Intoxicating Desires | T. Al Ghul ✔

[47]

Talia was feeling rather down by the time she returned to the base after entrusting Veruna to Saahir. It felt as if she had cut out a piece of her heart and left it with the man she once considered a lethal enemy. But the decisions had been made and she couldn't back off from her own words by then.

So all she could do was return to the base and resume her life as the Al Ghul heiress, all the while making sure that no one suspected why Veruna was no longer there. She had told Ra's that she was sending the woman out on a personal mission for her and Veruna wouldn't be back for a long time. But Talia was well aware that excuse wouldn't hold out for long. She would have to think of something else in a while.

For the time being, she stuck to that story and days passed in a dull monotony. Deep down, she too had that instinctive feeling that something terrible was in store for the League but she could no longer contact Deathstroke so she had no idea what the mercenary was up to. 

She had a feeling that he wasn't up to anything that could be beneficial for her. Dusan had been right in warning her that Deathstroke couldn't be trusted; she constantly had the suspicion that he would end up backstabbing her.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened in the days that followed but she was still on her guard. On one such evening, she was met by a very unbelievable sight as she was taking a walk through the courtyard to relieve her mind of some of her worries. 

She found Jason and Damian sitting together and playing chess which was quite a refreshing change from finding them constantly being at each other's throats.

The cold barrier between the boys was very evident to everyone around them and it seemed clear that they disliked each other a lot. Right then, they were not only peacefully sitting together, but they were also quite engrossed in chess, Damian's favorite pastime.

Damian was a chess master from a very young age; he used to play with his grandfather whenever the old man had time to spare for his grandson. As a result, he was quite good at the game and had finally found something at which he could beat Jason.

The only problem was that Jason was quick at learning and was now giving him a fair match.

"My boys," she interrupted the thoughtful mind battle going on between them as she took the seat beside Damian, "what an interesting way to spend this evening."

"Mother, would you like to join us?"

She nodded, knowing nothing else could be a better distraction, "certainly."

She sat in silence, observing the two at their game although they had offered her to play. She noticed that Damian was as always playing strategically but Jason was not making any foolish moves either.

Both of them were not a match for each other but enough to keep up an interesting game.

"Check," Damian placed his bishop in the line of attack to checkmate the king.

However, Jason moved the knight and took down the bishop before that. Talia stilled, watching that move and although the boys were unaware, seeing that happen on the chessboard made her realize something she had overlooked.

Damian won that game eventually but Jason had given him a fair competition, keeping his king from being captured for as long as possible.

"Checkmate!" The younger of the two remarked in triumph, looking over at his mother as if expecting her to congratulate him.

But he paused seeing Talia's face go pale as a sheet and she stood up with her hands slightly shaking in worry.

"I will be right back, you two carry on," she told them, dismissing Damian's concern as she left in a hurry.

A frown had settled on Damian's face as if not pleased by his mother's sudden decision to leave. He swatted Jason's hand away as he was about to rearrange the players on the board.

"I am not in the mood to play anymore," he sulked, "you may leave."

Jason followed his gaze down the corridor where Talia had gone and he understood the reason behind his sudden deflection in mood.

"She's worried that's why she left so abruptly," for the first time in weeks, he spoke out of his own accord to the little demon brat, "something bad happened to her."

"Nothing happened. Stay out of this," Damian warned, a wave of possessiveness engulfing him but Jay's words made sense too and he didn't look like he was merely assuming carelessly so Damian paused before asking yet again, "how can you say that with such certainty?"

"I know... I saw it in her eyes."

"She's my mother, I know her better than you would!" It was quite clear that Damian was getting angry at him again.

Jason stood up, not wanting to set fuel to an already blazing fire. But he couldn't help but add a last statement, "you should at least check up on her. As you said, she's your mother. You should know."

Damian's eyes blazed but he stormed off after Talia, not turning to spare him even a single glance. But Jason expected him to take his simmering anger out on him later soon as he got the chance to do so.

The Al Ghuls seldom forgave and they never forgot. That little menace was going to be more of a pain in his ass than usual due to their current talk.

But he could hardly care less. Jason was accustomed to even worse situations, the demon brat had nothing on him.

On the other hand, Talia had gone to the Throne Room where a messenger had come from Cape Town in the utmost urgency. She paused in alarm to see his disheveled attire as it seemed he had been injured on the way there.

Ra's Al Ghul was seated on his throne and seeing his daughter enter as well, he finally gave permission to the messenger to speak.

"Master... Pardon me... I... I bring terrible news..."

"What happened?" Talia demanded, feeling her nerves contract from anxiety.

"Deathstroke... Deathstroke and his legion attacked the secondary base," the messenger choked out those words before falling to his knees, "forgive me, my Master and my Lady... But I couldn't have reached earlier..."

Talia stood rooted to the spot, shocked by what she had just heard. 

Her suspicion had been right and Deathstroke had indeed backstabbed her. Instead of following the plan and laying low for the time being, he had gone rogue and struck Dusan's base as a clear act of defiance toward Talia.

But Ra's and the others were not yet aware of their alliance and she knew Deathstroke could use that to his advantage as well.

However, the messenger's next words drowned all the other worries as one greater threat dawned upon them. "Master Dusan got severely injured and Lady Nyssa might not be able to hold siege for long... Please do something to help them... Master, please..."

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