CHAPTER 30: The War Room Part 4

A heavy silence hung in the air. The revelation of Alaric’s connection to Jace had landed like a thunderclap, sending ripples of unspoken tension through the gathered leaders.

James Castle’s gaze was locked onto Alaric, his expression unreadable but his mind clearly whirring. Max Thunder, ever composed, merely crossed his arms, while Luna Azulon watched with quiet calculation. Scarlett, who had just moments ago urged James to let go of his anger, now studied Alaric with new scrutiny.

Scarlett was the first to break the silence, her voice laced with disdain. "I should have guessed." She took a step forward, eyes narrowing. "Alaric Jamerson, how long have you known?"

Alaric didn’t so much as blink. "Known what, exactly?"

"That your son was involved in all of this. That he was working with Malrik."

Alaric leaned back slightly, adjusting his glasses. "News to me, Scarlett."

James’ voice was sharp, a blade cutting through the moment. "Then explain. How the hell does your son end up making deals with a Deviant like Malrik? Because right now, it sounds like someone has been keeping secrets."

Lexi interjected before the tension could escalate further. "Hold on—no one actually said Jace was working with Malrik. And I’m sure AJ…I mean Alaric would have told us if he was. That’s just an assumption for now and I have to remind you…we are only interested in facts.”

Alaric exhaled, the barest hint of a smile touching his lips. "I agree with Lexi. You all seem too eager to paint my son as the villain here."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes. "Well, they say the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree."

Before anyone else could add to the tension, a sharp voice cut through the air.

"You’re all wrong."

It was Emma. She had been listening to them bicker for the past 10 minutes, and she could not stand them badmouthing Jace. Since he wasn’t here to defend himself, she took it upon herself. Her face was pale, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and the words barely escaped her lips.

"Jace saved us. He saved Adelle, Uncle James."

Emma’s fists trembled at her sides as she continued, her voice crackling, raw with emotion.

"Adelle was dying. And I—I couldn’t help her." She swallowed hard, the weight of the memory pressing down on her. "Jace agreed to let Malrik go because it was the only way to save her. It was the only way."

She sat down putting her hands on her face, tears flowing down her face, unable to stop herself anymore. Frank seated beside her, placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It’s okay," he murmured.

James’ face twitched, his jaw clenched tight. But he said nothing.

Michael shifted in place, his expression determined. "Emma’s right." He took a deep breath, standing firm. "And it wasn’t just Jace alone. We made the choice together as a group. If he’s guilty of working with Malrik, then so are we."

His words settled over the room like a heavy fog.

Axel’s gaze moved from Michael to Emma, then back to Alaric. "So that’s the truth of it."

Max Thunder chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Well, this just got interesting."

Luna Azulon folded her arms. "Regardless of how we feel about Jace, one thing is clear: he’s a key player now. Whether we trust him or not is a question we can’t ignore."

Then Mael, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke.

“While all of you wasted time arguing, has anyone actually considered the obvious answer to all this? What if Malrik was the one responsible for the Deviants breaching the Dome?”

Everyone turned to him. Scarlett and James shared a side glance.

"Think about it," he continued. “From Julian’s very vivid memory, Malrik is clearly powerful enough to evade Kairos. The white glow? It could be some form of teleportation...we don’t know yet. But one thing is certain." He let the words settle before delivering the blow.

"Jace working with someone like Malrik doesn’t add up in any scenario you can think of."

A murmur ran through the room. Kairos for the first time had no words, no snarky quips. Mael rose to his feet in one smooth motion, his chair scraping back with a sharp screech.

"If I’m right," Mael went on, "Malrik may very well be the first evolved Deviant to have emerge. And if that’s the case… he might be the one leading them."

Michael’s eyes widened slightly as a fragmented memory surfaced. Mael explained it perfectly, almost like he was there. No, like he connected the dots to the story. He couldn’t believe it, at that time he was too distracted with the battle, he didn’t even pay attention to what Malrik said that day.

"Wait—yeah, that actually makes sense. Malrik called the Deviant we killed his pet.”

Mael smirked, slipping back into his seat with an air of satisfaction. “It appears I was right then.”

Axel glanced over at Mael’s direction, observing his smug look. An arrogant bastard, he thought but it had to said, he was a smart arrogant bastard. During the meeting he could see Mael was keen, observing every detail, processing the information he heard. Axel was doing the same himself but he could now see that he missed a few steps. No, Mael was a few steps ahead of everyone, even him. While everyone let emotions cloud their judgement, Mael analyzed everything to perfection like a highly skilled puzzle solver. 

Last year during the re-election, he couldn’t figure out why Luna nominated Mael to replace Max as a Four leader but maybe he had underestimated the young man. And not just him, he underestimated the initiates and most of all his son. James was right. He was too arrogant, too sure he had the situation under control. He should have interrogated them after the fight. At the very least he could have spoken to Michael but he didn’t. It was an oversight on his part. One he wouldn’t make again.

This perfectly shaped dome structure was under attack for the first time in a long time. This was war and if they were to succeed they had to change their approach to the situation and come up with new solutions.

The game was already underway and they were a goal down.

Time to make a comeback.