Sold as the Alpha King's Breeder-Chapter 1577 - 19 : Too Late

*Briella*

I watched Kryzen send General Tian a dark look before following him and Roy out of the throne room. I was relieved the general wasn’t ordered to escort us back to the ball. It sounded like the Alpha wanted to speak with him. I hoped he was getting punished severely for threatening me, but I had a feeling the Alpha didn’t even notice that part of the exchange.

I kept glancing behind me as we walked down the hallway back toward the ballroom. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. I knew I would be looking over my shoulder all night, searching for General Tian’s piercing stare.

“I didn’t like the way that bastard was looking at you.”

I whipped my head around to look at Kryzen, unsure if I heard him right. “What?”

Kryzen didn’t look at me. His gray eyes were trained ahead of him but looked far away. “General Tian,” he said between his teeth. “He was staring down at you like he had something against you.” He paused, his livid expression morphing into one of thoughtfulness. He turned his head to stare at me. “Could it be that you know him somehow?”

My jaw dropped, and I shook my head hard. “No, of course not,” I scoffed. “Don’t you think that would have been obvious if it had been the case?”

Kryzen didn’t answer, looking even more troubled somehow. “The hatred in his eyes would have made a little more sense if the two of you had some kind of history.”

My eyebrows rose as I processed his words. I wondered if he was speaking from experience. Had he recognized the hatred in General Tian’s expression and compared it to what he had felt toward me since childhood?

No, I decided. Kryzen didn’t dislike me in the same way General Tian seemed to.

“You should have backed me up in there,” I said to Kryzen and Roy. “Why did it feel like I was the only one questioning General Tian?”

Kryzen scoffed. “While we are suspicious of him too, it would have only raised suspicion,” he said. “We can’t have them thinking we are against them in any way.”

Roy spoke in a low voice, warning us both with his eyes to do the same. “The Alpha clearly holds General Tian in the highest esteem,” he said. “It would take a lot of convincing, and we have nothing to base our suspicions on aside from ill feelings. That simply won’t be enough.”

I could see the logic behind Roy’s statement, but we couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. “We can’t just let these people think their top general can be trusted.”

We were nearing the ballroom and all slowed our steps subconsciously to keep from being heard. The seriousness of our conversation was a strange contrast to the laughs and cheerful chatter coming from the ballroom.

I could tell that Kryzen agreed with me, but his face hardened. “We shouldn’t have this conversation here,” he said quietly. “Right now, our objective is to get through this ball without raising any alarms. I don’t doubt the general will have eyes on us.”

I ground my teeth together but nodded. I knew he was right, but there really was nothing we could do at the moment. We were guests in the city and had no proof General Tian was plotting anything.

He wasn’t for all we knew. Maybe he was just a jerk.

Kryzen’s gaze flickered to mine briefly, his hard expression softening just a fraction. “Stay close to me for the rest of the night,” he ordered.

I almost asked why in a demanding tone but then remembered the way he put himself between General Tian and me just minutes earlier. Instead, I rolled my eyes. “That won’t be necessary,” I said. “I don’t need you to protect me, Stormfall. I have just as much, if not more, combat training than you.”

I meant it to be a little teasing, maybe some of the tension causing me to crack jokes, but there wasn’t even a hint of a smirk on Kryzen’s lips as he narrowed his eyes at me. “We should all stick together,” he said. “I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen.”

Knowing that we would be staying together did add a small level of comfort, but the lingering tension in the air remained palpable as we continued down the corridor. The echoes of our footsteps emphasized the uneasy thoughts swirling in my head.

It was strange stepping through the ballroom doors and being assaulted by the sights and sounds of the celebration. I plastered a little smile on my face and straightened. I doubted anyone would pay me any mind, but we still needed to give the illusion of enjoying ourselves in case we were being watched as we all suspected.

“Maybe we should eat something,” Roy said at a normal volume. He was smiling his soft princely smile. “I’ve heard that the chefs in Celestial City are among the most skilled.”

Kryzen and I nodded. I felt myself relax ever-so-slightly as we crossed the large room to the buffet tables. The staff was very friendly as they asked us what we wanted to eat and piled entrees onto our gold-laden plates.

I noticed Kryzen hovering around me the whole time, his gray eyes darting around as we carried our plates to some nearby tables. He was just a step away from me the whole time. A couple of times, our arms brushed lightly.

I kept a grin on my face but spoke through my teeth. “You are the one who is acting suspiciously,” I hissed at him. “Calm down.”

Kryzen looked at me in surprise for a moment. “I am not acting suspiciously,” he said, sitting down at the table and digging into his food.

