Betrayed By The Hero, Loved By The Lord-Chapter 176: Last warning (2)

Xavier waited for Selene to drift off to sleep. After a long eventful day, Selene was bound to fall asleep the second she lay down on the bed.

It was near midnight and while it would be good to stay in bed with Selene, Xavier had somewhere to be. He had put off a conversation which needed to be had long ago but it was put off since he stayed out of the palace.

Xavier slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Selene. She would know where he went in the morning, but for now, she needed to get some rest.

Xavier grabbed a shirt on his way out, going toward the balcony instead of using the door for the servants to see him leave. He closed the door behind him so the cold night air would not wake Selene, and then he set off for the palace.

He already sent Darius a warning with a piece of the body from the little stalker but Xavier also wanted to make a personal visit to get the message across. This way Darius couldn’t say he didn’t understand it.

In the palace, Darius looked over more reports about the attacks around the kingdom. It was getting worse but it was the perfect set-up for Darius to take his plans to the court to herd the humans in different groups.

Since they were behaving like wild animals, it was only right in Darius’s eyes that they be caged like the animals they were.

Darius thought about what Vivienne said concerning humans attacking a pureblood. He wanted it to happen so his peers would finally be on board with his plans. It was never a good idea for humans and vampires to live amongst each other with some humans having wealth in their hands.

Darius wanted to experience the old stories of when humans were terrified of vampires. The way vampires used to be able to sink their fangs into human flesh when they wanted to without needing to wait for humans to sell their blood.

"I am going to get this world back in order," Darius said, confident he would be the one to do it.

If anyone dared to try voting him off the throne, Darius planned to kill them. He wasn’t concerned about any meeting to remove him as the king. It was about time the other families either died or went to sleep.

"You’re still a fool."

Darius abruptly stood up, looking to his right at Xavier entering from the balcony. "You, how? Did you climb up there? You’ve got some nerve sneaking around my palace."

"Your palace? I remember it being shared amongst our families. The Blackthorns helped to build the palace but of course, you convinced yourself that only your family are royals. I want to have a word with you," Xavier said, closing the door behind him.

Darius was interested in what Xavier had to say but he was also curious as to how Xavier got so high up without anyone spotting him or without Darius hearing him. "Did you harm my guards? I can have you spend the night in a dungeon for that."

Xavier didn’t respond to Darius. He wasn’t concerned about the dungeon since no one was injured. As a Blackthorn, he had every right to enter the palace as he liked.

Darius smiled. Nothing about Xavier had changed. "You’re still a rude arrogant bastard."

"Did you get my gift?" Xavier asked, moving toward the table Darius was using.

Darius knew right away what Xavier meant. It came not long ago after he was done with Juliana. It was upsetting that his little spy was caught so fast but Darius had others to use. "You were bold to send me that. I could have sent it to the town guards to have you locked away but I care about Selene-"

Darius’s eyes widened in alarm as Xavier lunged towards him. With a surge of adrenaline, Darius swiftly dodged Xavier’s attack, darting away from behind the table.

The table slid across the floor with a loud crash as Xavier narrowly missed his target.

Darius laughed, enjoying the rush that came from Xavier trying to get him. "You lost your mind tonight. You’ve always underestimated me, Xavier. That’s going to be your downfall one day. Perhaps tonight."

Then he could finally get his hands on Selene.

Darius considered himself to be faster than his peers. Certainly faster than Xavier.

If he could kill Xavier now Darius would but there weren’t holy weapons around and Darius wanted to keep Xavier alive to see when he got Selene.

"This is my palace," Darius clarified for Xavier. "I rule this kingdom," he said, picking up a chair to throw at Xavier which he dodged. "To hell with all the families thinking they are royals. I rule!"

The kingdom didn’t need so many royals.

Xavier ignored what Darius rambled on about. He never needed to be faster than Darius, he only ever needed to outsmart him. He could control Darius’s body for a moment but that wasn’t the secret he wanted to get out yet.

It annoyed Darius that Xavier wasn’t responding to him. He knew Xavier was angry Selene was brought up since that was the moment Xavier charged at him but Darius didn’t like that he couldn’t see Xavier get emotional.

Why could he never see Xavier lose himself in anger? What would it take to see Xavier act out of character?

"It’s not wrong for me to keep an eye on your wife. Her parents were traitors and considering all the concerns about her, I think I just might open back up what her parents did and call her to the court. I would be kind to change my mind if you beg. Get down on your knees and beg me not to," Darius said, feeling like he would have finally won if Xavier kneeled before him.

It was unfortunate that there wasn’t anyone around to see it happen.

Rather than fear for his life, Darius laughed. Xavier couldn’t kill him right now. Unless Xavier wanted the other families to harass him or Selene for killing one of their own, he wasn’t going to kill Darius now. Xavier would forever have to go into hiding to avoid facing the consequences.

"Ha!" Darius laughed as Xavier charged at him again, but to his surprise, Xavier swiftly changed direction, anticipating Darius’s next move. "You!"

Xavier’s hand shot out, seizing Darius by the neck. "You’ve always been too predictable."

Xavier had noticed how Darius’s eyes darted around, desperately searching for a safe escape route, should Xavier come at him again.

"You can’t kill me," Darius said. He remained still, letting Xavier hold onto him. "I gave you a chance to beg and I would have let her have a quiet time-"

Xavier’s patience snapped. With a swift, powerful motion, he silenced Darius by delivering a brutal punch directly to his mouth.

Darius laughed after the first blow. "I got you," he said. He had gotten under Xavier’s skin and for that very reason, he was going to keep poking at Xavier using Selene. "I’m going to end up having her."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Darius regretted it. Xavier’s hands shot out, gripping Darius’s head as if he intended to rip it off. Panic filled Darius so he finally started to fight back, desperately trying to pry Xavier’s hands away. His heart pounded in his chest as he struggled.

Darius did his best to keep Xavier’s hands away from his head while also trying to claw at Xavier’s eyes. He didn’t doubt for a second now that Xavier might kill him. Darius was lucky to have come from a strong vampire bloodline to put up a fight against Xavier but strangely, Darius felt like he was losing control of his body at times.

Darius’s saving grace came from the door opening, revealing Vivienne.