Chapter 199 And Three Crowns

Chapter 199 And Three Crowns


Kyst complimented her—and if he hadn't been happily married to Nicky...

Blanche immediately placed a hand over his mouth, refusing to hear the end of that thought.

Embarrassed, she blushed, which made him burst out laughing.

At least some people were having an excellent evening.

Inside the elevator, a realization suddenly struck her: despite the deadly poison, she hadn't felt any pain, aside from the initial numbness.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even hear the elevator doors open.

Kysten, who had finally been waiting for his break so he could dance with her, escorted her to the dance floor.

The commotion had died down, replaced by a palpable sense of wonder.

Every eye turned toward her.

She looked for Kiyan, who seemed annoyed, then Sebastian, now standing beside his son and looking distinctly pleased with himself.

What the...

The music began, and Kysten made her forget all her worries.

Despite the leather and boots, the vampire elf embodied grace. His steps were light as a feather, infused with elegance and subtlety. Gentle, harmonious, his posture proud.

Almost regal.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

The elves hadn't been invited.

She knew there were some here—even if their government, with no tower in Epsilon, was based mostly in the Otherworld, allergic to pollution and deeply in love with nature. But Kyst being the only representative of his species said a lot.

There were no Faes either.

No fairies.

No pixies.

Blanche let her mind wander.

She would think about it another day.

She'd done enough for one evening.

It was time to enjoy herself.

She smiled at her friend and let herself be carried along until the music ended, completely relaxed.

Kysten answered her with an amused smile before suddenly dipping her backward.

Startled, she burst out laughing.

When she straightened, he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand before slipping away and returning to his post.

Argy took over.

Even though he danced considerably worse—so badly that saying he had two left feet would have been generous—they had fun on the dance floor, sending the guests into fits of laughter with their antics.

Sebastian was next, much more solemn.

Blanche, embarrassed and stiff as a board, let herself be guided, avoiding his gaze.

His eyes gleamed with a violet light tinged with pink, contrasting sharply with the deep black of his pupils.

"This dress is a gift. Keep it."

Caught off guard, Blanche slipped and stepped squarely on his foot.

Her partner found it amusing.

Blanche, on the other hand, was far more embarrassed than she would have liked.

"It's too much," she protested. "I can't accept it."

"Oh, yes, you can. Unless you'd rather go home naked. I've already sent your old dress back to Dimka."

Fortunately, her memory reminded her that the nickname, when used by Phénix, referred to her stylist friend Vladimir.

She sighed.

That cheeky bastard.

He'd thought of everything.

"Can you see Kiyan from here?" the King suddenly asked.

Blanche blinked.

The abrupt change of subject took her a second to process. Nevertheless, she followed his gaze and searched for her teacher among the guests.

She found him.

Kiyan stood a little farther away, perfectly motionless, his expression closed off.

At first glance, he appeared completely in control of himself. His face revealed nothing, his posture remained impeccable, and he almost gave the impression that he had nothing to do with what was happening around him.

Almost.

Blanche knew his aura well enough by now to realize that something was wrong.

It had darkened.

Not slightly.

A genuine storm seemed to be raging beneath that facade of indifference. His magic vibrated dangerously, barely contained behind barriers he had apparently thrown up in haste.

And, above all, Sebastian was taking advantage of his distraction.

The vampire had moved closer.

Kiyan's jaw tightened.

At that moment, Alacazar intervened.

The familiar placed a hand on his master's shoulder, as if trying to stop him from doing something he would regret.

Then he gave Blanche a very pointed look.

A warning.

The King, meanwhile, seemed to find the situation particularly amusing.

He waited until Blanche turned her attention back to him before leaning slightly toward her ear.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She frowned.

"For what?"

A satisfied smile stretched across the vampire's lips.

"Thanks to you, I won my bet tonight."

Blanche stared at him, completely bewildered.

"What bet?"

"The one concerning this dress."

She instinctively looked down at her outfit.

"It's the dress of the Vampire Queen."

Blanche felt her heart skip a beat.

"I'm sorry?"

He continued, perfectly serene.

"The one I had made for her coronation."

She fell silent.

The King seemed to savor every second of her astonishment.

Blanche looked at her dress again.

Suddenly, it felt much heavier.

He gave her an almost innocent smile.

"I did put it at the very end."

Blanche opened her mouth.

"You..."

She lowered her voice.

"You tricked me."

"Not at all."

His smile widened.

"I gave you a choice. There were dozens of dresses. You could have picked another one."

He tilted his head slightly.

"But you chose this one."

Blanche felt her cheeks grow hot.

"And therefore?"

"And therefore, by wearing it tonight, you have unintentionally made certain things official."

She stared at him in horror.

"What things?"

The King merely smiled.

"The things we discussed."

Blanche finally understood.

The dress wasn't simply a gala gown.

It was a declaration.

A piece old enough that every vampire in the room probably knew exactly what it meant.

She slowly turned toward Kiyan.

He knew too.

As if confirming her suspicions, Kiyan abruptly shoved Alacazar's hand away.

The gesture was sharp.

Angry.

The familiar took a step back, clearly accustomed to this sort of reaction.

Blanche turned her attention back to the King.

"You did that on purpose."

"Of course."

He didn't even try to deny it.

"I simply wanted to know whether you would choose it."

"And what did you bet?"

The King adopted a mysterious expression.

"That, my dear, I cannot reveal."

Blanche stared at him.

His smile grew wider.

"But know this: tonight, I won."

Which meant...

Her eyes widened.

She saw Kiyan storm away toward the men's restroom with an almost rigid gait.

Had the King planned all of this?

Had he known?

Had he deliberately allowed himself to be poisoned?

None of it made sense.

"Absolutely not!" Blanche exclaimed, pulling her hands from Sebastian's.

"Please excuse me, Your Majesty."

He held her back for one more second before finally letting her go.

After all, she hadn't danced with him once, but twice, missing the end of one song to join the next.

She gave him a brief curtsy and walked away.

"You are now the Vampire Queen, whether you like it or not," Sebastian murmured behind her.

And, as if to confirm his words, the vampires bowed as she hurried past—not quite running—murmuring:

"My Queen."

"Your Majesty."

Why the hell hadn't Kysten said anything when she'd come down with him?

She searched for him with her eyes.

He looked just as surprised as she was.

At least he hadn't betrayed her.

Somewhat relieved, she hurried on.

At her side, she noticed Nausicaa, Matthew's wife, staring at her with immense fury.

For the first time in a very long while, Blanche had just made herself an enemy.