The Extra Wants Control

[Earlier]

Valeriana stood resolute, her gaze locked on Verona's crimson eyes. While Neveah remained unconscious, the two wom were locked in an intse gaze... There was clearly a lot that needed to be said.

"Why did you abandon your son, Rav?" Verona's voice calm and cold, hung heavy in the air. It was a question that broke the silce.

Valeriana flinched. The name 'Rav,' the name she'd chos for him before he was ev born. "It's a long story," she finally said, her voice heavy. "I had my reasons. But that was never my inttion."

"Well, we have time on our hands," Verona countered, a hint of emotionless sarcasm lacing her words. She gestured towards Neveah, who was unconscious only pulsating with the two opposing aura's."It'll be a while before he wakes up."

Valeriana was torn. A part of her recoiled at the thought of revealing her past, her mistakes, to this powerful vampire que, a literal stranger. Yet, Verona, the very woman who had nurtured Neveah all these years, deserved an explanation. If Verona hadn't tak her son in, hadn't shaped him into the kind of monster he became, what would've happed to him?

An overwhelming sse of gratitude battled with the shame of her past actions.

Verona watched her in silce, every cue she made either verbal or physical. She watched her looking for any sign of deception. If she lied...

Verona wouldn't hesitate to turn her away, to sever any chance of her forming a bond with Neveah if the explanation wasn't satisfactory. She was strong ough, powerful ough, to sure Neveah never saw his human mother again.

The silce stretched on, thick and heavy. Finally, Valeriana spoke, her voice barely a whisper. "It's because of his father and I," she began, the weight of the past crushing down on her.

"It all began," she started, gazing at the moonlight filtering through the window, "wh I was young. Advturers back th were a boisterous lot, loud and flamboyant. So, wh I met Ethan, his quiet and serious demeanor surprised me."

Verona raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity sparking in her crimson eyes. "An advturer who wasn't a braggart?"

Why was Verona chipping into this story of Valeriana's? Well to get more reactions out of her she wanted to determine whether this woman was telling the truth or not... So by interrupting now and again and seeing the cues she made and as she was very ssitive to emotions she watched her determining whether this woman would indeed lie or tell the truth.

Valeriana was a monster as well as human leader she had various methods to protect herself wh she was lying but Verona could see through all of that... But Verona ev with all her brok powers can't naturally determine whether a person is lying or not and she didn't compell Valeriana either she was testing her.

Valeriana said. "Precisely. He was serious, almost somber at times. It turned out his life hadn't be blessed with the typical advturer's bravado. He was not an advturer by choice, it was the only option for him."

She paused, taking a deep breath as she braced herself for the next part. "His family, once promint merchants, fell from grace. His parts were… accused of serious crimes."

Verona's posture tsed slightly. "Crimes?" she echoed, a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice.

"Yes," Valeriana confirmed, her voice dropping to a low murmur. "His father, a convicted felon and fraud. His mother… executed for treason and conspiracy."

" They were a promint merchant family that was tte best in the contint." Said Valeriana

"A merchant family?" Verona repeated, incredulous. "They were the best in the Human Contint, huh?"

Valeriana's crimson eyes gazed at Verona's with intt. "They were," she said, devoid of emotion. "But their success turned to ruin just as swiftly. One day, they were revered, the next, they were ostracized, their name forever tarnished."

The weight of the revelation hung heavy in the air. Ethan, Neveah's father, was not just an advturer with an unconvtional personality; he came from a disgraced family, his backg shrouded in the taint of crime.

Valeriana pressed on, her voice gaining a melancholic rhythm as she narrated the past. "Ethan, despite his somber demeanor, possessed a quiet determination. He wasn't the most naturally gifted advturer, but he cultivated his skills diligtly and that drew me to him.

Our fridship blossomed into love..." She said in disgust and continued in a gtle smiles," and soon after, we were blessed with Eliana, our firstborn."

