Two more days elapsed, and still, the Lights denied my release from returning home. The Vampire Covenant wanted to personally speak with my husband, and the only way to do that was to keep me held hostage. At least, that's how it felt like to me since I longed to go home. Once Uncle Aaron heard Kai was on his way here, he left to check on the warriors in his Coven, as they returned from the war.
Steady footsteps approached the large doorway from outside the jail cell, grabbing my attention to glance up from my sketch as the steps drew closer.
"Kai..." My eyes brightened as he entered alongside Orlando.
Reminiscent of the stars twinkling in the night sky, a radiant gleam sparked in our eyes as they met. Without hesitation, Kai hurried to my cell and effortlessly broke the lock in half before the guards could unlock it.
In front of Orlando, I leaped into Kai's arms, embracing him as tightly as my baby bump would allow me to squeeze him. As one of his hands cradled the back of my head, he nestled his nose against the hollow part of my neck, peppering my skin with gentle kisses. With tender precision, kisses ascended along my neck until they reached my lips, where we shared a heartfelt kiss; the passionate sound from our lips echoed like leaves swirling in the wind.
"I'm sorry I left you here," Kai whispered, his lips grazing against mine.
"I understand why you couldn't be here," I murmured, gazing sincerely into his eyes.
In the periphery of my left eye, I caught Orlando's intense stare, entirely fixed on us. Envy swallowed him into an endless black hole where he deserved to rot.
Ignoring Orlando, Kai pressed his lips on my forehead, cradling me in his embrace. His musky scent enveloped every one of my senses, and I melted into his loving arms, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat dancing against mine. With him finally here, I felt a sense of security from his presence.
"Let's head home," Kai declared, slowly disentangling our bodies.
As we turned to leave, we encountered Orlando's eyes blazing with envy, burning redder than a blood moon as his pride got shaken. Pride in his snare on my heart is becoming Orlando's downfall. My affection for Kai struck Orlando like a slap in the face with the reality of knowing that the charm he wielded over my heart was faltering. Orlando realized his control over me was slipping from his greedy grasp as my bond with Kai grew stronger. One day soon, his snare on my heart will be inferior compared to my fated devotion to my husband. Unperturbed by Orlando's presence, we walked past him, heading towards the door until a vampire blocked the exit.
"The Vampire Covenant wants a word with you and Orlando," he demanded while his voice laced with an over-domineering sternness.
With a roll of Kai's eyes, we followed the vampire as he led us to the same room where they held my execution as the Headmaster Lights encircled both the upper and lower floors.
Around the strands of hair on my face, Kai's warm breath tickled my delicate skin as he muttered into my ear, "Stand here and don't move."
I nodded slightly, feeling his tender kiss on my temple.
"What is this about?" Kai angrily asked as he walked to the center with Orlando while I remained a few steps behind them.
Aside from my most recent time-gap, I've never seen Kai or Orlando stand so closely together. Undoubtedly, the hatred between them was evident as I noticed my husband's muscles intensely contracting through his suit.
Another Headmaster angrily hissed, "You've annihilated thirty-one planets on the Rebellion's side, and you dare question why we asked to speak with you both!"
"You have created a mess for us to clean!" Danny yelled. "You've triggered a two-sided war outbreak! A third war is inevitable!"
"Technically, Orlando established it. I only joined in on the fun and improved it," Kai nonchalantly shrugged, and Orlando rolled his eyes at his ignorant remark.
"No! You alone are to blame!" Danny retorted, his voice steaming with the edge of his fury. "I saw the visions Edgar foresaw! You'll do more damage with this established army over Orlando!"
"If you want to blame me, then fine! If you don't want these worlds to rain with fire in the near future, I suggest you leave my wife alone!" Kai cursed, promising chaos upon each realm.
"None of you grasp the severity of what you've all done!" Edgar fumed, standing alongside Danny, seemingly in agreement with him.
"We obeyed the laws of warfare!" Kai vehemently growled, "Enough humans got collected on each world we destroyed!"
"That should be more than enough to satisfy you all!" Orlando ferociously added.
Danny wisely interjected, "War spreads like wildfire. Once it's ignited, it's hard to contain, and for that, you both get equal punishment for the mess you've created before either of you has permission to leave."
"Punish us then! It doesn't matter to me," Kai voiced, softening his tone."What matters is that my wife is alive right now."
With that final declaration, Kai turned back with long strides and gently grasped my hand before zipping us back to the Collin-owned wing within the Palace.
Before we could enter our bedroom, Edgar appeared, his eyes scorching red. "How could you be so reckless? You put your wife in a dangerous situation! You destroyed too much! You only needed to sustain the Rebellion, not escalate us into a World War Three! You could have stopped the battle, but you continued it!" he snarled.
"I did what I had to! It was the only way to save her! Besides, you should be glad we spared the Vampire Covenants, unlike the Rebellion who took out your fellow Lights!" Kai's words unleashed his wrath, and my heart sank from heartache.
"What you've done will result in Victoria losing any small chance of receiving her votes, Kai!" Edgar spat out in anger.
"From my understanding, wasn't she going to lose them anyway?" Kai rudely questioned.
Edgar hissed, displaying his sharp fangs as he spoke, "You've triggered a potential third worldwide war. Now, everyone will only see her death as a solution to end it."
"That's what everyone already thinks with this rising Rebellion! We've known the war was bound to come, yet you all blindly deny that!"Kai growled in rebuttal.
Mad as ever in his contemptuous emotions, Edgar scoffed. Without another word, he dissipated into vapor. Not making a big ordeal about it, Kai shrugged off Edgar's behavior before we entered the bedroom.