Chapter 287: Blasphemy in the slums.

Achilles was unsettled, his instincts screaming at him. There was no way in hell Elliot was sending his men out of the goodness of his heart. Elliot did not forgive. Period. If anything, the guy was probably an accomplice to the whole crash! If he was sending people out, it was to finish the job. His eyes widened at the conclusion.

He lifted his hand and called Hunter via a private line that only the two of them knew. The call was answered almost immediately, but all Achilles heard was the sound of gun fire and heavy thuds.

"This better be a dying situation, cousin," Hunter’s voice growled through the speaker, sounding wildly out of breath. "Otherwise, I’m a little busy here trying not to get killed by a bunch of idiots."

A wet slice echoed over the line as Hunter calmly cut the throat of the last of Kidman’s man that came up behind him.

"Grandfather’s plane crashed somewhere in the wild lands," Achilles said directly. "I’m leaving the valley right now to go find him and Maverick. Elliot is sending his men out here to help the search team, but I am pretty sure he is up to no good."

On the other end of the line, Hunter completely froze. The chaos around him faded into background noise as the worst possible thoughts flooded his mind.

"Look," Achilles said gently, "I know you want me here in the shelter. If I had left without telling you, you would have broken my nose once you returned so I had to give you a heads up. I’ll find him, Hunter. I promise...just stay on your mission. Don’t rush back, because you will not be of help anyway. I am going to get some of our best trackers on the case. We have twenty salamanders, ten will be assigned to tracking grandfather down. I will handle this and inject every resource we have into it."

"Okay and do not tell my wife just yet that you are leaving the valley." Hunter grunted softly, nodding into the empty air.

Achilles hung up quickly.

On his end, Hunter stared at his link band, standing amidst the bodies of his Kidman’s slaughtered, lifeless men. A heavy knot of regret tightened in his chest. What if the old man was already dead? There were so many things Hunter had never said to him. He hadn’t even introduced him to Zyra yet! He had not explained his reasons for leaving like that either.

"Hey," Nero punched him lightly on the shoulder. "We moving or what?"

Shaking the dark thoughts from his head, Hunter gripped his blade tight, adjusted his helmet, and forged forward into the mountains. The sooner this mission was finished, the sooner he could join Achilles on the search.

*****

Everything was moving on so well for Trinity that she had decided to take a full day off just to sit back and enjoy Sabrina’s deep, delicious woes.

The Mayor had played his part perfectly, clamping down hard on the news media and covering up the real details of the plane crash. The few rumors allowed to circulate were all pointing fingers directly at Sabrina Kaelion for trying to murder her own father.

People were already boycotting Apex products and demanding for her to be investigated. Elliot’s missing hand and rumors of murder were also circulating. The Kaelions were in the spotlight and all for bad reasons.

Trinity reclined in a long, cushioned lounging chair, staring at a round table in front of her that looked like an absolute fruit feast_ stacked high with grapes, sweet moon-melons, and juicy peaches.

Julia stepped up quietly, pouring rich purple wine into Trinity’s glass.

"You really outdid yourself, Julia," Trinity purred, taking a slow sip and sighing in pure satisfaction. "That concept of yours was completely foolproof! I honestly can’t wait to see how Sabrina digs herself out of a hole this deep. If she doesn’t go down, her son will." Trinity suddenly sat straight up, her dark eyes narrowing into sharp slits. "You know, maybe we should just go ahead and finish off Captain Tyson as well." She gave a light shrug, taking another grape. "He was practically on death’s door when the Indigo Guild found him anyway. Finish him off before he wakes up and tells a different story from what we are telling."

She paused, looking up at Julia. "Did our people find the plane yet?"

Julia nodded smoothly. "Yes, Divine maiden. It fell in a slave territory called Alphips. The salvage team reported that it was completely empty. There was no need to even initiate contact with the locals in the area where it landed. Ralph and Maverick must have been thrown out as it fell, there is no way they survived."

"Good," Trinity smiled, swirling the wine in her crystal glass. "Let the wild beasts chew on their bones. And I....I will gear up to swallow everything the Kaelions own, starting with Apex."

Suddenly, Julia’s face shifted, her calm expression twisting into something deadly serious. ℯℯ𝘭.

Trinity set her glass down with a soft clink, her eyebrows knitting together. "What is it? Don’t ruin my good mood."

Julia got her phone, switched it on and held it out. "We have a budding problem, Divine maiden. In Alcania, the largest low-born district in the capital." She had to include such common details because Trinity rarely kept useless information on low-borns like that in her mind.

"What could those peasants possibly do to bother me? Is it the rumored plague?" Trinity scoffed.

"Look at the reports from our spies down there." Julia said gravely. "Overnight, strange graffiti appeared on the city walls. Writings claiming that the Somnivores are not evil monsters_ and openly calling the Soul Maidens traitors." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Word is spreading fast through the slums. The commoners are whispering that all the Somnivores ever wanted was to live in peace and harmony with humans and the humans betrayed them. That the first Soul maidens under Eve Johnson stole something precious from the Somnivores, which escalated the war between our races."

"WHAT?!" Trinity shrieked. A half-chewed piece of grape popped right out of her mouth, bouncing off her chin and landing pathetically on her golden plate. Trinity bounced up from her chair, her luxurious silk robes flowing wildly around her as she stomped across the marble floor. "Those filthy, ungrateful, low-born insects!" she roared, her face turning red with fury. She slammed her fists together. "How dare they question the Soul Maidens?!" Trinity spat, her eyes burning with pure malice. "Julia, take the enforcers down there right now! I want every single one of those blasphemous fools slaughtered!"