The toxin tracks were unmistakable. Someone had been systematically poisoning my brother.

"How long?" I asked.

Adrian's voice was barely a whisper. "What?"

"How long has someone been poisoning you?"

"I... what are you talking about?"

I moved closer, studying the black markings more carefully. They were definitely toxin tracks, the kind left by certain supernatural poisons when they accumulated in the bloodstream over time.

The pattern suggested months of exposure. Small doses administered regularly. Designed to incapacitate rather than kill.

"The fatigue. The confusion. The difficulty making decisions. How long have you been experiencing symptoms?"

Adrian tried to stand up, swayed slightly, then sat back down. "I don't know what you mean."

"Look at your arms, Adrian. Look at the markings."

He lifted his left arm, staring at the black lines like he was seeing them for the first time.

The confusion on his face was genuine. Whatever had been done to him had affected his ability to recognize his own symptoms.

"I thought... I thought they were just stress marks. From the pressure of ruling."

"They're not stress marks. Someone's been dosing you systematically. Probably for months."

"That's impossible. Everything I eat, everything I drink, it's all tested—"

"By who?"

Adrian's expression shifted as the implications hit him. "By the palace staff. By my advisors. By..."

"By General Cassius."

The name hung between us like an accusation.

"Cassius wouldn't..." Adrian started to say, then stopped. "Would he?"

I thought about the syringe Cassius had been carrying in the courtyard. About his enhanced physical abilities that suggested systematic self-experimentation. About how he'd seemed more amused than concerned about being captured and interrogated.

About his year of providing intelligence that was accurate enough to be believable but strategically useless.

"Adrian, I need you to think very carefully. How many important decisions have you made in the past six months without consulting Cassius first?"

My brother's face went even paler. "I... I can't remember. Everything's been so unclear lately. So confusing."

"Because you've been systematically poisoned by someone who wanted to control your decision-making process."

"But why? What would he gain?"

I looked around the luxurious suite, thinking about all the orders that had been issued in Adrian's name. All the policies implemented. All the military actions authorized.

All the systematic persecution of supernatural communities that Adrian would never have approved if he'd been thinking clearly.

"Everything. He's been ruling in your name while you've been too sick to think clearly."

Adrian buried his face in his hands. "How could I not have seen it?"

"Because that's what this kind of poisoning is designed to do. It doesn't kill you quickly. It just makes you dependent on the person administering the antidote."

"Antidote?"

"The green liquid in Cassius's syringe. I'm willing to bet he's been giving you regular 'medical treatments' to help with your symptoms."

"The vitamin injections. He said they would help with the stress."

"They weren't vitamins, Adrian. They were temporary counteragents to keep you functional enough to sign documents and make public appearances, but not functional enough to question his advice."

My brother looked up at me with eyes that were clearer than they'd been when I first walked into the room.

The antidote was already working its way out of his system. Without regular doses, his natural supernatural healing was beginning to overcome months of systematic poisoning.

"Kael, if what you're saying is true, then everything that's happened..."

"Has been orchestrated by Cassius. The military actions, the political decisions, probably even this war between us."

"But why would he want us fighting each other?"

I thought about Cassius's research facilities. About his experiments on supernatural subjects. About his belief that creatures like us were enemies to be studied and controlled.

"Because a war between supernatural factions serves his agenda. Weakens us. Makes us easier to manipulate. Gives him excuse to implement increasingly authoritarian policies."

Adrian tried to stand again, this time managing to stay upright.

"We have to stop him."

"Yes. But first, we need to get you medical attention. Real medical attention."

"And then?"

"Then we end this. All of it."