Avian lay beside Onyx in silence but it was a comforting one. He knew very well he was letting his guard down and letting the mating bond and his heart control his rational thinking but he wanted to enjoy it for just one night, he wanted to feel her in his arms and enjoy the warmness of her body beside him but in the back of his mind he wanted to leave, knowing it was the most logical thing to do because he couldn't risk getting distracted by her when they were on the verge of a disastrous war 'but one night with her wouldn't hurt' he thought as he admired her red hair sprayed on the bed and on his chest as he brushed it with his fingers feeling the softness of her lush thick hair.
"Avian." He heard her call out his name softly as she stared at him with her bright blue eyes, smiling at him. 'Shit! Just stay silent' Avian thought inwardly. "Have you ever thought of having a family?" She continued and Avian sprouted up as quickly as lightning from the bed and immediately started putting on his clothes as he was obviously ignoring her questions. He'd have loved more than anything to have a family with her but he couldn't lie to himself because he knew that they would never get a happy ending. Happy endings weren't meant for demons.
"Goodnight Onyx." He said with a cold stare as he walked out of her room leaving her confused, his actions made her flutter her eyelashes in sadness because she couldn't recognize him whenever he acted so cold and emotionless towards her. He should have known better that he was dealing with Onyx and she wouldn't stop nagging him about living their lives peacefully like they were normal human beings when they weren't and problems wouldn't stop paving way in their lives.
It was morning and Lothaire summoned everyone into the meeting hall including the King and the Queen. They all knew that he suspected one of them for the attack on Larisa but no one knew who it was and everyone waited in suspense for what might happen. Larisa stood beside Onyx as she watched Lothaire stand in front of them as he spoke.
"As you all know, you're all summoned because one of you attempted foolishly to kill my breed mate and your foolish act has deadly consequences to it." Lothaire said with a dark voice that made spines chill and the air became tense.
"How sure are you that one of them tried to kill your breed mate, I doubt anyone would be so reckless to do that." The King declared and Larisa's eyes moved to him and she was shocked to see him looking as young as Darius along with his wife which was different from what she had seen the first time she came to Empire D at the ball and she realized that it must have been an illusion because of the human guests present that day.
"How else did they know where to attack Avian and Onyx as well as Larisa...Because they have a secret informant as well as a traitor." Lothaire hissed with contempt, clear in his voice as he spoke and the air grew eerie.
"It seems like you know who the traitor is." The Queen stated with curiosity as she managed to push aside her fear of the devil's son. Lothaire's golden eyes shot up to her as he said,
"Of course...It's none other than your loving daughter." Lothaire said with a sardonic grin making him look like the devil himself. As soon as the words left his mouth, the Queen and the King had a devastated look on their face because they knew that Lothaire would never let their daughter live but there was nothing the king could do about it but the Queen on the other hand couldn't watch her daughter get killed heartlessly. Valerie was already anticipating her death since the other night, running away was out of option because wherever she went, Lothaire would find her and no one would be able to save her so all she really wished at that moment was a quick death but as soon as her name rolled out of Lothaire's tongue, she felt her knees turn weak and her whole body shook in fear as she slumped on the floor with her head lowered both in shame and fear and her actions made it visible that Lothaire's accusations weren't baseless.
"Please spare my daughter Lothaire, I'll do whatever you ask of me I beg of you..." The Queen pleaded as she knelt on the floor in front of Lothaire with teary eyes while the King stared at her with a distressed expression, he was heartbroken that his daughter was given a death sentence by Lothaire but he knew that no matter the pleas, he wouldn't bat an eyelid and fighting him wasn't an option, so all he could do was stare at his daughter one last time as she cried for her life that was going to be snuffed out by the prince of darkness and then he averted his gaze to her older brother, Darius who just stood there with a blank expression as he watched, he couldn't blame Darius for not doing anything to save his sister because they all knew that there was no redemption for her. Darius felt a sting of pain as he looked at his sister's teary eyes but he had warned her thousands of time and she didn't heed so she'd have to bear the consequences of her actions, but still, he had always been her big brother and protector and now he was just watching her die without doing anything to save her since fighting Lothaire wasn't an option and it was impossible for him to forgive her. His sister's black eyes locked with his and he averted his gaze as memories of their childhood became vivid in his mind, he could still remember when she was born, he was nineteen at the time and he could remember how tiny she was when he carried her in his arms with her doe black eyes staring up at him and he made a silent promise to himself that he'd protect her no matter what. The more he thought of it, the angrier he felt with himself knowing that he failed to keep that promise.
"She attempted to kill my mate knowing fully well it'd cost the lives of her loved ones as well as the extinct of her kind for her own selfish needs and yet you plead mercy for her?" Lothaire's voice was low but hard as he glared at the pathetic woman kneeling down in from of him and he scoffed darkly.
"I know but she's my daughter." The Queen begged for her daughter's life as she sobbed heavily and Larisa felt immense pity for the woman rather than her daughter.
Lothaire's gaze averted to Darius and he could see the pain and anger twisted in his face and he almost laughed wickedly but he didn't, knowing that he had been quite loyal to him and he had grown a liking to the lad already.
"For the sake of Darius..I'll show mercy." Lothaire said and everyone's eyes widened in disbelief because Lothaire showing mercy was as impossible as the earth being a square in shape and they almost couldn't believe their ears, even Darius stared at him in dismay, the Queen's sobbing stopped as a hopeful smile was replaced on her face instead and Valerie's eyes looked like it was going to pop out of her socket as she had a hope filled face that she was given a second chance but Avian knew better than anyone else that Lothaire showing mercy wasn't any good news as he had known him the longest.
"You're going to show her mercy?" Darius repeated in utter disbelief as if he hadn't just heard him loud and clear.
"Of course..I'll make her death very quick and painless." Lothaire said with a sarcastic grin as his golden eyes had a glint of darkness and everyone's amazed face turned into a disappointed one but Avian wasn't in the least shocked as he watched the ongoing drama with a stoic expression while he inwardly prayed for it to end so that he could enjoy his time in silent peace.
"No no no please don't...Not my daughter please...." The Queen begged as she held the edge of Lothaire's sleeves but he yanked her hand away violently as he walked over to a sword collection and took out a sharp, golden sword and he admired it for a second before pointing it towards the direction of Valerie and she moved back instinctively in fear as she whimpered. He moved towards her and everyone watched since there was nothing they could do about it. Zion admired Lothaire a lot but whenever he saw him change to pure darkness, he couldn't help it but shiver in fear and Onyx as usual was always scared of him while Adina had a twisted look on her face as she watched.
Valerie tried to run as fast as she could when she saw Lothaire charge towards her with an air shilling aura and his golden eyes burning like hell which made her whole body shiver in terror but as soon as she reached the door in inhumane speed, Lothaire caught up to her within a second and the slicing of metal through flesh could be heard and gasps followed. They watched as Valerie's head neatly came off her neck and blood spurted out of her dissected neck as her body limply slumped to the ground with a soft thud, slowly getting covered in a pool of her blood and Lothaire's eyes darkened in excitement as he grinned devilishly.