My Most Precious Human novel Chapter 70

I had to say that if Aryan had planned to infuriate Sariel, he had done an amazing job. The future king was a second away from exploding.

"Sariel… Calm down… Please…" I whispered softly, being certain he would hear it.

With his fierce temper, I could already imagine him slashing Aryan's throat with his claws. I only hoped that he would decide to focus on me before a disaster would have happened. He looked into my eyes and my pleading gaze. His fiery pupils slowly faded, turning gray. I sighed in relief. Sariel stroked my hand on his shoulder and smiled at me. Then he instantly changed his expression, turning his eyes on Aryan.

"Sir Desai seems overly concerned about my love life. I can assure you that I always make my own choices, and I am not planning to have anyone choose my partner. As for my marked one, I will not abandon her," Sariel stated, composedly.

Aryan chuckled, looking Sariel in the eye. He was intentionally provoking him, challenging him, but I couldn't guess what his reason for acting this way was. He could have done it out of boredom, yet I had a feeling that it was more complex. It looked as if he was testing Sariel's patience, waiting for him to snap.

"I apologize, Duke Calvet. I didn't mean to offend you." He bowed down, but his words and sudden courtesy couldn't be any less sincere.

"Can we skip this sudden debate concerning a mere human? We have more important issues," the Princess grumbled as she gazed at Sariel. "Duke of Calvet, could you report to us how you handled the attacks?"

Her voice was full of mockery. I guess she already knew that Sariel hadn't found out who was behind those attacks. She was waiting for him to admit his failure.

"My people managed to capture the attackers, but unfortunately, they all committed suicide the moment they got caught," Sariel explained reluctantly.

Princess Elora raised her eyebrows. "Are you saying that not only have you not prevented the attacks, but you also haven't found the culprit?" She scoffed.

The commotion filled the room. I could see Duke Orseolo grinning wickedly as if he was celebrating some kind of private victory.

"It's been merely three days. I can assure the Princess and the noble representatives that the culprit will be found very soon," Sariel claimed firmly.

"Duke Calvet couldn't keep his own city safe, and yet he usurps the right to take over the throne and rule the entire vampire world?" Princess Elora ridiculed.

The murmurs spread through the hall again. I could hear voices getting louder. The agitated remarks grew clearer as those against the Duke became more and more confident in attacking him.

"Princess Elora!" Sariel roared, his deep voice silencing the commotion, "No ruler can avoid every single strike of those who try to endanger the lives of their subjects. You wouldn't know since you have never had this kind of responsibility. My people work tirelessly to punish those who jeopardized the well-being of New Argent City's vampire population, and to make sure to oppose any event like the one that happened in the future," he stated.

Most of the representatives began pointing at the Princess and mocking her brat-like, unreasonable arguments. The majority agreed with the Duke. No matter how badly she tried to claim her authority, she didn't have an ounce of the respect her father, the king, had. She frowned, raising her chin up as if she was declaring she wasn't going to give up. Initially, I assumed that I was her problem and that she was acting out of jealousy, but now I could see that she was aiming for power. She wanted Sariel as a woman, but she also despised him because he could easily get the position she, as a royal, should have claimed.

"May I ask where the Duke was on the day of the attack?" Elora smirked, delivering another punch.

"I was out of town, dealing with private and business issues," Sariel replied calmly.

"And what business might you have within the northern werewolves' pack territory?" She snickered viciously.

Sariel frowned and clenched his fists.

"Outrageous! The Duke collaborating with wolves?!" One of the representatives shouted.

"Duke dealing with dogs?! Is he siding with them?! This is an act of rebellion!" Another one fumed.

The enraged uproar spread among the crowd. The representatives stood up from their seats and pointed at Sariel as if he had already been found guilty. Aryan looked around, his eyes wide open as if he was watching a greatly entertaining show. Duke Orseolo burst out in malicious laughter, satisfied with such an outcome.

"Silence, everyone!" Princess called out, getting up from her seat. "Let the Duke explain what exactly he was doing so far away from his own city," she said, nonchalantly raising one of her eyebrows.

Sariel smirked, then he stood up and grabbed my hand.

"The wolves dared to kidnap the woman I marked. I had to go there and take back what was mine," he declared out loud.

