Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 72: The banquet_Part 3

When they got to the double door of the hall, Belle’s heart had long steadied its nervous throbbing. A man by the door took their cloak and gestured for them into the hall with a smile that didn’t reach his light red eyes when they fell on the mad vampire, who almost everyone feared in Nightbrook. He looked somewhat nervous as he took Rohan’s overcoat, and the moment he announced their arrival, all the activities in the lively hall immediately paused, and all eyes turned to them.

Belle could feel herself becoming nervous again, but she squared her shoulders and kept her head held high in the air. The hall was large and grand, just like the ones in Aragonia during the seasonal ball. Everyone was extravagantly dressed, the women in ball gowns and the men in suits. Some had been dancing awhile ago in the center of the hall, some mingling with each other, when they stopped to look towards the entrance at the new arrivals.

She felt Rohan begin to lead her further into the hall, and the eyes that followed them made her slightly unstable on her feet, but thanks to the strong anchor gripping her hand, there was no way she would fall. Apart from the red eyes and a few slightly different shades of eyes that belonged to the humans in the hall, Belle would have believed it to be a season ball in Aragonia.

Rohan was leading her to the high chair in the hall where the king sat with his queen beside him, both looking at her husband as they approached without sparing her a glance. Their deep red eyes were wary as they remained glued to him. She could see the king’s hand gripping the arm of his chair a bit too tightly and his jaw working with his eyes narrowed.

When they came to stand before the rulers of Nightbrook, the silence in the hall was too loud—she thought she could hear her own breathing.

"Your Majesty," she heard Rohan say calmly, without bothering to bow.

She didn’t follow him. She knew her manners and knew not to be disrespectful and quietly curtsied with a bow of her head.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," she greeted, and finally the man looked away from her husband and to her. Belle felt her breath momentarily trapped in her lungs as his eyes stared into hers as if he was looking into her very soul. He stared at her so intensely she felt the great urge to hide behind Rohan, but then she didn’t do that and stood her ground. However, she dug her fingers into her husband’s hand to give herself the assurance that she wasn’t alone and had a partner.

The king looked younger than she had expected, with his hair having no strands of gray like the king of Aragonia. His were ebony black, with pale unblemished skin. He did not look a day older than thirty-five.

"You must be the Dawson daughter," came the king’s deep voice that rang loudly in the silent hall. It wasn’t a question but a statement.

Belle did not look away and tried to keep her gaze on him.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Tell me something—what are the thoughts of your people when they sent you into our land?"

Belle knew immediately he was compelling her from the cold she felt in her bones and the way his voice turned layered, not to mention the gentle squeeze on the back of her hand that came from Rohan as if to warn her it was happening. Alarm bells went off in her head.

She did not let her fears overwhelm her into giving herself away.

"My people only had one thought in mind, Your Grace. They wanted nothing but peace to reign between our lands and for us to live without war," she said calmly. Meanwhile, internally, she was trembling in fear. Nonetheless, she made sure her heartbeat remained as steady as she could keep it.

The king released her from his power and then smiled gently as he looked at the guests in the hall.

"You all heard the lady. We have no more battles with the humans."

At the king’s words, murmuring broke out in the hall.

"You may enjoy the celebration, Lady Dagon. If you find anything that isn’t to your liking, you can come to me personally and tell me." He waved them away just like that without so much as exchanging a word with Rohan or sparing him another glance. He turned and began to talk to his queen.

As they turned away from the king, Belle let out the breath she had been holding and relaxed her tensed shoulders. She was still processing the fact that she had just been compelled by the king when she heard Rohan’s voice beside her ear.

"You must never go to him alone for anything. He will take your blood and compel you to forget he had taken it, understand?"

Belle felt a shiver down her spine, but she nodded. She had no plans of going to meet the vampire king alone or be anywhere near him after this. She couldn’t believe how Aragonia would have been destroyed had she been able to fall for his spell and told him what the humans really planned. She had somehow just saved them from a war and death...

"You did great. I never thought you could be brave. I will reward you with something once we are alone," he said with a straight face, and she turned to see that he was regarding the guests who were staring at him like they were ants beneath his mighty feet.

However, his praise about what she did brought a small, pleasurable smile to her face, but she smoothed it with a clear of her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had praised her for things she did, and though it was little, she felt like she had done something great for her people just now.

As they walked away from the side the king and queen sat, the music in the hall resumed in a loud tempo that startled Belle, she hadn’t expected it to be this deafeningly loud to the point it felt like it was her heart drumming. She felt Rohan’s hand tighten around hers, and she turned to see him squinting his eyes and trying not to close them as his honey complexion began to pale and his pace slowly began to slow.

"It’s time." She heard him murmur—well, she didn’t hear him, she actually read his lips, as the music was too loud for one to hear the other. Time for what?

Why on earth would they play such loud sounds? Belle thought as she briefly looked around the hall to see where it was coming from. She noticed strange instruments she’d never seen before being played by the many musicians in every corner of the hall, as if they planned to set everyone ablaze with music.

Why were they playing it this loud? She wondered and turned back to her husband when she felt him lean down towards her ear to whisper, "Stay close to me until the music stops."