The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman novel Chapter 296

~Vino~

Andrew and I moved to the lower level where the dark cells were situated. I could not wait for all of this to be over. Claudia had been strong, but I could swear there was fear in her eyes sometimes.

I was glad she was supportive and hoped we would survive this. I missed my girls, and I wondered how they were doing. The only thing that kept them safe was everything that made being apart from them unbearable: zero contact.

We could not call or visit. We wanted to avoid being traced or trailed. It was tough, and they were too young for this.

"Who is leading this questioning?" Andrew asked, and I wondered why it was a question, seeing I was easily the one in charge.

"Me, of course," I said, and he laughed.

"You seem like you want a pound of flesh from the guy. Hope you can keep your temper in check? I hope you know for this to work, we have to butter him up and make him feel comfortable," he said, and I nodded.

"Of course, I know that already, and I plan on putting my unknown skills to good use," I said, and we laughed. I wasn't good at pretending. I had tried, but most of the time, I came across as creepy. I hope to be convincing this time around.

.

"So what would you do when all this is over? The Stepanov movement has been your entire life?" I asked Andrew, and he shrugged.

"I plan to settle down and move on with my life. I am tired of everything, and what the King has done for my clan is a dream come true for most of us. Living in the shadows is not easy. At least now we can dare to dream big," he said, and it touched my heart.

I could only imagine what it must have been like for the very fair-haired and moon-coloured-eyed Stepanovs to survive. What my grandfather did was very cruel, and I hoped what Sylvester had done would redeem our bloodline.

We arrived at our destination. It was pitch black. There were lightbulbs, but we usually kept the place in darkness to help the prisoners reflect.

"Lights," I ordered the guards so we could see where we were going. There were only two people on this level, Melvin and Ighor. So it would be easy to know which cell to visit. The light was turned on, and even though it was dim, it still served its purpose.

Anything brighter might damage the eyes of the prisoners. Even though we knew they would be executed eventually, there was no point hurting their eyes before their execution.

A kappa led us to Ighor's cell, and I found him sitting on his bed, staring at nothing.

He was obviously in deep thought, and I could see he wasn't fully healed yet.

The silver Bryce used to bind him must have hindered his healing capability. It will take a while for him to heal if we leave him in chains, but that wasn't my concern. We were here to ensure Yuri sticks to his itinerary.

The cell was opened, and Ighor looked in our direction. He had snapped himself out of his deep thought. It was good to know we had his attention.

His eyes went from me to Andrew. He rested his gaze on Andrew with an expression that screamed betrayal.

We entered the cell, and I asked the Kappa to leave us.

"Ighor," I said, and he was silent.

"We are here to offer you a deal," I said, and he chuckled.

"I am not a fool, Volkov; I am not like my ancestor, whom your great-grandfather duped. I know Sylvester will kill me. Why let me live after all I had done?" He said, and that was my opportunity to work on him.

"Well, we are that desperate, Ighor. We are desperate enough to let you live if you help us catch Yuri. Sylvester and the Stepanov heirs do not want bloodshed. We won't go after anyone if we can lay our hands on Yuri," I said, and he looked at me, then looked at Andrew.

"Did you not tell them of the people's loyalty?" he asked Andrew, and Andrew sighed and moved closer to him.

"As things are, everything I know and believe was a lie," He told the man, and his eyes widened.

"Sylvester has indeed given us the West. Our people are settling there as we speak. Alexei and Clay are the rulers of that region, while Erik is the head Leader. Amelia is the head Luna and lady of the East. Her son will be Lord of the East, so we will have the East and West. We are free to settle anywhere we want and live normal lives. Our names and family history would be taught in schools. He has restored everything they took from us. What else do we want, Ighor? Gregory and Adrian fought for lordship, and Sylvester gave it to us. So what do we want?" He asked, and Ighor laughed.

"You are stupid, Andrew. The lordship given to us now differs from the one Sylvester occupied before becoming King. When Sylvester was Lord, he was Lord of all regions. He had power, ultimate power, and now he has turned that office into that of a king. What he is giving everyone now is just a ceremonial title and nothing more," Ighor said, and I interrupted him.

"I disagree. As the former head of the council and a part of Larry's uprising, I disagree." I said. Ighor looked at me with shock, and I nodded.