Chapter 139: Who Can I Trust?

Adeline’s POV~

"Don’t say anything aloud," Adrian warned sharply through the receiver, his voice dropping into a lethal, terrifying whisper that made the hair on my arms stand straight up. "Answer me with one word. If it’s a person standing in the shadows, say yes. If it’s a device, say no. Can you do that?"

I swallowed hard, the metallic taste of fear coating my tongue, and forced a microscopic, broken whisper past my frozen lips.

"No..."

A heavy, suffocating silence stretched across the line before Adrian spoke again.

"So it’s a device."

I couldn’t speak. My vocal cords felt like they had been wrapped in barbed wire. Instead, I squeezed out a tiny, broken hum into the receiver to let him know he was right.

My eyes were still completely locked on the lamp. On that tiny, pulsing red light, blinking slowly, mechanically, in the dark.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

Who did this?

My mind was spinning so fast, crashing through a million different thoughts, that a wave of nausea hit me hard in the stomach.

Why would someone plant a bug in my room? Who would even have access to do that? Who else could it possibly be?

I tried to think it through logically, like I was trying to solve a complex puzzle at the academy, but every single piece I picked up felt like it sliced my fingers to the bone.

This was the dowager luna’s private estate. The absolute heart of the Second Throne’s home. Nobody walked in, and nobody walked out without her direct permission.

Even the domestic staff, the maids, and the guards were only stationed here after being vetted, background-checked, and re-checked a dozen times over. Only the most fiercely loyal people were allowed within these walls.

So who the hell was left?

The princes. And Gwen.

My chest tightened so hard it felt like a fist was crushing my lungs from the inside out.

And Gwen is the one who personally prepared this room for me. She was the one who chose it. She had it prepared for me. My hand flew up, trembling violently, to cover my mouth as a choked gasp escaped my lips.

So... did she bug the room?

Did she sit somewhere else in this massive, freezing house with a pair of headphones on, just listening to me?

The tears came before I even had a chance to stop them. They spilled over my lashes, rolling down my burning cheeks hot and fast, until they dripped off my chin and soaked into the collar of the t-shirt.

No. No, I refuse to believe it. I don’t want to believe it.

She had held my calloused hands in hers. She had hugged me tight against her chest like I was something precious, something worth saving. She had cried right along with me. I had felt the warmth in her embrace.

That kind of profound comfort couldn’t possibly be fake. It just couldn’t!

But then why in the name of the Moon is that mechanical wire sitting right here in my room?

"Adeline."

Adrian’s deep, steady voice suddenly cut straight through my spinning, chaotic thoughts, anchoring me back to reality. I frantically wiped my wet eyes with the back of my hand and pressed the plastic casing of the phone even tighter against my ear.

"Listen to me very carefully," Adrian said, his tone low, urgent, and razor-sharp.

"I can’t tell you everything over this phone. It isn’t safe, and God only knows who else might be piggybacking on this tapped line right now. So I need you to come out. Walk out of that estate. We’ll meet outside in the dark, and I’ll explain everything to you face-to-face."

I finally found my voice, though it came out sounding small, cracked, and pathetic.

"What? Right now? Tonight?!"

"Yes. Tonight. Before they realize you know."

"But I... how the hell am I supposed to get past the security? The guards outside—" I whispered.

"Don’t worry about the guards. Just listen to what I’m telling you and do as I say," he commanded, his voice deadpan and absolute.

"Call Sierra right now. Tell her you want to meet up for a breath of fresh air. Then, walk straight to the dowager luna, look her in the eye, and tell her you’re going out to see your friend. She won’t stop you, Adeline. She’ll let you walk right out those doors alone."

I stared blankly at the wall.

She’ll let me go alone?

No way. But why is Adrian asking me to call Sierra? It sounds like as if the dowager Luna would allow me to get past the security, if I’m going out with Sierra.

I violently shook the dark thought out of my head before it could take root and paralyze me completely.

"And remember every single word of what I told you," Adrian went on, his voice dropping an octave, becoming a lethal warning. "Trust absolutely no one. And that includes Sierra."

"Sierra is my best friend," I whispered back, the words breaking out of me before I could stop them. "She’s the only person who has ever had my back!"

