Chapter 1286

Chapter 1286:

“Three treacherous sons! Ungrateful whelps who bite the hand that raised them!” Our father’s laughter scraped against the stone, bouncing through the dungeon’s darkness like the wail of something broken.

“Mark my words! When I escape this tomb, I’ll flay the flesh from your bones and rip every sinew from your worthless bodies!”

Veins burst crimson across his eyes as they bulged grotesquely from their sockets, foam and spittle spraying with each venomous word.

“Enough!” Bryan’s command cut through the madness like a blade through silk. He whirled toward the guards, ice crystallizing in his voice. “Watch him like hawks. No visitor enters this cell.”

We departed without ceremony, our footsteps the only sound breaking the suffocating silence. Our father’s ravings faded behind us until the heavy iron door slammed shut, swallowing his hatred in metal and stone.

Fresh air met us like salvation as we climbed toward the conference hall, leaving the dungeon’s poison behind.

Makenna’s beloved cup sat exactly where she had left it on the polished table, the ghost of her lips still clinging to the porcelain rim.

My hand moved before my mind could stop it, fingertips brushing cool porcelain that sent ice racing through my veins.

Memory painted her in this very chair—sometimes lost in contemplation, brow furrowed, other times blessing us with smiles that could heal wounded souls.

“Ahem.” Clayton’s gentle cough shattered the spell, pulling me from the past back into harsh reality.

I jerked my hand away, forcing my scattered thoughts back into order. “Marehelm bleeds from fresh wounds of war, and the people’s faith hangs by threads. If we keep the king caged here too long, those threads will snap into rebellion.”

Bryan’s fingers drummed against the polished wood, his brow furrowed in the familiar lines of deep calculation.

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Silence stretched between us until Bryan finally rose, decision etched into his features. “As Lycan’s eldest prince, duty binds me to escort the king back to the palace and crush whatever threats still breathe. But Makenna…”

“She lives!” The words exploded from me as I shot upright, my palm crashing against the table like thunder. The precious cup trembled under the violence of my conviction. “Marehelm will be my battleground until I find her.”

Clayton’s head lifted in firm agreement, resolve hardening his jaw. “Marehelm needs steady hands to guide it, and her search demands relentless hearts to drive it. My place is here beside Dominic.”

Bryan’s eyes shifted from my face to Clayton’s before seeking refuge in the world beyond the window. His throat worked as though a thousand words fought for release, but only a whispered sigh escaped his lips. “So be it.”

Dominic’s POV:

At first light, Bryan’s troops slowly led the prison carriage through Marehelm’s gates.

The iron chains clanged harshly while our father kept shouting from inside the cage.

Concerned about unrest in Marehelm, I told Alice and Evie to take Winfred and return with Bryan to the Lycan palace.

Clayton and I stood atop the front city wall, watching them fade into the horizon until the dust finally settled.

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