A wave of loud, indignant gasps cut through the hall. I looked at Sariel, wearing a hesitant smile. What he said was an obvious lie since I didn't have his mark when I was kidnapped, but no one inside that hall except for us and Leo couldn't have known that. Princess Elora nervously bit her lip, her eyes desperately roaming around as if she was counting on finding someone who would support her questioning.

"The dogs, taking the marked one?! This calls for an open conflict!" One of the representatives thundered.

"Those dogs have a death wish!" another one yelled.

I stood beside Sariel while holding tightly to his hand. The fury coming from the throats of the gathered vampires kept increasing. The Princess sat silently, frowning and glaring at Sariel. She certainly wasn't pleased to hear this kind of turmoil. Suddenly, Sariel raised his hand to quiet the commotion.

"Those who committed this crime have already been punished by death. I do not assume that northern Alpha Draven was aware of this hideous crime. I call for peaceful solutions, and there is no need to involve our citizens in a conflict caused by some mutts," Sariel claimed strongly.

The representatives calmed down and started going back to their seats while nodding their heads. Sariel winked at me. He seemed composed and rational, while my heart kept pounding frantically. I had to admit that he turned those tables around like magic. He shattered all the insulting insinuations and even made himself a hero at the same time. If Princess had known where he was on the day of the attacks, she might have also known that he had slaughtered quite a number of the pack's warriors. I bet that she was waiting to use that ace information as soon as Sariel started denying the whole thing. Yet there was one certain kind of circumstance that allowed the killing of other species within the enemy's territory… There was a rule stating that the mates were sacred and untouchable. To be specific, there were "mates" in the werewolves' world and "marked ones" in the vampires' world. If I truly were marked by the time wolves kidnapped me, Sariel would have every right to annihilate the entire pack if he wanted to. The lie he told was very convenient since all the wolves who could state otherwise were already dead.

Once the commotion died down, the gathering entered more mundane topics such as taxes and settling issues concerning different land rights. I was tired of standing in heels and looking more like a slave than a mate, yet my hand was literally glued to Sariel's shoulder as if my life depended on whether I was touching him or not. Well, I didn't want to take any chances in this peculiar place.

Aryan Desai kept staring at me. His intense gaze was driving me insane, and he didn't change the way he looked at me even when he met Sariel's murderous glare a couple of times. When the Princess ended the gathering, I heaved a sigh of relief. I seriously wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Elora had other plans…

"I wish to talk to the nobles alone," she stated.

Everyone sitting at the round table stood up and bowed their heads. They had no right to refuse since she acted as the king's replacement. The Princess turned around and started walking towards the door from which she entered the hall. The nobles, including Sariel, followed. I felt slightly awkward and out of place. I was about to turn around and look for Leo, but then Elora stopped and turned her head towards me.

"The "food" should go as well. I don't wish to keep Duke Calvet starving." She smirked wickedly.

Sariel looked at me nervously, then frowned. "I refuse. She will stay here and-"

"I insist!" Elora called out in her commanding voice. "Come inside, human." She pointed at the door in front of her.

I gulped and glanced at Sariel. He clenched his teeth, but nodded, telling me to obey. My hands and feet were shaking. I didn't like the idea of being locked with the most powerful vampires living on this planet!

The door closed and I ended up inside a round room filled with drinks and appetizers. Even if my stomach was rumbling, there was no way I would have taken anything from those tables. There were seven noble vampires with me, and except for Sariel and Elora, they all kept their hungry eyes on me all the time. Sariel held my hand, and I told myself that I would be safe as long as my hand stayed within his grasp…

"Duke Calvet, I wanted to speak with you… alone." Elora's loudly voiced words were supposed to mean order from a royal.

Sariel gritted his teeth, glaring at her. It was obvious that rather than talking to Sariel, she wanted him to leave me among other nobles alone and unprotected.

"Oh dear Duke, don't you trust that the noble members are civilized? I think you may leave your things behind for a while." She chuckled coldly.

"Fine," Sariel hissed, letting go of my hand. Then he followed the Princess outside the round room, and they both quickly disappeared behind the closed door.

I took a deep breath, thinking that I would gladly use some sort of invisibility cloak if I had one. I was about to look for a wall I could blend into, but as soon as I turned around, I bumped into Aryan.

"Hello there, beautiful Lilith." He grinned slyly, "It's time to get to know each other a little better."