Defy The Alpha(s) novel Chapter 725

Chapter 725: Why Purple?

"This realm never stops surprising me," Asher said sarcastically, making sure his words carried through the library.

Violet could not fault him either, this was simply ridiculous. The Free Fae were incredibly short-sighted. How could her grandmother commit suicide just because her mother birthed her? Though she didn’t know the woman, it stung a little.

"It’s not suicide," Lila tried to come to Queen Elowen’s defense. "The gods simply took her upon her request."

But Roman snorted. "Whatever helps you sleep well at night."

Lila bristled at his words, saying defensively, "Queen Elowen was raised that way, so you couldn’t exactly blame her."

Except Asher turned slowly, his expression as dark as a brewing storm.

"Don’t," he said with an edge to his fault.

Lila frowned. "What?"

"Don’t use her upbringing as an excuse," Asher snapped. "Don’t dare use that as an excuse for her cruelty."

Everyone froze, stunned by Asher’s outburst.

He continued, his voice rising with each word, "My father raised me to believe women were things you disciplined, not people you listened to. By your logic, should I get a pass for that?"

Lila didn’t answer, the silence suffocating.

Asher continued, his eyes burning, "Should I be excused if I raised my hand to Violet? Should the gods nod and say, oh, it’s fine, that’s just his mentality?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Lila’s mouth opened, then closed.

"No," Asher said harshly. "Because upbringing only explains behavior, it does not justify it. Nearly everyone is raised with poison of some kind, and what matters is whether you drink it or spit it out."

"Damn," Roman muttered under his breath, impressed as shit. Then he raised a hand to support Asher, saying, "preach, brother."

Asher wasn’t finished.

"Queen Elowen wasn’t a child, but a ruler. A Queen. She had the power, knowledge, and centuries to question her beliefs, instead, she chose to cling to them. She chose the dogma over her daughter, and in the end, even chose death over growth and responsibility. I’m sorry, but that’s not a tragic tradition, it’s cowardice."

Lila’s lips trembled. "You just don’t understand—"

"I understand perfectly," Asher cut her off. "Because I was given a similar kind of excuse growing up by my father, and I had to fight every day not to become the monster he expected me to be."

On cue, he looked toward Violet, his expression tender. "Being raised wrong doesn’t absolve you, it just means you were given a harder choice."

Then Asher shifted his attention back to Lila. "I know you want to preserve the memory of your precious queen, but refrain from feeding my purple queen such pathetic excuses. She has already received enough bullshit from the adults who were supposed to protect her. Don’t add to it."

And for once, Lila had nothing to say.

Nirmal stepped in. "There is no time for arguments. It’s important that the princess recognizes the faces of the ancestors who might help her."

"You mean the face of the ancestor who might help her," Alaric said sarcastically, "because so far, Queen Iskava seems to be the only one remotely welcoming. And even then, I worry her opinion would be drowned out by the others. If she wasn’t brave enough to speak up while she was alive, I wonder if she will now that she’s dead."

Nirmal said, her tone edged with irritation, "We’re looking at possibilities here, and she’s a good one. It’s up to Violet to convince her."

But the cardinal alphas had never been known to make things easy on anyone. Roman yawned and said, "I still don’t get the concept of my Violet having to convince these ancient figures that she’s worthy to rule when she’s their progeny. Don’t your ancestors have any sense of ancestral obligation to their own blood?"

Nirmal closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It’s the Trial of Ascension. They want to make the right choice."

Roman replied nonchalantly, "Then there shouldn’t have been a stupid trial in the first place. Violet is your heir, simple as that. It’s left to your people to get that into their heads."

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