Only the paranoid survive

*Kiara POV*

I stared at the food in front of me as if it were poison. To be quite honest, it could be. It was obvious that I wasn't wanted here. What better way to kill me than to poison the very first meal of my day?

I noticed the queen glance at me as I studied the food, so I reached my hand into the fruit basket. I looked for a fruit I was sure couldn't be poisoned. Ah. A banana. I ate one,then two,and pretty soon all the five bananas were gone.

"Did you sleep well last night?" The Queen paused to ask me.

"Yes,Your Majesty. Thank You."

"Do you not like the food?"she asked,concerned .

"I love the food..."

She rubbed her forehead and drew a long breath, which she released from her mouth. I had stopped midway through my sentence as I watched her get this close to giving up on me.

"Then there must be something wrong because you look awful, you didn't even come for dinner last night.You look like a starved rat."she said blatantly as she added honey to her cinnamon rolls.

"I want to like you, Kiara. Not only because we will soon be family, but because we will soon be friends too.I want you to feel comfortable around me and to trust me."

Trust, that was a funny word with a tricky meaning at this point.

"Of course,I couldn't agree more." I replied with a sweet smile. "It is just a bit difficult to sleep well in a strange bed."

"Anyway," she said dismissively, removing a stand of her rich gray hair from her face. "Tonight,you will be presented to our society as the incoming royal of the Valerian family. You are one of the most important hosts. You will meet, greet, and entertain all of the vampire royalty with a smile. It will be a tiring and honestly annoying job, so I suggest you actually get a good rest or eat something apart from bananas. You could ask the chefs to make you what you want; they are talented in diverse cooking too."

"Thank You." It will be so much better to have someone quietly supervise the cooking for me. It will bring me so much relief knowing for sure that I won't slip into another coma due to poison soon. I couldn't risk it. Only the paranoid survive.Carlotta's words ringed in my ears.I threw a look at Vivi's worried face and decided to ignore it.

I momentarily froze when I saw Hendrix confidently walk into the room. He had a long black leather coat over his royal clothes. I glued my eyes to my still-full plate and rearranged them according to colour with my fork. I prayed. Oh, I begged the heavens that he was just passing by and wouldn't actually sit down, but the heavens were not my friends anymore. They made it clear when they didn't answer the prayer. He sat confidently across from me with his green eyes,dark hair, and skin-crawling smile.

"Good morning," he greeted, warmly.Ironically that sent chills through me.

I bit my tongue and replied with a hushed "Good morning."

"And where were you all morning?" The Queen asked,scolding him like he was still in pampers.

"Hunting."he answered curtly, annoyance vivid in his voice.

"HUNTING?!"The Queen exclaimed

"Yes,Hunting," he replied with a sarcastic tone, as he chose a pastry to eat.

"You never hunt alone; what changed?"

Hendrix ignored her as he added a tart to his bowl. I avoided his gaze each time he looked my way and kept my eyes on my plate. My heart drummed hard against my chest with every movement he made,no matter how simple. I tried counting to find a way to stay steady, but I couldn't. I just couldn't control myself from panicking. It felt like I was being cornered and suffocating again.

"What is that on your hand?!" The Queen shrieked. Her captivating, sultry face was washed with bewilderment.

I finally looked up to see. Her eyes were pinned to her son's hand. The place that was bandaged is now on full display since he discarded his coat.

"Nothing,"he declared, paying very little attention.

"It is not nothing. What happened to you?" she asked.

"The bear I was hunting and I got into a fight."

"And it managed to beat you?"she asked. Hints of mockery were showing in her voice.

He glared at her and looked away. "No, it put up a fight, but I eventually cut its head off. It's out back." He said, catching my eye as he said, 'cut'.

I cursed in my head, but I didn't dare say anything out loud.Not even a muttered Spanish insult. What if they all spoke Spanish too?

"Well, it must have been a really strong bear to still have you injured—to the extent that you have to use bandages. What kind of bear is that..."The Queen asked further.

"Could you at least have my breakfast in peace?" Hendrix groaned, and she shrugged.

There was silence for a while, but the tension between Hendrix and me was still high. I feared the Queen would suspect and then take her son's side when the story was explained. After all, it was her son, and I was just a hybrid she met a day ago.

The air thinned out a bit more when I noticed the queen glancing at both of us. It was as if she suspected it already. God, she was observant. Too observant.

"Any news about Adriel?" I blurted out the first question that came to mind and quickly regretted it as soon as I finished the sentence.

