Chapter 153

Valerick looked unmoved and it was hard for Zezi to figure out what he was feeling through the bond.

His side of it was still blocked.

This was frustrating!

She was sitting right by his side but it seemed like a whole wall had been thrown between them.

Her attention moved to the Princess, who sat upright, her gaze unmoving from Riza as she clocked her claws together.

Zezi wondered if she had poison beneath them, and mentally noted to herself not to get too close to Laura no matter what.

She couldn't be trusted right now.

But then, when was she ever worthy of trust? They were all unworthy.

From the other corner of Zezi's eyes, she watched Lady Delice's reaction.

The Royal Advisor kept a calm demeanour but something about her and Laura's aura were off.

From what Zezi could deduce, they were scared that Riza was going to talk about the White Circle.

That made Zezi curious. What about the oath she had made before joining the White Circle to keep their business secret? Everyone had made the oath before joining too, right? So why were they scared that she would rat them out? Wasn't the oath supposed to make sure that didn't happen?

Except if they had never tested the authenticity of their oath's magic before and they couldn't really tell how powerful it was, or if it was even effective at all.

That made something light up in Zezi's heart.

By the Moon, maybe she could talk about it too without consequences! Maybe she could tell Valerick so he would stop trying to turn her people.

Maybe this was the information that would win them freedom forever.

Maybe...just maybe...

"I will tell them about us! I will tell your dear brother everything!" Riza gritted between her teeth.

"Stop lying, Riza. You don't want the consequences of your lies." Laura said almost quietly.

Enraged by the Princess' calm reaction, Riza started to speak, determined to take them all down with her, her gaze moving quickly from Laura, to Delice, a distasteful scorn for fur creature, then back to Laura with a bitter-victorious smirk, and finally to the King.

The arena was thrown into silence.

Every vampire wanted to be in on the big secret.

They sure would love to gossip about it in their homes, or anywhere actually.

Oh, lovely vampires of Lavida.

"There is a White..." Her words suddenly cut short and she bent over with a wrenching cough.

It was hard to speak when one was coughing out blood, wheezing, bleeding, and struggling on the ground, as if she was trying to breathe.

A vampire.

What did she need the air for?

A scream erupted from her throat and the guards backed away so that whatever was going wrong with her wouldn't latch onto them like a virus.

Her claws dragged through the blood-infused and dirty earth of the Execution Ground. She was trying to write something or draw something, but the pain only worsened for her and nature worked against her.

Her claws broke, and the lines she had dragged through the hard ground, faded. Her fangs emerged from her gums like they were being pulled out, her veins bulged from her neck and she staggered to her feet, only to fall back on her knees.

While she struggled, her eyes found Laura's, and blood mixed with hot tears, regret, and helplessness, flowed down her cheeks.

She attempted to say something but a force threw her head back so that she was facing the moon, while her hands were spread apart like a sacrifice.

Then it happened.

She erupted into smoke and nothing was left behind except her black dress designed for mourning.

Just like that, Riza was gone.

She tried to break the oath and it killed her.

Zezi sank into her throne, the crown on her head felt heavy, and the pressure that rested on her shoulders threatened to tear them down as she realized the extent of trouble she was in.

She had thought her relationship with the White Circle was one of equal power, or at least one in which she had the upper hand.

But now she realized, that wasn't it all.

In fact, she was what she had always thought she wasn't.

She was the prey, right from the beginning.

Their pawn.

It was impossible to tell Valerick about them.

Impossible to betray them.

By the Moon, this was trouble.

Reading beneath the Princess' almost believable horrifying gasp and Delice's genuine sympathetic look, Zezi realized just how much of a mess she had put herself into, because even if fighting for her people meant dying, she didn't want to die like Riza who had just died for nothing.

What a useless death!

Well, a box of thanks to the Mastermind Zezi of the Past for not taking this into consideration.

Present Zezi was so grateful!

Arrgh, she didn't have time for this.

She had to find another way around this fast!

There had to be another way to put an end to this and save her kind.

Ah, who would have known that it would ever get to this?

Murmurs erupted from the crowd, as they spoke over each other.

"She just turned into smoke."

"She was burnt alive!"

"Magic!"

"Black magic!"

"Magic of the former King!"

"It is the Princess, she didn't want her to speak!"

"What was the secret!"

"What happened? I can't see. Move!"

"Is she dead? I can't see!"

"Silence, the Princess would never---"

"I can't see! MOVE!"

"She is a witch."

"I heard she still practices witchcraft even though it has been banned!"

"The blood one?"

"The blood one!"

"Let me see!"

"Could she have been the one to do this?"

"Never! It must be someone else trying to frame our Princess!"

"Move, I say!" Followed by a smacking sound then more colliding words.

The guards broke into a search for Riza according to the King's order. He wanted to know if she had disappeared somewhere else. He ordered for her to be brought to him alive.

Although, there is a high probability she would never be found alive. She had burst from inside out, and erupted into pieces, the pieces which had gone up in flames and burnt to ashes. Some flakes of the ashes were still moving through the air, like snow.

Riza was here, gone.

There was no need to search.

While all this was going on, a guard rushed to the arena with terrifying words ringing from the depths of his throat.

"The Volakys! In the Castle! The Volakys!"

Zezi had been the first one to rush towards the castle, fear making her heart race faster than it ever did.

"My daughter! My family!"