Chapter 212: Behind the Black Door
On seeing Septimus there, Viva’s eyes flashed with a momentary panic before she masked it beneath a composed smile, "High Priest Septimus, I didn’t expect to see you here."
Behind her, Septimus caught the shadow of Cece vanishing through the large black door where the queen had just stepped out from.
He met Viva’s gaze with one of icy calm, "Your Majesty, I was merely taking a stroll when I lost my way back to the ball." He paused, allowing silence to tighten like a noose before he continued, "Though I admit, I did not expect to find you here when you were so eager to start the ball. Shouldn’t you be concerned about returning? Your guests must be waiting..."
The longer Septimus stood in this corridor, the more his skin crawled. As a vessel of high spiritual power, he could feel it....putrid, malignant darkness seeping from behind that door. Something terrible lurked below.
And he wondered, what in the heavens had this queen been hiding?
"Oh, I just had a last-minute matter to attend to. Since I was heading to the ballroom anyway, perhaps you could accompany me?" Viva replied smoothly, eager to lead the High Priest as far away from this place as possible. Jareld would be setting the fire any moment, and when the smoke rises, she would need him far away from this place.
Septimus’s expression did not soften.
"How very kind of you, Your Majesty," he responded, "However, if you don’t mind, I would prefer a bit more respite from the crowd. Please go ahead, I will join you shortly."
Then, with pointed emphasis, he added, "After all....your guests must be waiting for you." The same excuse she had used sometime back in Evelyn’s chamber.
Queen Viva’s smile faltered at his words. She opened her mouth to respond, but footsteps echoed sharply down the corridor, followed by a cheerful voice that carried far too much delight for her comfort.
"Well, well, well... it’s so great to finally meet you again, Your Majesty."
Viva felt her blood turn cold at the sound. Both she and Septimus turned toward the approaching figures, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
There stood the two professors she had thrown into the dungeon only yesterday. And trailing behind them were the guests from the ballroom. Along with the most unwelcome company of all: The High Council Members.
She forced herself to stay calm, but her racing heartbeat betrayed her to every vampire present, especially to High Councilwoman Amara Isolde. And that wasn’t all....being a pure-blooded vampiress, Amara possessed a gift of an unnaturally heightened sense of smell. She could clearly detect the stench seeping from the large door behind the Queen, along with the fresh smell of blood clinging to Viva like a stain she could not hide.
Her eyes sharpened as she asked, "Queen Viva, we expected to meet you at the ball, but this fine gentleman..." She gestured toward Dante, who was grinning sadistically, clearly enjoying every moment of the queen’s discomfort. "...claimed you had a surprise prepared for us, so we followed him here."
Her dark red eyes then shifted toward the double doors. "Is the surprise behind those doors?" she asked.
Lucian, though he lacked Amara’s vampiric sense of smell but, was sharp enough to follow the cue she laid for him.
Being a lumen himself, he could feel the heavy, oppressive energy in the air, "Ah, the door does look rather mysterious," he remarked, tone casual but meaning anything but. "Why don’t you tell us what this surprise is, Your Majesty?"
Septimus remained silent, watching closely as he waited to see how the queen would respond. He could only wonder what Cece was doing behind that door....and what truth lay waiting on the other side.
"Surprise?" Queen Viva’s gaze snapped sharply toward Dante. "I don’t recall ever speaking to you, Professor Dante, nor giving you permission to mislead guests on my behalf. Not only are you spreading false claims, but you have lied to members of the High Council. Are you unaware that such actions can warrant your arrest?"
Amara and Lucian turned to Dante as questions gleamed in their eyes.
But the professor with a few loose screws only smiled wider. "Oh, but you do have a surprise for us, Queen Viva," he said sweetly, venom beneath every syllable. "I simply thought it was courteous to ensure everyone gets to witness it."
Dante’s eyes slid to Seira, "Isn’t that right, Professor Seira?"
