Salazar's Caged Love

47

Salazar

I was counting the seconds to leave King's study and get back to Alexandra. The petrified look she gave me before I left her in the dance area, along with Liam, was squeezing my throat in anxiety. I know how strong her human smell was, and the rarity of it would ignite a severe thirst in any vampire. She would be in grave danger if any of the vampires got a whiff of her smell. If not for the necklace, which was also a talisman masking her, I would have second thoughts on bringing her to the ball.

If King Arthur didn't demand my urgent attention and ushered me to his study, I would have pulled away Alexandra with me, going against the etiquette than letting Liam touch her. If not for Kingsley, being there to keep a watch on her, I wouldn't have peacefully come along with the king to his study.

"She is deserving of stealing your heart; she turned even lovelier than before. I haven't seen such a beautiful human ever," King's words brought my thoughts back to him.

Indeed, what King Arthur said was true. Like him, many dukes felt the same, earning an envious resent from their respective duchess. After the kiss, her cheeks tinted pink lusciously, and I noticed dukes giving her a veiled glance. As soon as she entered the room, she became the center of the attraction, which she was unaware of. Instead, she thought she was looking less than any of the duchess present in the room; she still underestimated her beauty.

"That is generous of you, Your Highness."

"Generosity has nothing to do in describing her beauty. I would never have selected a worthy woman for the heir than her," King's approval for Alexandra was all that was crucial for me; even if he hadn't approved, I would still have her as my woman and would have played dirty.

His approval was necessary because, once King Arthur approves, none of the dukes would ever question Alexandra. I would have continued to feel elated if not for an urgent message from Kingsley, reporting of an attack on the castle ground by Rebels. He was a member of the royal guards and my adviser. I left Alexandra under his watch and panicked when I realized she was alone in the room full of vampires and, worse, Liam. A vampire had the power to send a message through telepathy, and like me, King also got the message from his guards about the ambush, and we immediately flashed out of the room.

The fact that they could reach the King's castle and attack during a ball showed how strong the Rebels were growing. I immediately rushed towards the ballroom and frightened, not finding Alexandra. She was with Liam when I left her, and when I checked with Kingsley, he testified to seeing her dancing with Liam last. I promised to protect her, and if Liam laid his filthy hand on her, I would rip him apart.

"Where is she?" I growled as soon as I stood before him.

The dukes and duchess were being escorted to the teleport room immediately. The crowd was thinning with each passing second. As the magnitude of the attack was unclear, King felt it was better to send everyone back to their castle. There were few dukes around the room along with Liam, and I didn't bother to be cordial with him this time. I was on the verge of ripping his throat and dismembering his head from his body when he spoke calmly, "I saw the Lady walking towards the garden."

Liam was known to have volatile nature, and the calm in his voice was more like that silence before the storm. His annoying smirk was not leaving his face; even when he was escorted to the teleport room, he didn't forget to turn around and gave me a challenging look.

I pushed the thought of comprehending the meaning behind his look and instead rushed towards the garden. I halted in my tracks when I found her sitting peacefully near the fountain, unaware of the danger lurking around her. I closed my eyes in relief, and the next moment, I flashed before her. She startled by my sudden appearance and gasped when I carried her in my arms towards the teleport room. I had to take her to the safety of my castle before I could join the guards and assist in the fighting. I was engrossed thinking about securing her that I didn't notice her unusual silence.

The moment we reached my castle, I took her to the room, still carrying her in my arms. I was in a hurry, but she was still my priority. After making sure she would be fine, it was then I could go back to the King's castle. I didn't get a chance to look at her face the entire time, but when I did, she seemed lost.

"Love," I called and frowned, seeing her act distant.

I wished I could read her mind as I could read for the rest. Her blank eyes gave me a new dread. Even when I abducted her from her world, the light in her eyes never extinguished, but tonight, something was different about her.

"I'm tired," with that, she walked away towards the bath chamber.

I hesitated to follow and ask her what was bothering her, but then my talisman shined with an urgent summon from the king, and with a heavy heart, I left her. But not before ordering the maids to look after her and guards to protect her.

As soon as I went back to the main castle, some of the rebels were captured and were locked up. King Arthur called for an urgent council to make a decision. It was high time we had to make peace with the Rebels. I was stunned at the scale of their attack, and the verillirium coated swords and dagger they used while fighting proved our fear correct. It was not normal swords or daggers that they used; it was a precisely and expertly carved sword whose metal was mixed with verillirium and not simply coated. One stroke from it would prove fatal to the vampire.

The king wanted our opinion on whether to open a peace treaty with their leader. He was specific about disclosing what we have been planning as the heir to the throne. In the end, the council decided to let go of the surviving Rebels with a message for their leader to discuss a peace treaty.

It was safer to send the message through their kind than sending it through ours. Also, the gesture of leaving the survivor shows our sincerity towards the peace. As usual, Liam was trying to oppose any means of peace, but the majority of the duke voted for peace rather than drag the war.