Nefarious

C188 - Kai's secret visit

-Alex's point of view-

When meeting with my parents, I expected Xylan to be there as well. However, he didn't arrive until minutes later when they'd both left. His piercing stare felt different this time, and that being without having seen it directly. Although I tried, I couldn't seem to meet his eyes; he purposefully avoided it. Both his hands were covered in grazes which looked like nails had caused them. The grazes were fresh for certain as they were still healing. I looked closely at them from a distance, catching Xylan's attention eventually. Clearing his throat, he pulled his sleeve further down to cover his hands. "You wanted to talk, Alexander?" he said. I shrugged at his voice, meeting his gaze finally. "Where have you been? You're late," I scoffed. "Oh, I suppose I can't blame you due to your lacking skills at leading. As the leader, I have many things to take care of, meaning I can't come running to you every time you want me to. I have responsibilities, brother," he answered, leaning against the meeting table. Even his way of speaking was off, both his tone and his references to me being his sibling. "Where were you?" I asked, my brows drawing together in scepticism. He let out an annoyed chuckle, giving me his infamous death glare. "I suggest you stop questioning me before I decline your request to talk. Time's precious, you're not. So, it's only logical that I would prioritise the practical alternative. Don't you think?" he said.

Despite my strong desire to confront him further, I stopped questioning him. I knew all too well that he would take his anger out on Valerie rather than me if I'd continued to irk him. He knew the reasoning for my wish to talk, and so he pulled out a bunch of papers stating Rain's restrictions. "She committed a serious crime, Alexander. If you came here to defend her, it might give me a reason to investigate you thoroughly. I would find it quite suspicious if you sided with the bad guys," he said, handing me the papers. Choosing not to reply yet, I fiddled through the endless pages, seeing lots of new restrictions which didn't even exist when I ruled. "I see you've changed a lot of our rules and added some of your own. Remind me, isn't that against the rules itself?" I asked. "I got several of my requests accepted when you stopped showing up to our meetings to spend time with Valerie. By isolating yourself, you played yourself. It seems mother doesn't favour you over me anymore," he scoffed softly. "Seems mother doesn't pay much attention anymore," I mouthed to myself. "What was that?" Xylan asked. "I have to go; I won't vouch for Rain since she's obviously in the wrong this time. Please accept my apologies," I paused, "brother."

-Valerie's point of view-

Rushing down one of the hallways, I ran directly into Alex accidentally. "Where's Rain?" Alex blurted out stressfully. I instantly looked over at Xavier, but he didn't return the glance. "It's too late, Alex, we have to outsmart Xylan's next move quickly," Xavier answered. Alex's confused facial expression faded into a blank and unreadable one in a matter of seconds. "Xavier, show me the goddamn note right now," he said calmly, though with a demanding tone. Xavier's hesitation didn't last long once he noticed the flicker of deep annoyance on Alex's face. Pulling the note from his pocket, he finally handed it over to Alex. "No, no, no," Alex stuttered, clenching his fist so that the note almost tore. "Be careful! It's plain evidence," Xavier squeaked, grabbing the note momentarily. "When we were looking for evidence about Xylan cheating the voting system, Vera told Rain about a code engraved in Jace's bracelet. If Rain still had that bracelet when getting caught, then Xylan must know we're all after him," Alex said worriedly.

Although my curiosity was killing me, I didn't ask Xavier about the note. The fewer knowing about it, the better considering Xylan's love for manipulation. Alex and Xavier said they would handle that situation by themselves. Meanwhile, they sent me wandering to look through the room we were in earlier, more specifically, the place where Rain got caught. Jogging down the stairs to the basement, I spotted a guy with a caps on his head and dark clothing downstairs. He looked informal and like he was in a rush, and I didn't think too much about it at that moment. However, he forced me to question him once he pulled out a note from his pocket. I immediately presumed it was one of Xylan's spies attempting to hide the truth from the public eye, so I reacted impulsively by grabbing his arm. I came to regret my decision once he roughly pulled back me gripped my neck firmly. "You won't get away with it!" I groaned. The firm grip of his loosened the moment he heard my voice, letting me escape him completely. Looking up in confusion, I saw him removing his caps to reveal his identity. "We don't have much time," he said, looking directly down at me.

Seeing Dane standing right in front of me, I stuttered some incoherent sentence out. I tried asking him why and how he was here, but I failed miserably. "You have to listen to me, Valerie. Xylan is threatening us daily, targeting my sister particularly. My people are going crazy, and I can't stand it for a day longer. I have the evidence of the rigged voting, but if we don't bring it in time, then we won't be able to stop him. He's planning on releasing hell tomorrow," Dane explained. "I'm glad you found it, but a piece of paper isn't going to strip him of power momentarily. It'll start a long investigation, allowing him to prepare himself for further allegations. We can't do it yet; we need even more proof that he's immoral and corrupt." Dane let out a sigh of frustration before he ran his hand through his hair. "I should tell you about something," he said vaguely. With a pause lasting only a couple of seconds, he proceeded to say that I couldn't get many details. "Basically, Kai came to our castle, and I reckoned it concerned a serious matter, but I didn't realise it was as bad as it turned out to be. You're not going to take this very well, but trust me when I say someone else will take it much worse, Valerie."