"Maybe she is," Adrian said coldly. "And maybe she isn’t. Right now, in this war, I can’t afford to let you find out the hard way. Don’t say a single word to her about this phone call. Don’t mention me. Don’t utter a whisper about the note I left you. Call her, talk to her nicely, act sweet, and pretend like everything in your world is completely fine. Can you do that, Adeline?"

My fingers tightened around the edges of the phone so hard my fingertips throbbed.

Act like nothing happened.

My entire life just cracked cleanly in half, everything I thought I knew was a lie, a surveillance bug is pulsing red right across the room... and I’m supposed to just put on a pretty smile and play dumb? Yes.

"Okay," I whispered, forcing my voice to flatten out, making it sound a little lighter, a little steadier, mimicking the cold composure Adrian was demanding of me. "Okay. Where are we supposed to meet?"

"Just get yourself out of that estate safely," Adrian instructed softly. "We’ll talk logistics when you’re standing outside the gates. I’ll take care of the rest."

"But where—"

"Trust me, Adeline."

The line hitched for a fraction of a second.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. My heart was still hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal, but something about those three simple words, Trust me, Adeline, made the frantic rhythm slow down, if only by a fraction.

Trust him. Why does a terrified, stupid part of my soul desperately want to?

"Okay," I said again, my voice softer now. "I’ll see you soon."

Click.

The call abruptly ended.

I stood frozen in the middle of the grand, silent room, the phone dangling limply at my side. The room was dead quiet again.

Slowly, almost mechanically, I turned my head back toward the nightstand.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

"You’re listening to every single breath I take right now, aren’t you?" I whispered to the empty air, glaring at the pulsing red light.

Adrian want’s me to come with Sierra, but am not allowed to tell her about him.

My throat felt so tight it physically hurt to swallow. I took one long, shaky breath, raised my sleeve, and roughly wiped the remaining tear tracks off my pale cheeks. I paused and took a deep breadth to steady myself. I rolled my shoulders back, shook out my trembling hands, and tried to stretch my lips into a smile.

The first attempt looked like a grotesque grimace.

Do it again, Adeline.

The second try was a little better. More natural.

Just be normal. Be a simple, tired college student who just woke up from a nap and desperately wants to see her closest friend. That’s all you are.

I unlocked the screen, navigated to my contacts list, and found Sierra’s name. My thumb hovered over the green icon for a terrifyingly long moment. Then, I pressed it.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.

Pick up, Sierra. Please just be normal.

Click.

"Well, look who finally remembered that I exist on this planet!"

Sierra’s bright, energetic voice burst through the speaker, dripping with playful teasing and pure life. For a split second, hearing her voice hit me with so much emotional force that my eyes stung and I almost burst into tears all over again.

"I honestly thought you forgot all about me," Sierra rattled on, chuckling softly.

"I thought you got swept up living in that fancy royal mansion and I’d never get a call from you again. Do you know how many times I almost sent you a text today and then stopped because I thought, No, she’s probably too busy being a pampered princess to talk to a nobody like me?"

I let out a sound, a half-choked laugh that came out a little too shaky, but thankfully sounded real enough.

"No, of course not, Sierra. I didn’t forget you. I could never forget you."

"Uh-huh. Sure, sure." I could practically hear the wide grin spreading across her face through the phone. "So, what’s up? Are you okay? Did those four big, scary lycan princes try to eat you alive yet?"

My stomach violently twisted into knots.

She doesn’t know. She has zero idea what kind of nightmare is actually unfolding inside these walls.

Or... does she?

I shoved that paranoid, poisonous thought down into the dark as hard as I could.

"Sierra, I’m fine," I said, keeping my tone light, airy, and breezy. "I was just sitting here thinking... maybe we could meet up? Tonight?"

There was a sudden, short pause on the other end of the line.

"Tonight?" Sierra repeated slowly, the playfulness draining out of her voice. "Like... right now?"

"Yeah. If you’re free, of course."

Another pause. This one stretched out, lasting much longer than the last. When Sierra finally spoke again, her tone had completely shifted. The teasing was entirely gone, replaced by something deeply careful, quiet, and guarded.

"Adeline... what happened? Is something wrong?"