Chapter 201- Truth at the Table
Lexy
A week passed in a blur of recovery and rebuilding. The halls no longer echoed with the clamor of war, but with the sound of hammers, the voices of children, and the murmurs of leaders shaping what came next. And yet, through all of it, a secret pressed closer to the surface with every passing day.
I had hidden it as long as I could. Cloaks, layered garments, careful posture—little tricks that had fooled others, perhaps, but never me. Each morning, when I looked into the mirror, the truth stared back. The gentle swell of my belly could no longer be mistaken for anything else.
I was carrying again. And this time, I would not hide it.
The morning of the alliance meeting, I stood before the polished bronze mirror in my chambers. My fingers brushed over the fabric of the simple gown I had chosen—no heavy armor, no flowing cloak, nothing meant to distract. Only truth. The curve of my belly was visible now, undeniable.
CJ entered quietly, his presence filling the space as it always did. He watched me for a long moment, his green eyes unreadable. Then he stepped behind me, resting both hands gently at my sides.
“You’re certain?” he asked, his voice low.
I met his gaze in the mirror. “They deserve to know. To see me as I am. No more illusions.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Then we walk in together.”
His steady strength bolstered me, but as we made our way to the conference room, unease gnawed at me. These leaders had seen me unleash fire that scorched battlefields, had seen me fight until my body nearly broke. How would they look at me now—queen, warrior, mother, vulnerable all at once?
The hall was already filled when we arrived. Representatives from every allied pack and kingdom lined the great table, their faces etched with the weight of decisions that had yet to be made. They rose when CJ and I entered, the gesture one of respect, though I felt the scrutiny in every gaze.
I walked forward, spine straight, though my palms dampened. At the head of the table, I stopped, letting my cloak fall aside. Gasps rippled through the room. Murmurs followed, sharp and immediate.
“She’s expecting.”
“By the gods…”
“Has she been leading us like this?”
I raised a hand, and the voices stilled. My fire simmered just beneath the surface, not as a threat, but as presence, as command.
“Yes,” I said clearly, letting my voice carry. “I am expecting. I will not hide it, not from those who stand beside me. My children are not a weakness. They are the reason I fight, the reason I endure. And they are proof that even in the shadow of war, life continues.”
Silence followed. Then, slowly, heads began to nod. Some eyes softened, others remained wary, but no one dared to speak against it.
CJ’s hand brushed against mine beneath the table, unseen by others, steady as stone.
The meeting moved forward, shifting into reports of remaining skirmishes, supply lines, and the lingering fragments of Adrian’s shattered forces. I listened, spoke when needed, and guided where required. But beneath it all, I felt the shift—leaders glancing at me not just as a queen of fire, but as a mother bearing the next generation.
When the conversation began to ebb, I seized the moment to turn the table’s attention elsewhere.
“There is another matter we must face,” I said, letting my gaze sweep the hall. “The matter of Tarria.”
At her name, the room stirred. Some looked uneasy, others curious. Tarria herself, seated farther down, kept her chin high, though I could see the tension on her shoulders.
“You all saw what she unleashed against Kael,” I continued. “Power unlike any we have faced before. Smoke that smothers, darkness that bends to her will. It is a force both fearsome and untested.”
A grizzled elder from the Northern pack leaned forward, his eyes sharp. “And what guarantee do we have that she will not turn that force against us?”
Murmurs rose again, sharper this time. I caught the flicker of pain in Tarria’s eyes, though she kept her face impassive.
I stood, letting my fire rise just enough to command silence once more. “You question her because you fear her. But do not forget—she could have chosen to claim Kael’s place, to embrace the darkness he and Adrian offered her. Instead, she chose us. She chose loyalty to this alliance, loyalty to me, and loyalty to the lives we protect.”
Still, uncertainty lingered in the air.
It was Tarria herself who spoke next, her voice steady though quiet. “I don’t ask for trust I haven’t earned. But I will not run from what I am. If my power is to be used, let it be under your eyes, your judgment. Train me, test me—let me prove that I stand with you, not against you.”
The boldness of her words rippled through the hall. Some faces softened; others remained skeptical. But the seed had been planted.
CJ rose then, his presence commanding. “The alliance was forged to unite strengths, not cast them aside. Tarria’s power is not a threat to us. It is a shield—if she learns to master it. And she will not face that path alone.”
I stepped closer to Tarria, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Together, we will guide her. Just as you guided me when my flames threatened to consume us all.”
For a long moment, silence reigned. Then the elder who had spoken before leaned back, his expression grudging but not hostile. “Very well. Let her prove it.”
One by one, nods followed, some hesitant, some firm. The decision was made—not an end, but a beginning.
As the meeting adjourned, I caught Tarria’s eyes. Relief flickered there, but also determination. She had been given a chance, nothing more—and she intended to seize it.
And as I looked around the hall, at allies who had once doubted even me, I felt a strange certainty. Just as I no longer hid what grew within me, Tarria would no longer hide what grew within her.
The fire and the smoke—two forces born of destruction—would stand together as guardians, not monsters.
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