Princess's Revenge: Slave to the Soulbound King Chapter 30

Draven

The interrogation chamber deep within Lycandor Keep felt suffocatingly oppressive as I settled into the stark wooden chair behind the heavy table. Unlike the ornate council chambers above, this room was built for one purpose: extracting truth. Bare stone walls absorbed sound, and the single brazier cast harsh, unforgiving shadows that seemed to press in from all sides. Vespera sat beside me, his emerald eyes reflecting the same grim determination that coursed through my veins.

I drummed my fingers against the scarred wood surface, each tap echoing ominously in the confined space. "Bring in Giselle," I commanded the guards at the entrance, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade through silk.

The heavy iron door groaned open moments later, and the young human maid was escorted inside. Even from across the cramped room, I could see her trembling—her pale face drained of all color, hands clasped so tightly before her that her knuckles had turned white.

"You know why you're here," I said, leaning forward slightly. The movement was deliberate, calculated to increase the pressure without appearing overtly threatening. "It was you who sprayed werewolf pheromones on Adelaide's clothing, wasn't it?"

The effect was immediate and devastating. Giselle's knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the cold stone floor with a soft thud. Her entire body shook like a leaf caught in a winter storm, and I could hear her ragged breathing even from my seat. Sweat beaded on her forehead despite the chamber's chill, and she seemed incapable of forming words.

Vespera leaned forward, his voice gentler than mine but no less serious. "Because of that pheromone bottle, Adelaide triggered the Wolf King's attack instincts. She was critically injured and nearly died." He paused, allowing the weight of those words to settle in the suffocating atmosphere. "If we hadn't arrived when we did, she would no longer be among the living."

That revelation shattered whatever composure Giselle had been clinging to. Her face crumpled, and tears began streaming down her cheeks in silent rivulets. "I... I didn't know... I never meant for it to... to result in something like that..." Her voice was barely a whisper, broken by sobs that seemed to echo endlessly off the stone walls.

"Who ordered you to do this?" Vespera's tone remained gentle, but there was steel beneath the silk—an unmistakable demand for truth that seemed amplified by the room's oppressive nature.

Giselle's crying suddenly stopped, and she looked up with wide, terrified eyes. For a moment, she seemed about to speak, her lips parting as if to form a name. Then something shifted in her expression—fear mixed with what looked like desperate loyalty. "It was... it was my own idea," she stammered, her voice so low I had to strain to hear it. "I... I wanted to do it myself..."

Vespera and I exchanged a meaningful look—we both recognized the deception immediately. I stood slowly, my shadow falling across the cowering girl. "I've already investigated you, Giselle," I said, my voice dropping to that particular tone that had made seasoned warriors confess their deepest secrets in this very chamber. "Your relationships within this castle are remarkably simple. Apart from Adelaide, there's only one person you're truly close to—a servant named Tristan."

Her reaction was explosive. "No!" The word tore from her throat like a scream, raw with panic and protective desperation. "It wasn't him! He knows nothing!" She scrambled forward as if to throw herself at my feet. "Please, don't involve him..."

I allowed myself a cold smile—barely a curve of the lips, but enough to convey my satisfaction at having found the right pressure point. "Bring Tristan here," I ordered the guards with a slight nod.

The iron door opened again, and two guards escorted a young man into the cramped chamber. The moment his eyes fell on Giselle kneeling on the floor, his face went ashen. "Giselle?" His voice cracked with fear and confusion as his gaze darted between her and me. "What's happening?"

I didn't give him time to think, to prepare lies or excuses. "Was it you who instructed Giselle to spray werewolf pheromones on Adelaide's clothing?"

"What? No! I know nothing about that!" His denial came too quickly, his voice pitched higher than normal. His eyes remained fixed on Giselle, and I caught something that chilled me—not surprise at the accusation, but panic at being caught. "She did it herself! I don't know anything!"

Those words hit Giselle like physical blows. She raised her head to stare at him, and I saw her heart breaking in real time. Her lips moved soundlessly, tears blurring her vision as she watched the man she loved throw her to the wolves without hesitation. The devastation in her eyes was almost painful to witness—the death of trust, of love, of hope all happening in a single moment.

I gestured to one of my guards, who stepped forward with a leather whip adorned with small metal barbs. "Give him some encouragement," I said coolly.

The first lash caught Tristan across the back, and his scream echoed off the stone walls, seeming to reverberate endlessly in the confined space. Giselle instinctively lurched forward to help him, but another guard restrained her, forcing her to watch as I continued the interrogation.

Tristan crumbled quickly—his resolve lasted only three strikes before he collapsed, gasping and broken. "Stop... stop..." he wheezed, blood seeping through his torn shirt. "I'll tell you everything... It was Liliana... Liliana commanded me to do it..."

Even expecting this revelation, hearing her name spoken aloud sent ice through my veins. Vespera's expression darkened considerably.

"She... she gave me a bottle..." Tristan continued weakly, his voice barely audible. "Said to have Giselle spray it on the human girl's clothes..."

I looked down at Giselle, who knelt in stunned silence, tears still flowing as she stared at the man who had just betrayed her so completely. Her eyes held a mixture of heartbreak and bitter self-recrimination—the look of someone realizing they had been a fool.

"Liliana," I said the name like a curse. Of course it would be her. The Wolf King's blood thrall, consumed by jealousy and twisted ambition. The pieces clicked together with sickening clarity.

Vespera stood and moved to Giselle's side, offering his hand. "Come," he said gently. "You've been manipulated by people far more dangerous than you understood."

As Giselle accepted his help to stand, I turned my attention back to Tristan, who lay curled on the floor, still whimpering from the whipping. "Take him to the dungeon," I ordered the guards. "He'll remain there until we decide what to do with him."

"And the girl?" Vespera asked.

I studied Giselle's tear-stained face, seeing genuine remorse and horror at what had transpired. "House arrest," I decided. "She was a pawn, not the player. And she had once helped Thalia." I stepped closer to her, and she flinched but didn't look away. "However, if you ever endanger Adelaide again—intentionally or otherwise—there will be no mercy. Do you understand?"

She nodded vigorously, unable to speak through her tears.

As the guards dragged Tristan away and escorted Giselle out, the interrogation chamber fell silent except for the crackling of the brazier. Vespera and I remained standing, both lost in our own dark thoughts, the oppressive atmosphere seeming to press down upon us.

"Liliana," Vespera said finally, breaking the silence. "She's been planning this."

"Indeed she has," I replied, my voice hardening with resolve. "And it's time we had a direct conversation with her." I turned toward the door and called out to the remaining guards. "Send word to Liliana immediately. Tell her she's summoned to the interrogation chamber. Now."

The guard bowed and hurried away to deliver the message. I returned to my seat, fingers drumming against the scarred table once more, but this time with anticipation rather than frustration.

"This should be interesting," Vespera murmured, settling back into his chair.

My lips twisted into a humorless smile. "Oh, I believe it will be far more than interesting. We need to find out if this was born of her own jealousy, or if she's merely a puppet on someone else's."

The game had just become far more dangerous—but now we held some of the cards.