Chapter 158

[ 1,024 words ]

Lucien:

The moment I entered the hall, my eyes found Arabella sitting beside Toby. So that was where she had decided to spend the evening.

I had received her message earlier, telling me she would come to the celebration on her own. By the time I replied, she had already stopped answering, and now I could see why.

I followed my family to the royal table and took my seat, but even with people speaking around me, my attention kept wandering back to her.

A warrior stopped to ask me something about tomorrow’s patrol, and once he left, my mother tried to pull me into another conversation, but I barely heard half of it.

Arabella looked beautiful. The black dress hugged her body, and the slit along her thigh became visible every time she shifted in her chair. She knew I was watching her too. At least, I thought she did.

Not once did she look in my direction. I reached for my phone under the table and sent her a message. Are you planning to ignore me all night?

I waited, watching her from across the hall. She continued eating. A few minutes later, I tried again.

At least look at me, Bella. I’m getting bored over here.

Still nothing. That finally made me check my phone properly to make sure the messages had actually gone through. They had.

I lifted my head again and found her listening to Toby while she ate, completely unaware… or deliberately ignoring my messages.

Knowing Arabella, the second possibility seemed far more likely. Bradley was speaking to one of the guards near the end of the table when I called him over.

“Go and ask Arabella where her phone is.”

He stared at me for a moment. “You called me over here for that?”

“Yes. And while you’re there, find out why she isn’t answering me.”

The look he gave me made it clear he had several things he wanted to say, but thankfully, he kept them to himself and walked toward her table.

I watched as he stopped beside Arabella. She looked up at him and immediately gave him a smile that she apparently couldn’t spare for me tonight.

They spoke for a few seconds before she shrugged and went right back to her food. Bradley returned with amusement written all over his face. “She says she forgot her phone in her room.”

I glanced at Arabella again. She was still happily eating beside Toby as if I didn’t exist. I knew that woman well enough by now. She was pissed at me for not trusting her blindly. But I couldn’t punish Jasmine just like that.

I believed Arabella, but belief and proof were two different things when I was sitting on the throne. If Jasmine had really given her that potion, I needed something solid enough that no one could question whatever I did to her afterward.

Before making her announcement, my mother leaned toward me. “Lucien, Elder Marcus is waiting for you in your office. You should go see him.”

“No, Mother. Not right now.” I flatly refused, with no room for argument. She looked a little too nervous. “Son, you can’t keep a council elder waiting.”

“I can.” I reached for my drink and leaned back in my chair. “Besides, you’ve been talking about showing everyone your magic tonight. Now I’m curious to see what you have planned.”

I kept my tone casual, but something about her sudden need to get me out of the hall didn’t sit right with me. I had a feeling whatever she was planning had something to do with Arabella.

Damn. I was right.

Arabella pov:

Theodora raised both hands, and suddenly the lights went out.

Gasps came from every direction, followed by the scraping of chairs. I couldn’t see anything except a few faint lights coming from the far end of the hall. The Queen’s voice continued through the darkness as she started saying some random alien shit I couldn’t understand. I tried to figure out what the hell she was doing.

Then I saw her arms moving dramatically through the darkness, and then a strange sound came from somewhere outside. I turned toward Toby. Even in the dim light, I could see that his face had gone pale.

That odd sound came again, and this time it was louder. Tony’s cold hand touched mine as he held it tightly. Something scraped outside the hall, and my palms began to sweat.

“Toby…”

“Don’t worry. You’re not alone, Ara. I will…” A loud crash cut him off, and the entrance doors flew open.

Screams broke out across the hall as two small dragons came through the doorway. They were barely bigger than large dogs, but that didn’t stop half the room from panicking. For a few seconds, nobody moved. Neither did the dragons.

They stood near the entrance, their heads moving slowly as they looked from one side of the hall to the other. I could feel sweat sliding down the back of my neck.

Please don’t look at me. Please don’t—

As both beasts turned their heads in my direction, my breath caught. They were staring at me. It took them a few seconds before they suddenly charged straight toward me.

Goddess! What the…

I grabbed the edge of the table as both dragons rushed toward me. But instead of attacking, they stopped right in front of me.

I blinked in shock. For a second, I didn’t even understand what had happened. I was still sitting there, waiting for teeth, claws… anything. Nothing came.

I slowly looked around.

Almost everyone in the hall was staring at us. Some people were still standing beside their chairs, while others had moved back from their tables. No one said a word.

Toby’s hand was still wrapped tightly around mine. I inhaled a long breath and carefully pulled myself to my feet.

The dragons didn’t move. That was when I looked toward the royal table. Theodora was watching me. When our eyes met, a cunning smile slowly spread across her face. She didn’t need to say anything.

I could practically hear it anyway.

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