Chapter 236
I don’t trust him.
Not even a little.
Shoal may have Wake’s face, his height, his build—but everything else? All wrong. He smiles too easily, talks too much, and looks at the rest of us like he’s already figured out the ending of a story we’ve only just started reading.
We sit in the stately conference room, surrounded by strangers who claim to be allies, under the gaze of a man who seems to know everything about us.
And yet, something about him feels off.
Shoal leans back in his chair, hands folded neatly in front of him as if he’s just delivered a bedtime story rather than a history lesson about a betrayed god and a conspiracy stretching across time.
Cora shifts in her seat beside me, her expression tight with skepticism. “So,” she says slowly, her voice cool and sharp, “say that we believed you that Leviathan was the good guy all along. You’ve gone a strange way about your little revolution, Shoal.”
Shoal shrugs. “History is written by the victors. I’ve come across enough people who believe in winning at all costs.”
Wake snorts, still standing behind my chair, arms crossed, his entire body tense like a bow pulled taut. “And yet, here you are not only relying on humans to back you, but of the several billion of them that exist, you throw yourself into Enigma’s corner?”
Shoal’s smile widens, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Ah. And there it is.”
I lean forward, narrowing my eyes. “Why are you working with them? With everything they’ve done to your people… to your own brother?” I gesture toward my mate without looking because I don’t need to see his expression to know it’s murderous.
Shoal’s eyes flick toward Wake. “It’s not about working with them. It’s about using them.”
Lily’s gaze cuts toward Shoal, but she doesn’t speak up.
“You’re threading a dangerous needle,” Cora says flatly.
Wake doesn’t move, but his voice is a low growl. “You found out about the Enkian war machines in their custody. That’s why you came. Isn’t it?”
Shoal actually looks pleased. “Very good, brother. I spent years tracking those ships down. Scouring ruins, chasing rumors, and cross-referencing anything I could find in ancient texts. Imagine my surprise when I discovered they weren’t buried under miles of ocean floor or tucked away in some uncharted trench… but in a private corporate human facility, collecting dust behind reinforced glass.”
Cora’s expression darkens. “And you just decided to offer them your services?”
Shoal’s voice is smooth, too smooth. “Enigma was a company bloated with resources and utterly devoid of understanding. They were all but begging for a guiding hand.”
“You mean your hand,” I say.
He nods once. “Precisely.”
“You said you’re trying to correct history,” I say, pressing. “So, why are you still mining Darklite? Why are you building weapons? If Leviathan wanted to elevate Enkians, why are you preparing for war?”
Shoal leans back in his chair, adopting a more imposing stature. “Because not everyone agrees with our mission. There will be pushback.”
“That’s a pretty tame way to describe the wrath of the gods,” I mutter.
Wake scoffs behind me. “And you think you can win? You think you’ll stand a chance against what’s coming?”
Shoal’s jaw tightens. Just for a second. He masks it well, but not fast enough to hide it from me—or Wake.
“My chances improve daily,” Shoal replies calmly. “More so now that I have you.”
“You don’t have me.” Wake’s voice is like steel.
Shoal’s eyes flick to him, cool and calculating. “No. Not yet.”
Wake takes a step forward, and the guards near the door stiffen. But Shoal waves them off with a casual flick of his wrist.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Shoal says lightly. “That I’m overconfident. That I don’t have the backing to pull this off.”
“You don’t. You’re counting on two of the smallest Clans and an Heir without a bloodline to keep you from being eaten by the devil, Shoal,” Wake snaps. “Perhaps if you had the Abyss behind you, you’d stand a chance, but not even your own Clan would agree to this nonsense.”
Shoal’s composure flickers. It’s a hairline fracture, just enough to make the room go still. But then he exhales through his nose and shrugs like it doesn’t bother him.
“Above all else,” he says, “Dagon values family. That has always been true.” Shoal steeples his fingers. “Because of that, the path to Heirhood for our family has always been both simple… and incredibly far-fetched.”
Wake’s arms drop to his sides, but the tension in him only sharpens.
Cora raises a brow. “That sounds a lot like deflection.”
Shoal glances at her, his smile sharpening at the edges. “Perhaps. But it doesn’t make it any less true. Frankly, the fact that even one of us managed to find our fated mate is nothing short of a miracle.”
And then he drops the real bomb.
“Unless something very unexpected occurs,” he says. “You, Wake, will be named Dagon’s Heir.”
The silence is immediate.
And chilling.
Wake’s entire body goes still. His face empties, his fists clenched so tightly at his sides I hear the leather of his gloves creak.
“You lie,” he says, his voice quiet and flat. “That’s not guaranteed.”
“It is all but so,” Shoal replies. “Of course, Dagon will make the final call, but with your mate being—inexplicably—an Heir in her own right…” His gaze drifts to me. “Well. The odds are now in your favor.”
A ripple of disbelief spreads across the room.
Wake stares at Shoal, silent, unreadable.
Then, without a word, he turns and walks out of the room.
The door hisses shut behind him, leaving a tension behind like a storm trapped in a bottle.
I sit there, stunned.
Cora’s face is pale. Her eyes flick to Shoal, narrowed, suspicious. She doesn’t trust him either, and now I know for sure—neither does Wake.
Shoal exhales slowly, glancing after his brother with something that almost resembles regret.
“Touchy,” he says under his breath.
I turn toward him, my tone razor-sharp. “Did you say that just to get under his skin?”
Shoal leans back in his seat, his expression unreadable once more. “No. I said it because it’s true.”
I look away, my stomach twisting.
I don’t know what’s more terrifying—that Shoal believes what he’s saying or that he might actually be right.
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