Adonis  POV

The blue sky darkened as the sun was slowly exiting. Yet was still bright enough to be reflected off the golden doors rather bare, Riona and I sat in silence as the excruciating journey continued. Perhaps next time I shall tell Gerald to arrange something more lavish.

My eyes turned to Riona who seemed too busy admiring the view of the kingdom and probably had forgotten about my presence as she sat there quietly.  

Today was finally the day. It was going to be the beginning of the end of the current reigning monarch.

Everything will go my way as all my pawns fulfill their roles. 

Mother, sister, father I soon will carry out my vow to avenge you all.

After all these years I shall finally begin the first step in my plan. Revenge. An amazing thing for fools to relish. Yet it seems revenge is the only thing I need to fuel my heart so it can beat without any failure. Perhaps I am a fool to seek revenge even though it has been a decade since that day. 

“Even though I already explained the goal of today I will explain it to you again,” I told Riona as I folded my arms, and when I did her eyes shifted slightly towards mine and then back outside.

“This banquet is hosted to welcome the Elysium kingdom representative, Amir who is there with his wife, Hawa. Your job is to befriend Hawa and other noblewomen,” I said, taking a quick glance out the window. We would soon arrive at the banquet.

“But be sure to avoid any members of the house of Dunamis. It will be quite easy to tell them apart since they always wear red and black and have red eyes,” I added while the thought of them crossed my mind.

“For what reason?” Riona questioned as her eyes drifted away from the window 

“The house of Dunamis. A powerful family who could even overthrow the current monarch right now if they wanted to.,” 

“Are they a threat to you or our plans?” She asked, raising her voice ever so slightly. Her eyes stared straight into mine as if there were daggers in there that she was hiding and I was her target. 

“They aren’t or at least for now they don’t purpose any threats currently” I reassured her

“For now…?”

“They have a strong mark in the political world and are one of the most powerful families close to the royal family. But that is a problem we will deal with in due time,”

The sight of them made me sick.

Riona just kept glancing out the window in silence, busy lost in thoughts. 

The carriage came to a halt and I could already hear the voices of those irritating nobles that had nothing good coming out of their mouths. We were finally here at the banquet. 

Riona's focus finally shifted as she stared straight toward me without blinking which was probably her sign of telling me she was ready to head out. 

“My dear fiance, shall we head to the banquet?” I extended my hand out for hers, as the carriage door opened, waiting for her to accept. She looked at me and closed her eyes for a brief moment inhaling and exhaling and when she opened her eyes a smile bloomed on her face. Her hands were small, soft, and surprisingly ever so smooth as they loosely fitted into my hands like a key and lock. 

“His grace, the Northern duke, Adonis v Astor accompanied by her ladyship, his fiancee Riona!” They announced while we entered and all eyes became fixated on Riona and I. They weren’t the innocent eyes of people admiring us but the eyes of calculative nobles deciding our worth and if they should approach us or not. To be more precise they were curious about Riona, a woman they had never seen before. 

The music resumed playing as we made our way down the stairs carefully, whispers went around the hall.   

“Your grace, please let me escort you to your seat,” a servant, quite young and thin, appeared as his eyes cast downward the floor, ready to escort us.  

“Very well,” I replied simply as we followed the servant boy to our seats.  

The tables were long and quite lengthy and were embraced with a fine thin gold cloth. The cutlery was laid carefully while the food had yet to be served.  

“Duke Axel!” A voice sang from across the end of the table as Riona and I seated ourselves. 

We were sitting on quite the far end of the table which was expected since I probably wouldn’t be too far down from the middle of the rankings between all the dukes. Although that voice had an annoying ring to it which made me certain, it was him.

I looked down across the table and there he was sitting. His golden hair and eyes stood out, as always, being bright enough to light up the entire hall. He had another new accessory by his arms or rather his new mistress. It seemed that fool was still lusting over women like a savage starved dog. 

Despite all the noble bastards that could have been here tonight it was him. 

Archduke Liam Claymoore. 

He was the type of guy to poke his nose where not needed and be praised for no Goddamn reason.  

“Who exactly is that guy?” voice interrupted my thoughts,  it was Riona. Her gaze was fixed down on the silver plates while they were being served as her green eyes seemed to be darkened. Somewhat like moss. 

“Just an annoying fool, nothing much to be interested in,” I replied. 

“I wasn’t interested, you were staring at him for quite a while.”

“Is my dear fiance not jealous of me looking at not only other women but also other men?” I questioned as I pulled my face closer to hers.