Chapter 576: The Questions That Refuse to Answer

Chapter 575: The Questions That Refuse to Answer

For a moment, no one said anything.

Annabeth was still chuckling rather maniacally.

Eldric cleared his throat.

It was a small sound, but it carried.

"...Is she alright?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

Ronan glanced at him, then at Annabeth, and shrugged.

Annabeth let out a breath that sounded halfway between a laugh and disbelief. She raised a hand and wiped lightly at the corner of her eye.

"Sorry," she said, her voice softer now. "I didn’t mean to... do that."

"No," Ronan said immediately. "Please, by all means, continue. That was entertaining."

Sophia snorted.

Annabeth shook her head, though her smile didn’t quite disappear.

"It’s just..." she started, then paused, collecting her thoughts. "I cannot believe this."

Her gaze moved to Sophia again.

"To think that the person they have all been following..." she exhaled. "And the real one is standing right here."

Her voice shifted then. The warmth faded, replaced by something sharper.

"Do you have any idea," she continued, "what the Enclave will look like when they find out their precious leader is a fraud?"

No one answered.

They didn’t need to.

Annabeth let out a quiet, humorless laugh.

"I always knew there was something wrong with her," she said.

"The way she carried herself," Annabeth continued, her voice tightening. "Like no one could touch her. Like she was above everything. Above everyone."

Her jaw clenched faintly.

"And the things she did..." she added, her eyes darkening as she spoke.

"She would walk into a pack," she said, "and pick children. Just like that. The ones she liked. The ones she thought were... suitable to warm her bed. There was no hesitation. No remorse. No regard for the parents."

Ronan’s expression hardened.

Eldric went very still.

"She demanded loyalty in the form of fear," Annabeth went on. "Taxes that bled smaller packs dry. And if they refused..." she gave a small, humorless smile. "She destroyed them. At some point, she started infecting them with the curse."

"She killed anyone who stood against her. Anyone who argued that her ways were wrong. And her warriors followed in her footsteps, taking children, bleeding packs dry, and due to how much poverty the packs ended in, some even willingly started selling their children for food."

Her fists clenched tightly. "Bloody bastards," she said.

Silence followed.

Sophia felt like her ears were ringing. Perhaps Annabeth was wrong. Perhaps it wasn’t true. No one could be that vile. But then a part of her argued that people could be that vile.

"I can’t wait," Annabeth said, her voice low, "until she gets what’s coming to her."

Sophia let out a soft chuckle at that.

There was a heavy weight in her chest, one she couldn’t quite explain. Perhaps it had to do with how familiar the name Victoria sounded, or perhaps it was the fact that Victoria sounded like a nightmare—like someone who should be living among the beasts of Nirvana and not with other people.

She wasn’t quite certain.

But it bothered her.

And once more, she was reminded of the gap in her memories.

She was going to make a list of things to do: visiting the shrine, understanding the translations from the rocks and what they spoke of, understanding more about her being Luna, understanding why the goddess had picked her, and also getting her memories back.

Orion exhaled.

The sound cut through the tension.

"At the end of the day," he said, his voice calm but edged with something harder, "everything we’ve said so far is still just theory."

They all looked at him.

"Hypotheses," he added.

Eldric nodded faintly at the word.

Orion ran a hand briefly through his hair before letting it drop.

"And if that’s the case..." he continued, his gaze drifting slightly, "then maybe it’s time I had a conversation with the woman who calls herself a goddess."

Both Sophia and Madam Tyler reacted immediately.

They turned to him with frowns.

"At least speak with a little respect," Sophia told him.

"Until she does something to deserve it from me, then she isn’t going to get any respect from me."

Annabeth was taken aback by how Orion spoke about the goddess.

She turned to Ronan, who just mouthed long story to her.

"It’s obvious," Orion went on, gesturing lightly around them, "that the goddess has a hand in everything that’s happening. From the very beginning—though indirectly—but a hand all the same."

He looked at Sophia.

"She chose you," he said. "For a reason."

Sophia held his gaze.

"That reason isn’t something we’ve been given yet," he continued. "And at this point, I think it’s about time she starts explaining herself."

Madam Tyler’s lips pressed into a thin line.

"That is not how you speak of the goddess—"

"I don’t particularly care," Orion cut in.

"There must be a reason she chose Sophia," he said. "And if there is, then she should show herself."

"Preferably now," he added. "Before things get worse. And I suspect they will get worse, rather quickly too."

"I’m quite confused," Eldric said to him.

"Then let’s clear it up," Orion told him. "First, the Silver Creek Pack escaped from Victoria’s watch. I doubt Victoria would ignore that. She won’t sit back and pretend it didn’t happen."

Ronan nodded faintly.

"And there’s also the fact that Tobias betrayed her, and according to the way Annabeth described her, she doesn’t strike me as someone who handles betrayal calmly, especially from someone she was obsessed with."

"So... yeah, I believe soon Victoria may be coming for us, and we need to understand many things, so the goddess better show herself," he said.

Sophia stared at him.

"...Do you actually think," she said slowly, "that just because you’re standing in a shrine, the goddess is going to show herself?"

Orion shrugged.

"It’s worth trying," he said. "And I’m not saying she should appear here. I’m saying anywhere. But she better make it soon, preferably before it’s too late."

Sophia let out a breath.

"I understand wanting answers," she said. "Trust me, I do."

Her voice softened slightly.

"But you don’t have to be rude about it."

Orion glanced at her.

"I would have called it direct, but it seems you were speaking the truth when you said it was rude. But I don’t care either way," he told her.

Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We can figure things out ourselves," she said. "We don’t have to rely on her showing up."

Orion sighed then.

A heavier sound this time.

He dragged a hand over his face before resting it briefly against his temple.

"That’s the problem," he said quietly.

They all went still.

"The answers we need..." he continued, "...we keep getting close to them, and then they just—stop."

Eldric’s expression shifted slightly.

Orion gestured toward the parchments.

"We know about the Trine of Ash and Vein," he said. "But not enough."

Eldric nodded reluctantly.

"We know about Dolion," Orion went on. "But not everything."

"We know about Nirvana, the beasts and everything," he added, "but not enough to understand what we’re dealing with."

Orion’s gaze shifted to Sophia.

"You can translate a dead language," he said. "You are the Luna, but there is still so much we don’t understand. And goddess knows I don’t want you overworking yourself because of the burden she’s placed on you."

Sophia opened her mouth to speak when they heard footsteps approaching the table they were all gathered at.

Heads turned immediately.

The others knew who it was immediately.

But not Annabeth, and not Sophia—until she saw his face.

"Well, I’ll be damned," the man said with a laugh. "What’s Orion doing in a shrine? Who forced him?"