*Adriel's POV*
She wasn't my first kill,and even the most optimistic angels knew that she wouldn't be my last. I have had proud moments watching people battle the cold hands of death, but hers was an awful sight to watch. It gnawed at my soul and demanded that I care and do something more than watch the first step of my elaborate plan unfold.
But I reminded myself that it had to happen. I stared as her face turned awfully pale as the last tears rolled to the sides of her face. She breathed, and her eyes ran frantically around in confusion, and I prayed they didn't meet mine.
It did.
I don't even understand how her eyes manage to amaze me every single time. I wanted to wipe the fear out of those hazel magics, but...I wouldn't allow myself to move from my chair. My mind quickly changed when she attempted to get up. I rushed to her side faster than necessary,far faster than I intended.
"Kiara." I echoed, trying to motion her back to her seat, but she was stubborn; she wanted to go out. Maybe she wanted to go far from me; maybe she realised that I was the reason her insides were tearing apart. I froze momentarily, watching her attempt to walk straight.
At this point,the guests were more focused on us than Teressa and Charles announcing the winners of the competition. She staggered, but quickly regained her balance. That effort didn't last more than a second. Her next step seemed to be her last, and again...I rushed to help,to catch her, to try to save her. I didn't know how I could lie to myself so effortlessly. This was beyond betrayal of any kind. I might be beginning to feel remorse.
She lost consciousness and probably her very life in my arms.
"Kiara!!" Her father yelled, frantically rushing towards us. Several Whitman guards ran towards us,all their eyes fixated on her like a failed mission. Not like a dying woman,I frowned at them, almost angry that they couldn't protect her from me.
Denzel didn't take his eyes off her as he approached even closer, abruptly hitting a few nosey onlookers on his way.
"Bella…" He whispered and sniffed back his emotions.
He stiffened and shook his head,refusing to accept it. He started to spit out Spanish gibberish to the guards like a madman in desperation as I reluctantly let her into their arms.
The whispers rose, and somewhere in the crowd, I found Charles staring at me pensively. I glared at him and watched his gaze fall on Kiara being carried outside of the hall.
He stared at the scene with half concern and half of something else I couldn't dissect.
"Quite an unfortunate accident." Erica said, walking towards me with a sweet smirk.
Only then did I realise that the entire ballroom was focused on me,obviously suspicious of my involvement in the misfortune.
I sighed and decided it was time to go home. I was feeling my temper rise, and I had done enough damage for the night.
* * *
"Good morning, your highness." a maid greeted me as she cleared the table.
I ignored her and focused on rubbing the corners of my mouth for any remnants of blood that may have stuck on from breakfast
I lazily opened another article to read the latest events. It wasn't my habit to read printed rumours of misinformed reporters,but then again, there were bits of truth somewhere in the manuscripts.
All I was really searching for was the name of a certain damsel and updates about her. Or at least anything that said 'Whitman'. I told Charles I needed to know so I could be totally sure to advance to the next step.
He had found the articles and was giving them a rather questionable look in regard to this new hobby. I had to give some explanations, at the very least.
I stared at the words on the pamphlet in disappointment. Not one article had recent news of her. I pushed it aside and picked up the last article on the table. It read:
'The Royal Eye'
I braced myself for disappointment but was quickly interrupted by the Valerian quarrels. My mother was yelling at Hendrix, who was doing quite a remarkable job of ignoring her. I decided to keep reading, but the noise got louder by the second.
"I'm reading here." I warned. I was already frustrated and had zero energy to deal with my family, and whatever had happened should be resolved at least twenty feet away from me.
The Valerians were bold and had somehow trained themselves to not heed to threats.So in a short while, the room was filled with Hendrix's senseless pacing.
"Where is my ring? he asked, searching the library in a frenzy.
I glanced at the lawn outside; the sun was in its full glory. Reflecting on anything and everything. Ready to burn any vampire who dared step out. Hendrix will not survive two minutes out there without the ring.
