The moment Alpha Griffin stepped out again, Arthur immediately closed the gap between us and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You should leave now." He said quickly. "It won't be good for us if anyone else came in and still saw you here."

It was obvious that Arthur was scared of Pison. I sniffed, and cleaned the tears that streamed down my face... Alpha Griffin dared to touch what was precious to me, I would make sure that he experiences terror. Arthur shuffled on his feet, catching my attention once more as I turned to him.

"Can you take me to my parents? I want to see them." I said softly.

Arthur's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Pison has his men all over the place, it would implicate me if they ever saw us with them."

I sighed. It was true. Arthur might be respected, but Pison has supreme authority. His words were law.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to see my parents except Pison approved of it, another thought came to my mind.

"Can I have a piece of paper and a pen?"I asked.

Arthur raised a brow. "Is there something you want to tell them? You could just tell me and I would pass it on to them."

I shook my head. There was no way I would allow Arthur into the plans my parents and I shared. Although Arthur was already aware of my intention to get rid of Pison, I couldn't trust him completely, afterall he betrayed Eros. "Please?" I asked.

Arthur nodded and stepped away from me. He was gone for a few seconds, and returned with a piece of paper and a pen which he handed to me.

"Here." He said.

"Thank you." I took the paper with a smile and began to write a few things.

Arthur stepped back. He must have sensed my need for privacy as he didn't try to pry into whatever I was writing.

I wrote in coded words. It was something my mother would understand, but I doubted that my father would understand.

I wrote the new plan on how we could defeat King Pison. When I was done, I folded the paper and handed it to Arthur who collected it from me with a short nod.

"I'll also reach out to Adonis and Beauty like you wanted me to, but I can't promise you that they will listen to me."

Arthur looked away with the last statement. Adonis and Beauty still hated him for being a traitor. They wouldn't understand whatever explanation Arthur chose to give just the way I would never accept his excuses; however I needed him on my side to defeat Pison. Having Arthur on our side would mean we have gained more men.

Ryker was still indisposed. He was the only one who I couldn't give the antidote to properly, and Pison made sure he didn't recover his strength anytime soon by doubling the dose of wolfbane given to him.

I smiled at Arthur and finally stood up, pushing away from the dinner table.

"The night of the blood room would be a celebratory night." Arthur said softly "Pison intends to hide the ritual ceremony away from everyone else. The celebratory ceremony is just a font."

I nodded. That was a perfect disguise.

"I will have my men escort you." He said.

In less than two seconds, the same warriors who took me out of the dungeon entered the room and led me out. I followed them as we walked down the palace hallways.

I feigned weakness, the same way I did the first time I was brought before Arthur to avoid suspicions.

The moment I stepped into the cell, everyone welcomed me with a cold silence and curious looks.

I frowned. Something was off. However, I refused to pay heed to it as I walked off to a corner and sat down. For a long while, my gaze was fixed on the wall as I got lost in thought, thinking how we could impeach King Pison. The blood

moon was just a night away.

I was beginning to drift into sleep when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I jumped, startled.

“Shh!" Crystal said in a hushed whisper. “It's me."

I sighed and calmed down. "What is it?"

Crystal looked around and made sure others were still asleep as she continued.

"We had a meeting when you left." She started.

I raised a brow. “A meeting?" Crystal nodded.

That would explain the silence.

Crystal continued. "It's about what you said. Some of the women refused to support you, while others did. The ones who support you tried to convince others that you found favour in the eyes of Arthur." Crystal went silent for a moment. "But I fear

a few still hate you."

I felt my heart ease at the news. A few enemies were expected, what gave me joy was that I had gained more supporters.

I wasn't sure of the details but one

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thing's for sure, since Arthur had already given me heads-up that the blood moon was going to be a celebratory night. That meant rogue men would come for the women, and that would be the

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moment we strike the hardest.

“I understand. Thank you." I said to Crystal and gestured for her to go to sleep.

When she was comfortable, I positioned myself properly and slept off.

The next morning, I woke up with a terrified scream.

It was a bad dream. A warning from Hades...