Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord
Chapter 148: Plotting for the future (1)

Chapter 148: Plotting for the future (1)

"You should smile more, Vivienne. You are making our people worry about you. Is there something that troubles you?" Darius asked, placing his hand on top of Vivienne’s.

Vivienne moved her hand. "Do not touch me unless you want to lose a few fingers. I am not happy with you and I never will be after what you did."

"What did I do? You were the one who killed her," Darius replied. "You didn’t need to take my advice."

Vivienne couldn’t take any more of Darius placing the blame on her when he was the one who forced a woman to his bed. "I had to put her out of the misery you caused her."

"No, Vivienne," Darius refused to take the blame for this. "You killed her because of your jealousy. I wouldn’t have bothered you if you sent her out of the palace. Since when do you listen to my orders to have her stay in the palace? You jumped right into killing her because it was what you wanted."

"Do not speak to me," Vivienne said in a low threatening tone. If she could, Vivienne would kill him right there for all their people to see him.

"We shouldn’t speak of this now since they can hear us. Look at them pretending as though they aren’t listening to us. I should cut off their ears and see if that helps them to stop eavesdropping. Look at them turning away," Darius laughed, entertained by the fools before them.

The sound of Darius laughing after they had just spoken of a serious matter further annoyed Vivienne. She searched the room for her father who was the only one who could calm her.

"King Darius."

Vivienne turned her attention back to the people addressing them and took notice of Gabriel Valor, the praised hero of the kingdom and the man Darius was making use of at the moment.

’This is what she liked?’ Vivienne thought, trying to make sense of Selene’s past with this man.

Vivienne then took an interest in the woman by Gabriel’s side. The only human who was in the palace as a guest while the others were here to offer their blood.

Vivienne couldn’t tell if Gabriel was foolish or naive to bring his human wife to a place where many vampires lurked. Should someone try to take blood from Cassandra it would be solely up to Gabriel to protect her.

"The man of the hour has arrived with his lovely wife. Welcome to the palace, Cassandra Valor," Darius said, seeing Cassandra differently now that she was dressed up.

Cassandra still fell short in comparison to Selene in Darius’s eyes but she was quite a beauty.

Vivienne could hear Darius’s interest in Cassandra in his voice. She didn’t need to look to her left to know he was staring at Cassandra as though he wanted to undress her. It wasn’t new for him to go after a married woman.

Cassandra bowed her head slightly as she curtsied. When she stood tall again, her eyes went straight to the king. She smiled, knowing she had his full attention. Men were too easy. "It is a great honour to stand before the king and queen. I would have never imagined standing before you."

"It is your husband’s achievements that got you here so you must thank him. You two were recently wed so I am a little surprised you found time to come here," said Darius.

"Nothing could keep me from this celebration. I am honoured that the palace held this ball on behalf of us soldiers. Your kindness is why I would give my life to protect this kingdom," Gabriel said, hoping Darius noticed his loyalty.

Vivienne saw Gabriel as another fool giving their life to Darius when Darius would never do the same. As soon as the kingdom stopped caring, Gabriel would witness how little Darius cared for mixed-bloods.

"It was unfortunate we could not attend your wedding but none of that matters since you two are happily married now. I hope this marriage will last you both a lifetime," Vivienne wished the two well.

Part of Vivienne wanted Gabriel to snap out of his love with this human and chase Selene. For Gabriel to do anything to disrupt Selene’s time with Xavier before the pair became too in love with each other or for a child to come from the union.

Gabriel noticed Vivienne’s gaze upon Cassandra so he held Cassandra’s hand and led her forward to present her to the queen. "My wife makes for a wonderful companion. If the queen is ever in need of someone to lend an ear, my wife will come right away."

Vivienne chuckled. "It is a kind offer but all my ladies are vampires. Unless your wife plans to turn, I suggest you keep her out of the palace. Still, I will keep an eye out for your wife. Something tells me that she might grow to be an unforgettable lady."

Cassandra continued to smile though she was fuming inside. Why did it need to take her turning to have a chance to enter the palace again? She didn’t have a weapon with her now to kill the king or queen and with the number of vampires present, she wouldn’t make it out alive.

Once again, Cassandra had to wait. There was some good to come to the palace since the king had not stopped looking at her since they came up to greet the royals. If the king was a rake like the gossip said then Cassandra planned to make use of that to find her way into the palace or at least to Darius’s side again.

Cassandra looked the king’s way, purposely letting her gaze settle on him for more than it should before turning to Gabriel.

Darius licked his lip. He knew that look she gave him all too well. This was why he confidently told Vivienne that these women wanted him.

Even though Cassandra stood beside her husband, her eyes were on the king. They all sought out power and the king was the best one to get it from.

"Enjoy the night, Gabriel. We will speak tomorrow when you are in the palace. As for your wife, I think the queen can find a way to let Lady Cassandra into the palace just once," said Darius.

Gabriel smiled, feeling victorious that he had found a path for Cassandra as well. As he rose, he needed Cassandra to rise with him and she was doing just that. He was confident that despite being a human, Cassandra would impress Vivienne and become one of her ladies.

"I wonder if the Blackthorns will show."

The single sentence was enough to ruin Gabriel’s mood. While he stood here, the Blackthorns were on the king’s mind.

Gabriel knew right away which Blackthorns Darius spoke of. When was the king going to lose interest in those two?

"Don’t look so upset, Gabriel. Your ex-wife and Lord Blackthorn won’t show up today so you can enjoy the night without any drama sent your way. I think it is time for me to dance. Will you join me?" Darius asked, offering his hand to Vivienne.

Vivienne didn’t have a choice since they were to entertain the guests but after this, she was done. She noticed her friends standing off to the side with men who wanted to court them.

Natalie sipped on the glass filled with blood which was handed to her by a servant. Her eyes met with Darius’s for a moment but he quickly looked away to not let it be noticed.

Any other night Natalie would be upset but there was growing good news which would change her life. She only had to wait a little longer and then she would not be watching on the sidelines anymore.