Seira’s expression remained hard as stone. She met Viva’s gaze directly and replied, "Yes. After the hospitality you granted us yesterday, it seems only fair that we share your accomplishments with everyone present."
The guests looked utterly baffled, unable to make sense of what the two professors were hinting at. But before anyone could piece together a single thought, the black doors burst open with explosive force, sending a shockwave down the corridor.
The impact hurled Queen Viva back, slamming her into the wall with a painful crack. She groaned in pain, her vision blurred from the impact, before she slowly dragged her gaze toward the double doors that were now wide open.
Guards rushed to her side, "Your Majesty!" They reached out to steady her, but before they could lift her fully, another body crashed into them, sending the entire cluster of guards stumbling and collapsing over the queen.
Pinned beneath their weight, Viva shrieked, "Get off me, you ingrates!"
The guards scrambled off her in a frantic mess. Viva pushed herself up, still dazed, and turned to see what had collided with them.
Her eyes widened slowly, horror spreading like cold water through her veins at the sight of Jareld lying unconscious beside her.
A sharp rhythm of heels clicked against the floor as a figure stepped out from the darkness beyond the door. Cece emerged with eyes glowing a blazing red; her presence was enough to make Queen Viva feel as though her head could be severed at any moment.
Dante and Seira, already aware of the plan, watched in calm expectation. However, the same could not be said for the others present. High Council members, students, King Solan’s delegates, and other guests stared in shock as they witnessed a scene none of them could have imagined.
The young vampiress drew her sword in one smooth motion and pointed it directly at Viva. The Queen instinctively tried to run, but froze the instant the blade kissed the skin of her neck.
Queen Elara, unable to bear seeing her cousin threatened so brazenly, stepped forward and snapped, "What do you think you are doing to the Queen of this kingdom?"
Cece spoke fearlessly, not even sparing Queen Elara a glance, "I am doing far less than what this deranged woman has done to the countless innocent women rotting beneath this castle."
Shocked gasps rippled through the hall, but Cece did not stop, "And not only that, she practices dark sorcery, and she dared to use it on the crown prince of my kingdom. On Prince Ivan Ignia de Ashen."
The High Council members exchanged looks, as their brows rose sharply at the accusations now laid bare before them.
"What blasphemy!" Renwick barked, unable to tolerate the humiliation of their queen. "You speak treason against the ruler of our kingdom! What proof do you have to make such wild claims?"
Cece’s eyes gleamed with cold fury as she tilted her chin toward the gaping chamber door. "The proof lies within that chamber," she declared. "I fought off that rat you call a commander when he was only seconds away from destroying it under her orders."
"And how can you relate that to-" Renwick began, but Lucian lifted a hand, cutting him off with a single silent command.
Both council officials stepped forward.
"Lady Cece Silver, is it?" Lucian asked, voice calm but layered with authority.
Cece turned her sharp gaze toward him, taking in the man who looked strikingly similar to Oliver. "Yes. And who might you be?" She asked without hesitation.
"I am Lucian Whitelance, and this is Amara Isolde," he introduced. "We are representatives of the High Council. We ask you respectfully to step away from the... suspect, so that we may proceed accordingly."
Cece met their eyes without fear, then glanced toward Dante and Seira at the side. Both professors gave her a subtle nod, only then, and with clear reluctance, Cece lowered her sword and stepped back.
Without a word, Lucian stepped forward, drawing his sword, he placed the blade at Viva’s throat, the very spot where Cece had rested moments earlier. His warm brown eyes shifted to Amara, and with a single nod, he gave permission.
She returned the gesture, then turned on her heel and strode into the chamber, the place overflowing with darkness, where the stench of decay assaulted her heightened senses the moment she crossed the threshold.
"W-what is the meaning of this, Councilman Lucian?! Do you realise what it means to point a blade at royalty?" Queen Viva demanded, her voice sharp with denial and outrage.
Lucian only tilted his head, "It means," he replied calmly, "that you are currently being treated as a suspect. You will be given a chance to speak once we have gathered the facts."
