CHAPTER 127: PLOTTING HER DOWNFALL...

They didn’t move right away.

Rick stayed kneeling for a beat longer, his head slightly bowed, his breathing uneven like he’d been holding it for too long. Emerald studied him for a second more, her chin tilted high, weighing whether to let him up yet or leave him there to stew.

Finally, she gave a sharp jerk of her chin toward the chairs near the low table.

"Sit," she ordered.

Rick obeyed without protest, rising slowly as if every muscle in his body ached from more than just kneeling. He crossed to the nearest chair and lowered himself into it.

Across the room, Darius moved to claim one of the other seats.

Emerald stood straight across from them. On the outside, she seemed calm and collected, but inside, her mind was racing.

If Rick was telling the truth, and she had enough years of reading his expressions to know he was, at least about most of it, then they finally had something they’d been missing.

An angle... a crack in Alia’s armour... a way to gut her game before she even smelled the faintest trace of blood in the water.

"We hit her before she knows it’s coming," Emerald said.

"That’s the idea," Rick agreed, leaning forward with his forearms resting loosely on his knees. "But right now... we’ve got nothing concrete. She’s smart, doesn’t write things down, doesn’t speak unless she’s in absolute control of the room."

Darius’ jaw flexed slightly as he spoke. "So we tread carefully."

Rick nodded once. "I’ll keep pretending I’m on her side. Keep the act going for as long as it takes. And the second I find something solid, something that could bury her, I’ll get it to you."

Emerald’s eyes narrowed just slightly as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, fingers loosely interlaced. "And if she figures out you’re not on her side anymore?"

For the briefest moment, something flickered across Rick’s face, and he hesitated. He glanced toward Darius as if considering how much he should actually say.

Darius, catching it, answered for him. "She’s unpredictable. That’s the problem. She could get violent, could turn sweet as honey. Or she could just burn everything down and walk away smiling while the ashes fall."

Emerald’s hands tightened together until her knuckles whitened. "Then I’ll make sure she doesn’t get the chance. Executioner’s blade... or a cell so deep she forgets the sun exists."

That brought the faintest smirk to Darius’s lips. "That’s the spirit."

They spent the next hour hammering out the framework of a plan: how they’d communicate without tipping Alia off, which intermediaries could be trusted and which ones to keep at arm’s length.

They discussed safe points, dead-drop locations, and a few coded phrases that could be slipped into conversation without suspicion.

Rick would never put anything in writing unless absolutely necessary, and when he did, it would be filtered through channels Emerald had full control over.

It wasn’t much yet... a skeleton at best, but it was something. Something they could build on.

When the outline was set, Rick stood.

For a second, he lingered there, his eyes catching hers with the faintest suggestion that he had more to say. But whatever it was, he swallowed it down. Without a word, he turned and left.

The silence that followed was almost a relief.

Emerald let out a long, controlled breath, leaning back into the chair for the first time since he’d entered.

Darius chuckled softly. "You know, I’m proud of you."

Her brow lifted. "For making a grown man kneel, or for not killing him on the spot?"

"For surviving him," Darius said simply, his tone losing all trace of a joke. "For still standing. You’re not the little girl I thought I had to shield from every sharp edge. You’ve got your own now."

Her lips softened at that, and something unspoken settled between them. "Thanks... for standing by me. Especially when my father wasn’t here to."

His expression warmed further. "Always."

She blew out another breath and leaned forward, resting her forearms on her thighs. "You’re probably wondering why I came back so soon."

"I am," Darius admitted with a nod. "No word ahead of time, you just showed up at the gates."

A faint smirk tugged at her mouth. "I figured. You all don’t want me hanging around here anymore."

"That’s not true..."

"Relax," she cut in, the smirk shifting to a wry smile. "I’m joking. Mostly. Truth is... I’m done. With all of it. It was a crazy idea from the start."

Darius’s frown deepened, his attention sharpening on her. "What happened?"

"Adrien," she said flatly, no hesitation.

His brows rose, though his eyes narrowed just a fraction. "What about him?"

Emerald leaned back, crossing her legs. "He switched, decided he wanted his old mate after all."

Darius’s mouth pulled tight. "You’re saying—"

"I’m saying I watched him stand beside her in the ceremonial hall," she cut in, "and call her his Luna."

"That doesn’t make sense," Darius said slowly in disbelief. "Adrien’s reckless, jokes a lot and flirts, yes, but... I didn’t think he’d ever—"

"Well, he did." Her tone was clipped, final. "And before you ask, I don’t care why. I’m not interested in whatever half-baked excuse he’d come up with."

Darius studied her for a long, quiet moment. His eyes searched hers like he might still find something softer beneath the hard edges. "You’re hurt."

"I’m annoyed," she corrected instantly. "Angry. It feels like... Rick and Alia all over again. And I’m done. No more romance. No more men."

That earned a low, faint laugh from him, though there was nothing mocking in it. His eyes stayed steady, sympathetic. "You know... if you want, I can go put him in the ground."

That startled a real laugh out of her. "Tempting."

"Just say the word," Darius replied with a shrug, as though the idea wasn’t entirely a joke.

"I’ll keep it in mind."

For a moment, they sat in silence. But it wasn’t awkward this time; it felt comfortable, filled with trust and the kind of ease you get from having been through a lot together.

Eventually, Darius tilted his head, breaking it. "So, what now?"

Emerald tapped her fingers lightly against her knee. "Honestly? I’m not sure. But this place could use some life. It’s been too damn quiet lately."

"You’re thinking of a celebration?"

"I’m thinking we could all use a distraction."

His mouth curved knowingly. "Well... the winter solstice is close. Perfect excuse for a week-long festival. Big gala on the night of."

Her expression brightened just slightly. "Now that... I can get behind."

"I’ll handle the arrangements," Darius promised, leaning back in his chair. "You just decide what you want to wear."

Emerald smiled, though her mind was already drifting elsewhere. Back to Adrien. Back to the image of him standing there with another woman’s hand in his, the hall lit in gold, the words ’my Luna’ spilling from his lips.

Even when she didn’t want it to, her mind still wandered there.

---

Her expression brightened just slightly. "Now that... I can get behind."

"I’ll handle the arrangements," Darius promised, leaning back in his chair. "You just decide what you want to wear."