We did not withstand sun as the rumours have so famousely said,we had rings to protect us from it.
I returned my attention to my article,seeing no need to give a reply or hint at where it might be. My sadistic side wanted him to feel just as frustrated as I was and go mad looking for his daylight ring.
My mother was the next to enter. She stomped in her anger,fuming heavily and glaring at the both of us. I had done nothing wrong—at least not to her—to deserve that look.
I stared at the article,a bit more frustration creeping in as I realised I had barely read a paragraph of "The Royal Eye."
"Are you still looking for your ring?" Mother asked Hendrix,sitting across from me.
Hendrix grunted loudly and threw a stack of books on the ground. He stomped back out as loudly as he came.
Finally, peaceful silence.
"Do you know that your brother wasn't at the ball with you!?" My mother said I picked up a random article I had discarded.
I seem to have spoken of peace a bit too soon.
"I did not." I urged myself to reply.
"Well,that is why you should keep an eye on him." She leafed through it and picked up another article absently. "He was with an actress that night,a class two vampire named Hilda. Can you imagine? He drags the good Valerian name through the mud with no remorse and doesn't even deny or regret it."
"I honestly doubt the phrase 'good Valerian name," I remarked.
She clicked her tongue and picked up yet another article.
"I cannot bring myself to believe that Hendrix passed the opportunity to attend a Grand Courtier hosted by the Siren Royals for a woman.It is no surprise they were chosen to host again; last year's was enchanting, to say the least. And the musical talents were mind-blowing."
Her last phrase brought back a memory from a night I avoided thinking of. A blindfolded lady with perfect hair,her lips slightly parted, playing the piano,Heaving her chest as if she needed more air than she was getting.
It was an extremely weird way to be seduced,but I was. I was craving more than I knew I should. I allowed myself to sink in the music and had decided that Kiara wasn't going to be any good to me if I had reacted to my urges. I refused to think about it further.I was only turned on because she was a beautiful woman and I like to fuck beautiful women.
The differences between Hendrix and me were many, but the most important was that I refused to act on impulse. She unknowingly tried my strength in that field several times that night. It was a dangerous play,I knew, but at the same time, it was innocent fun. And the mix of those two was a fine blend. It was not until she drank the poison that I remembered she was actually scheduled on my death list. Even so,I decided to keep looking for updates about her,and it was nerve-racking that I had found out nothing in the entire week since I last saw her. My spies said Alpha Denzel was more alert and doubled security around his castle.
He was like a wounded animal. He will kill out of mere suspicion and paranoia, and it is impossible to get anything from the loyal guards in the court. So here I was,listening to my mother as I read a boring article from the royal eye that seemed to not see very clearly.
"If I had known, I would have chosen to play the role of a nonchalant wife. No one seems to care if you boys threw a party after Arthur's death, but not me. I should mourn for months to prove I was a devoted wife and, indeed, a broken widow. I can not even attend my favourite annual event at this point."was the last I heard from my mother before the awkward pause.
I looked up at her and found a small smile on her face as she picked up another article.
"What is it? I inquired.
She placed the article in front of me without an explanation. My perplexation turned to annoyance.
"Again,what is it?"
"It is what you are looking for."
I stared down at the smudges of ink on the page and shook my head.
"I already read that one, and I highly doubt that you know what I am looking for."
"Oh, but I do,Charles told me."She smiled again.
I frowned. I was a hundred percent sure that Charles had told her his interpretation of what I was doing. And that interpretation must have been crafted to sound a sort of way.
"You see,Adriel,you are excellent at a lot of things; gossip is not one of those things. If you want to know the whereabouts of the Whitman Princess,you must pay attention to small details. We know some of her favourite places to frequent, like that Hybrid Foundation. We may be thinking something is amiss because she didn't go there this past week. But we do not pay attention to it because there's far too little evidence. However,when it is somewhere she ultimately needs to go,like the burial of her friends,we begin to worry. General Xhao's daughter's burial was a few days ago, and since the general blames her,it would make sense if she wasn't invited. But the other one, Reya's, is...as you can see." She pointed her ring at the page in front of me. The sun hit her ring at a weird angle,causing little blue reflections from the aquamarine gem.