Hendrix and his mother stared at me strangely, and I dropped my shoulders,feeling more embarrassed now. I had no idea what they were thinking of me. It couldn't be that bad. I only sounded like I cared and missed him. In normal circumstances,that's supposed to be a good fundamental part of marriage, but no, the expression on their faces made it seem otherwise.

"I wrote to him,and he has yet to reply. The only news we have is that he is staying at his personal palace alone in the East Valley. We hope that he is here tonight to validate the engagement and take his rightful place by your side during the presentation, but it is highly unlikely." The Queen said sadly,as if she missed him too. "Anyway,Hendrix will take the role if Adriel doesn't show up."

I stiffened while Hendrix just chewed on his food. I couldn't tell if the idea made him happy or not. I ran my fingers across my neck, where he had choked yesterday. I felt nothing. I had healed barely minutes after the assault. At this point, I don't know if that was a blessing or a curse to heal that fast. My skin will look great, but no one could tell my pain—that I had been tormented or that I was hurt and in fear of my life a minute ago.

A small part of me believed that Adriel would have noticed instantly. I don't know why, but I just did. I felt a small sense of ease when I was around him. Like he could actually keep me safe. My emotional health and mental state might be on the brink of peril, but no external factors will not harm me. I felt it when I was with Xhao talking about the castle and its payments. I was safe near him. But he left. He kissed me,made me need him and then left like nothing happened like I don't even deserve an explanation or a goodbye for his disappearance. And all that after forcing me away from my family to protect his ego.

I hated him with passion. I hated him so much that it burned my chest, but I wanted him here. I will prefer him over killer Hendrix any day. Hendrix being my escort tonight will be a nightmare. And I don't want to live one nightmare while I am awake and another when I am asleep.

"Did you hear me, Kiara?" the Queen asked me,bringing my lost mind back to the breakfast table.

I blinked absently and nodded.

"As I was saying,Erica Alvero is a family friend. And an ardent Adriel devotee. She is in charge of planning your party and will help you get acquainted with the clubhouse so you know your way around. You will be spending your day with her."

"Yes,Vivi told me." I replied solemnly.

"Good. I have to go choose a dress for tonight, so unfortunately I can't come along, but I really hope you have a nice day with her." The Queen got up from her seat and turned to leave. I got up too, knowing I had barely eaten. I wasn't going to spend a second alone with Hendrix; the claws may have come by chance, and I wasn't going to risk anything with him. This would be my habit till my father came to save me from this hell.

I got up and followed her every step as she left the room. She glanced behind me and noticed me, but said nothing. We walked a little further before she made a comment.

"Your palace quarters are in the opposite direction."

"Oh," I said, acting surprised. "Thank you."

I turned and made my way away from her. I tensed up as I walked through the large hallways. I am praying that I make it to my quarters before Hendrix sees me. I just have to go inform Vivi that I am on my way and meet Erica Alvero in the guest room.

I paused in my tracks when I heard something. I turned and realized that I was in front of what Vivi indicated was Hendrix's quarters.The hair on my neck perched up in alert. I should get away from here. And fast.

"Are you running from me?" Hendrix asked. Almost sounding offended.

I steadied my breathing and kept walking. He crossed before me and blocked my way.

"Didn't I tell you we had a chat to finish?" He snarled at me as I backed away, thinking of what to say.

"Oh, Hendrix, please don't frighten the poor lady." I heard a voice say it from afar. It was a female voice, but too young to belong to the Queen.

A ginger-haired girl in an emerald green dress stood a few feet away from us. She had her hands crossed in front of her, revealing the symbolic gold ring on her finger,flaunting that she was a Type Four vampire and royalty.It was the mysterious girl I saw when I met the Valerians yesterday.

She took a few steps towards us,holding my gaze with intensity. She did a small bow, which I returned with a bit of confusion. I wondered what she was doing around Hendrix's quarters.It was none of my business but it was a bit suspicious nevertheless.

"Hello Kiara. I am Erica Alvero. Ignore this brute…..Shall we head to the clubhouse?'

I glanced at Hendrix, who was still fuming behind me, and nodded politely. "I will be happy to."

She then led me out of the castle, but not before something important came to mind.

Hendrix's bear wound. The hand with the bandage was the one I dug my claws into yesterday. It was no bear, as he had told his mother—it was me. He had lied.

I hurt him that badly. And a more intriguing fact was that. I had healed minutes after he dug his nails into my skin, but there he was hours later, still trying to recover from my impact.

I was that powerful.