I rolled my eyes and sat across from him. The chair was cushioned and comfortable, and I found myself melting into it despite the tension crawling across my body. My mouth watered. I realized that I hadn’t eaten all day. Still, I had no appetite and began to pick at the seared meats and mixed veggies, unable to taste them due to my nerves.

Roy sat beside me. I offered him a tentative smile. “How many balls would you say you’ve attended?” I asked, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

Roy looked up as he pondered my question and then shrugged with a sheepish grin. “I’ve honestly lost track over the years. If we’re counting the times I spent crawling beneath the buffet tables as a child, I would say easily dozens.”

I giggled at the image of a round-faced Roy ducking beneath the linens of a buffet table. “I honestly can’t imagine you doing that,” I told him honestly.

“I was a bad influence. It’s true,” Kryzen quipped from across the table.

I rolled my eyes in his direction. “That I know from experience.”

I marveled at how much better I felt just from sitting down and nibbling on some food. I was definitely still anxious, but it did seem as if things were starting to calm down. Maybe Kryzen was wrong about something happening. I looked around at all the happy faces and twirling couples on the dance floor.

Just as I was leaning back in my velvet-lined chair, the soft music from the orchestra cut off abruptly and the lights from the crystal chandeliers flickered ominously.

Kryzen, Roy, and I were out of our seats in the same second, our eyes narrowing as we scanned our surroundings. I could feel the knot in my stomach tumbling. Kryzen was by my side in another second, his arm nearly pressed against mine.

That’s when they materialized above our heads, several dark, shadowy creatures with eyes the color of blood.

Dozens of shrieks and frightened screams filled the room, and people began to scatter.

The sinister entity appeared to be cloaked in darkness and shadow, its amorphous form shifting and changing as its red eyes scanned the floor below.

They flew above us in all directions, causing the chandeliers to sway precariously. One shadow dove into one of the light fixtures, causing the bulbs to pop and shatter, sending glass raining down on the guests.

“Roy, escort the guests out of here!” Kryzen bellowed. He looked around in a panic before ordering a guard to surrender his sword to him. The guard hesitated but did so.

Roy cast a worried glance at his friend before going to obey, rushing toward a few guests who had fallen and helping them up.

A curse fell from my lips as I reached beneath my dress to snatch the Embervalean dagger from where it was strapped to my thigh. I looked up at a shadow figure floating right in front of me.

I held the dagger up, the glinting point facing the monster. “Leave immediately!” I ordered. “You are not welcome here!”

The creature laughed. The sound was scratchy and ominous. Its red eyes glinted as its chilling voice echoed through the ballroom. “It is far too early for you to be celebrating. Know your place.”

I dove forward with my dagger, but the shadow creature just flew above me. I whirled around and screamed as it dove straight into a young woman who had fallen and was staring in horror.

I ran to her just as her head fell backward, hitting the polished floor with a thud. She began to writhe around, a piercing scream flying from her lips as her eyes turned red and a shadowy aura began to encase her.

Adrenaline coursed through me as I reached her and put my hands on her shoulders. I was barely able to steady my breathing as I shut my eyes tightly and searched for the dark energy inside of her.

The woman’s body was in absolute chaos, bouncing against the floor like a fish out of water. I could feel the void-like shadow in her and tried to grasp hold of it, pushing my magic into her like one would try to douse a raging fire.

A blinding light erupted from my fingertips, and I cried out at the exertion as I expelled the shadowy presence from the woman. The creature reappeared, slipping out of the girl and causing her to fall limp against the floor. It stared at me with its hateful red eyes and growled at me before it flew through one of the high windows.

I was trembling as the other shadow demons followed suit, shrieking angrily before fleeing from the building.

I fell to my knees beside the woman’s form, breathing hard.

“Briella!”

Kryzen and Roy were sprinting toward me. I was so distressed that I only lingered on the fact that Kryzen just called me by my first name for a brief second.

“Quick! Call a healer!” I ordered in a shaking voice, my hands going toward the woman beside me. “She needs help–”

The words caught in my throat when I realized that the young woman, who looked no older than me, was far too still, her wavy chocolate brown hair strewn across her face, her eyes closed.

“No,” I murmured, gripping her wrist and feeling for a pulse.

There was nothing.

“Briella,’ Kryzen repeated, grabbing my shoulder and turning me to face him. “Are you hurt?” His gray eyes were wide with concern.

I couldn’t even process the simple question. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I sucked in a sharp breath and realized that the gasp coming from my lips was a sob.

Tears spilled from my eyes. I had been too late.

The woman was dead.