"It was yesterday; there's not much about it because she wasn't actually a royal. But you can snoop around for more information about it. She would definitely be there to pay the last tribute...unless the poison worked as planned and she is dead...as you hoped."
My mouth turned bitter, and I cleared my throat.
"Well,that will be a nice approach. It will hasten the issue of the war.At least then we can place a date on the commencement of the whole ordeal."
"Of course,why else would you be so hell-bent desperate to know the well-being of the girl?"my mother said sarcastically.
There was a sudden crash from outside. I was glad it came and cut off that chain of thoughts.
"My vase!" my mother yelled as she rushed out of the room. "Hendrix,I swear if you broke my vase,I will never give back your ring!!"
* * *
"I must admit,that is quite an intimidating fleet. And I do not just hand out compliments." I said to Charles as we walked back to our carriages.
"Well,there is a reason the Siren Navy has never lost a battle at sea. The ocean is part of the army,"Charles boasted.
He stalled behind, leaving me alone with my thoughts—something I didn't know I needed.
A young messenger came to me and bowed deeply. I stared at the small scroll in his hands.
"What took you so long?" I asked before he spoke.
"Give it to me."
He obeyed, shakily placed the scroll in my hand, and returned his eyes to the ground. This may be his first errand for me. I had never seen him before,yet I disliked him. He was anxious and afraid of me in this state. For no apparent reason.
"Leave." I ordered,making no effort to hide my disgust.
I opened the scroll and began to read through the names of those who had attended Reya's burial. My eyes read the bottom name slowly and quickly started from the top again. I must have missed it,I told myself.
Twice and thrice, I realised Kiara wasn't there after all.
"What is that?" Charles asked as he approached me.
"Evidence that we can now proceed without any second thoughts. Kiara's death is confirmed." I replied, crumbling the paper.
"You finally found it?" He had dragged the 'finally' as if I had been looking for the damn thing since the beginning of time.
I glared at him, and he made his eyebrows jump playfully. I made a mental note to stop whatever bond there is between us. After the war, of course.
"Try to sleep."Charles told me randomly.
"I don't need your advice," I retorted."What's with all that false news you have been sharing about my 'concern for the hybrid'"?
"False?" Charles asked as he walked backwards. "You have no humour, Valerian."
I was beginning to think that perhaps Charles was becoming a Valerian. He truly believes that my threats are a whole bunch of bluffs. I should send a warning just in case he forgot who I am. A little reminder that had my name all over it.
I threw myself back into work mode as soon as I arrived home. I spent about two hours alone before another distraction politely knocked on my door. I cursed and groaned before I replied.
"If you are a Valerian, don't come in."
The door opened up slowly. Timothy pushed his head through the tiny space.
"May I?"
I nodded and continued writing. "What news from Whitman Palace, Timothy?"
"It's about the girl,your highness."
My brain froze completely, and I sighed.
"I already know;I have started preparing for the attack already."
Timothy bowed and left, but I didn't keep writing. I laid back in the chair to light myself something to smoke on.
My right hand searched in my pocket for the crumbled piece of paper that didn't contain her name, put it in the ashtray, and burned it.
It was all for the best. According to plan. I looked at the files on my desk and fought to resist the temptation of burning them too. I left my office and headed to the kitchen for something to eat. I hadn't eaten an actual meal today. I met my mother drinking wine on the counter.
"Want some?" she offered, and I shook my head.
"She is a tough one,huh?"
"Who?"
"Kiara Whitman.Well, what do we expect from a hybrid---"She paused when she saw the look of shock on my face. "What? Timothy didn't tell you? She woke up a few hours ago."