Thankfully, what went on wasn’t an explosion but it was almost as bad. It was a pulse that shook the entire hall.
Dust rained from the ceiling above her, and as she struggled to get her bearings back into place, she heard hundreds of footsteps directly above her.
"What was that?!"
Della froze at the first voice.
"The altar—!"
"MOVE!"
The trap around her ankle tightened as she instinctively tried pulling free to get away before they saw her but it was already too late. More pain exploded so much around that it nearly made her black out and tears filled her eyes instantly.
This was not supposed to happen!
Did the Claw Fang Pack set this trap here so anyone who tried to move the bomb would get caught? And why wasn’t it actually a real Moonfire bomb but a Moonfire pulse instead?
A deep cracking sound split through the chamber, drawing her attention once again above just as part of the altar floor above shattered open, and light flooded into the darkness.
Gasps echoed immediately afterward, and Della knew it couldn’t mean anything good. Not when hundreds of eyes were now staring at her, and from the way they stared, they looked accusatory.
Della Barrett, sitting beneath the sacred wedding altar and wearing a black cloak.
More evidence? She was holding Moonfire and the silver smoke was curling around her body.
The crowd instantly exploded into chaos, and it was her absolute worst nightmare. She could hear her heart pounding so hard.
"MOONFIRE!" A guest screamed.
"GET BACK!" Another added frantically.
"TRAITOR!"
Nobles scrambled away from the altar in terror while guards rushed forward, instantly drawing their weapons at her.
Della’s lips quivered from pain and fear as she stared above, thinking of what exactly to say to make them understand that it wasn’t what it looked like, when she saw her sister.
Beatrice.
She looked beautiful in her silk ceremonial robe, and Alpha Leopold Astridge stood beside her.
Alpha Augustus had risen from his seat, his eyes racking the scene below him with disbelief in his eyes.
And standing near the front was Alpha Malachi. The moment she looked at his direction, his cold eyes locked onto her instantly, and her breathing became even more frantic
"No—!" she cried desperately, trying to pull herself free from the trap, "No, I can explain—!"
Then someone screamed again,
"She’s wearing Claw fang markings!"
The hall went dead silent for a moment, and Della froze. Now trembling like a leaf, she looked down at herself and was so shocked the gasp got stuck in her throat.
The silver stitching inside the black cloak had begun glowing beneath the Moonfire smoke, and the stitches were actually symbols.
Clawfang symbols.
The Markings of the enemy!
"No..." she whispered, her blood running cold.
"No," Evangeline gasped somewhere above her, and Della snapped her head back up with hope shimmering in her eyes.
But absolute horror was what filled the Luna’s face as she stumbled toward the broken altar, "Della...?" Her voice cracked violently, "Tell me this isn’t true."
Della stared up at her in disbelief. The performance was flawless!
"You gave me this cloak—" Della tried to speak.
"She gave you WHAT?" Jaime shouted suddenly.
Della looked toward him sharply. He looked outraged, very much like the usual Jaime she knew, "You liar!" he snarled.
She shook her head again, "I—"
"I knew something was wrong when you kept sneaking around all day. I cannot believe my eyes! How could you do this? On your own sister’s wedding day?"
Della’s mind was beginning to spin.
No. no no no! This was all totally and completely wrong!
"I didn’t—"
"Search her chambers!" Someone barked suddenly, and the guards moved instantly.
The hall dissolved into panic and shouting around her while Della struggled uselessly against the iron jaws crushing her leg.
Then Beatrice stepped forward. She looked down at Della with hurt and tears in her eyes, and Della felt like a thousand knives had been struck into her heart.
Beatrice knew nothing, and now she also looked at Della like she had planned all this.
Della had not make her understand.
"It’s not what it looks like, I promise you!" Della cried out, yanking the robe off her body, "I would never hurt you on your wedding day, or any other day. This is all a planned setup. I’m a victim, Beatrice. Please, I would never dream of harming you,"
The look in Beatrice’s eyes didn’t change at all, and her voice shook softly as she spoke, "I defended you," Beatrice whispered shakily, "Even when everyone warned me about you..."
Della stared at her. Every word shattered her heart, "Beatrice..."
Beatrice reached toward her own neck and tore off a delicate silver pendant. It was something Della recognised immediately because she remembered spending the little she had to afford that necklace for Beatrice, as a wedding gift.
Beatrice held it up with shaking fingers, "I wore it today because it made me feel close to you, but I’ve been feeling quite weak all through the wedding and I wondered what was wrong. Thankfully, my husband here noticed and requested a healer to check up on me and find out what’s wrong. Turns out it was the necklace. Do you know what the healer found inside this?" She whispered brokenly.
A hidden compartment snapped open, and black powder spilled into her palm.
The crowd recoiled instantly, some covering their noses.
"Moonrot ash," Someone breathed in horror.
"It weakens wolf energy..."
Della felt like the floor beneath her had vanished entirely, "I didn’t know—"
"You expect us to believe that?" Jaime snapped.
"She’s been poisoning the wife of Alpha Leopold," Another noble hissed.
"How could one own’s sister do such a thing? Unforgivable!"
"Rotblood filth—"
"She tried to kill everyone here!"
Della’s vision blurred as the voices crashed into her from every direction.
Traitor
Monster
Rotblood
Murderer.
The guards that had left a while ago returned, holding several folded letter.
"Alpha Augustus!" He shouted, "These were hidden beneath a broken wooden planks in the girl’s room!"
The letters were thrown across the altar floor, containing broken seals, maps, and even enemy markings.
Della had never seen them before in her life!
They were even handwritten letters among the papers, to her utmost horror, the handwriting looked exactly like hers.
"Weak points along the eastern border..." One elder read aloud shakily.
"Guard rotations..."
"Moonfire placement beneath the altar..."
Della couldn’t breathe anymore and looked desperately at her father. If there was one person who could at least, stop all this and make everyone understand that this could all be a setup, it was him.
But Augustus stared down at her with an expression carved from stone. Disappointment, rage and humiliation shone through his eyes, and he looked ready to rip her into shreds.
The iron trap dug more into her ankle, and yelped once again. Her vision was gradually beginning to blur, but she couldn’t let herself pass out.
No way.
"No..." She said weakly, "I didn’t do any of this. I was just trying to—"
"Enough!" Jaime’s voice cracked through the hall like a whip.
Of course they wouldn’t ever let her finish.
He descended the altar steps furiously, looking at her as though she’d personally driven a blade through his chest. The slap she had been expecting finally came, and she was certain she saw stars.
"How long?" He demanded harshly, "How long have you been feeding information to Clawfang?!"