A flicker of warmth, a fleeting emotion foreign to the usual stoicism etched on Valeriana's face, appeared as she spoke of her daughter. But the warmth quickly faded, replaced by a cold face.

"It was after Eliana's birth," she continued, her voice dropping low"that I finally revealed the truth about myself. I told Ethan about… my lineage."

Verona's eyes were cild as she looked at her waiting for her to continue

" That I'm a descdant of the human royal family."

"The palace," Valeriana continued, her voice trembling slightly, "was hesitant at first. Ethan's family history cast a long shadow. But slowly, through his kindness and unwavering loyalty, he earned the respect and love of the court and family. It took time, years of investigation, but his parts were prov innoct. They were… framed."

Verona just looked at her their gazes were cold as they they looked at each other.

Valeriana reached out, her hand hovering over the ornately carved bed frame pointed at Neveah. "T years later, Rav was born," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "My son."

The mtion of Neveah's birth name hung heavy in the air. The silce stretched on, thick with unspok emotions both from Verona and Valeriana.

Verona quickly regained her composure and she had to take a deep breath before continuing. Her voice heavier than usual as she spoke. "The day Rav was born..." she began, her eyes glisting with unshed tears. "Ethan... he wasn't there by my side like wh we had Eliana... This time it was me and the old maid.

Still I successfully gave birth to my child."

Valeriana shook her head, the memory etched painfully into her soul. "Just the palace staff and I. We were celebrating the birth, filled with joy, wh..." Her voice trailed off, replaced by a shuddering gasp. "Explosions. Screams. Smoke.

Fire. Blood. The palace was under attack."

Verona raised an eyebrow. "Attacked? Who would dare attack the Royal palace? You're Royal faction should be strong right?"

"No one knew," Valeriana confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "The attackers moved with efficicy. The palace was sealed by a barrier artefact, cutting off any outside help. The Clan Elders, our strongest pillars, were on a pre-planned retreat. And I… I was weaked from childbirth, was the 'strongest' person left."

A bitter laugh escaped her lips, devoid of humor. "The strongest against a force led by… my own husband."

Valeriana shook her head, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "I don't know. All I could do was try and protect Rav, shield him from the madness that had gulfed our home. So I gave him to a maid eho wt and hid with him"

"Thankfully," she continued, her voice trembling, "the palace wasn't fully occupied. Just servants and a few distant relatives. But the attackers…" she faltered, unable to finish the stce.

Tears streamed down Valeriana's face. "Cough..." she composed herself wiping her tears th continued."Th I confronted the attackers, a whirlwind of fury and desperation." Her voice hitched, "I fought them… killed them."

Valeriana took a shaky breath. "Ethan," she said the name with spite and hatred. " I was betrayed..."

Verona said, "Why? Jealousy? " she asked, her voice low.

Valeriana nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "He couldn't keep up with me, with my lineage, my talt, with… everything. He was consumed by it."

The air crackled with unspok words. Years of restmt, of a love turned sour, hung heavy in the silce that's if there was ev love to begin with or she was just used by Ethan to get out of poverty.

"But it wasn't just that," Valeriana continued, her voice barely a whisper. "During the fight, he…" she faltered, her hand clching in rage as she remembered.

"He took Eliana hostage, classic cowardly move" Verona finished, her voice cold.

Valeriana confirmed though surprised with a single, slow nod. "It's good she was unconscious and doesn't remember anything. I still don't know how he did it, how he got his hands on her ev though I protected her but… he did" she said.

"He threated her life," Verona concluded, her voice laced with fury. "To break you."

Valeriana managed a weak nod. "He… he used her unconscious form. I saved her, but…" her voice trailed off again.

"But it cost me, I was injured and my cultivation regressed to 9 star."

" That means she would be an star by now if she hadn't spt time healing... She would have be the youngest star ever! Impressive... She is indeed a monster" Red eyed Verona commted internally.