Chapter 192: 69
Chapter 192: 69
Heaven was shocked. She sat frozen, unable to react to the situation she found herself in. She just stared into Zamiel's stormy eyes and just when she parted her lips to say something, he vanished.
Pushing herself out of bed, she tried to go after him when Zarin grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving.
"Heaven!"
Without looking back at him, she yanked her arm away from his hold and teleported to Zamiel's room. It was dark inside, and Zamiel stood by the window blocking some of the light that came in from outside.
Heaven could feel the tense and cold atmosphere even though she couldn't see his face. He was looking outside the window and didn't bother to turn to her despite knowing that she was there.
"Zamiel." She called carefully.
He ignored her, but she could feel his anger. It felt as if the temperature in the room dropped. It got cold.
"It is not what you think." She tried to be careful so he wouldn't get angry at Zarin and do something he would regret.
"It doesn't matter what I think." He said.
She could tell he was speaking with clenched teeth and his anger only got worse. The room went from cold to freezing cold. Heaven wrapped her arms around herself, but her body began to shake.
"Don't you trust me?" She asked, her teeth shattering.
But the cold was only increasing, and Heaven couldn't stand it. "Please, Zamiel stop!" She called, rubbing her arms with her hands.
He could kill by making someone freeze to death.
Suddenly he turned around and the next moment he wrapped his arms around her. "I am sorry." He said.
Heaven sighed, feeling his warmth wrap itself around her.
"It is not you I don't trust. It is him." He continued. "I was so close to killing him."
He held her so tight she thought he would crush her. "Zamiel, I can't breathe."
He loosened his arms around her, and she pulled away.
She looked at him, "trust me. I will take care of this." She told him. "And you are the only man I love."
Heaven was very upset and hurt. She never thought Zarin would act this way, and now she had enough.
Zamiel gazed at her with a serious expression. "Heaven. There is something I need to tell you." He said. "I…"
Before he could start talking, Heaven felt the necklace around her neck burn her skin. It was the necklace she put a spell on to communicate with Ilyas. He was calling her. Her father and the army must have arrived.
"Is something wrong?" Zamiel asked.
"My father has arrived. I need to go back before anyone notices my absence." She said.
Suddenly she felt nervous. Now was the time to face her father.
Zamiel nodded. "Remember that I wanted to tell you something and I trust in me the way I trust you."
Heaven felt like he wanted to tell her something important, but she had to hurry back to Valish. "I trust completely." She told. "I have to go now."
He gave her a nod, and Heaven teleported back to the castle. Zarin wasn't in the guestroom when she arrived, and she was grateful for that. She didn't want to deal with him now.
But Ilyas and Callum were waiting for her. "My lady. Your father is here." Callum told her. "He is waiting in the parlor."
Heaven nodded. "Thank you. I will go over there." She told him. Then she turned to Ilyas. "I'll introduce you to father after I have spoken with him."
Ilyas gave her a nod.
*******
Lucian was surprised by what he found when he arrived at the King's castle. Heaven had freed her men, they had taken over the castle and found the seal. He had expected a few things, but not all of this.
The Royal army were also surprised. How could they have taken over the whole castle by themselves?
Callum complimented Heaven, saying she made a plan so they could take over easily, but he was smart to not reveal the plan. He told the soldiers that they could ask Heaven themselves if they were curious and that she could be a great help in the future if they had to go to war.
"She is very good with strategies." He told them.
The rest of the soldiers told the same story. Heaven gave them different tasks, they removed the castle's defence and then attacked. It was almost as if they were told to say the same thing. But interestingly they were not compelled, which made him think that it was Callum or Oliver's doing. Soldiers always listened to their commander.
On their way to war and to the castle, some soldiers speculated that it had to be Heaven who caused King Rufus to act the way he did. Others were baffled by Rufus' actions. They thought it was completely inappropriate no matter what she did.
Now suddenly no one was talking about her behavior or King Rufus. Everyone wanted to know her plan on how she took over the castle with only a few soldiers.
"Your Majesty. Her highness reminds me of you. You took easily over many kingdoms for your father, the former king." General James spoke. He had been part of The Royal army since the late King.
That was true. Lucian had fought many battles with only a few men and always went home with victory. The former King benefited from him. Decresh had grown in power because of all the wars he fought and won.
Lucian went to the parlor and paced back and forth while he waited for Heaven. He had asked Callum to send her. He already knew part of what happened. The demons working for him had reported everything to him. But he couldn't say that to The Royal army, so they believed that a bird delivered the message.
"Father."
Lucian stopped pacing and turned to Heaven. His heart dropped when he saw her. She looked like she struggled a lot and. She was pale, had dark circles under her eyes, and she was covered in dirt.
"Oh, Heaven." He opened his arms for her and she ran to him, enveloping him in a tight hug.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
She nodded. "I am fine." She said pulling back.
He forgot to act like a King in this situation. His daughter would always first be his daughter. But now they had to talk using their formal titles.
"Please sit." He told her, motioning toward the armchair.
Heaven nodded and went to sit down. He could hear her heart racing as he sat down in front of her, but there was no hint of nervousness on her face. She was masking it perfectly.
"What happened?" He asked.
"King Rufus accused me of cheating for defeating his best swordsman." She said simply.
"Of course. I think you knew the kind of person he is."
"I did. Just like Your Majesty knew the kind of person he is. You knew the only thing he wanted was the royal army, and he wouldn't make a deal for anything less. You knew I would fail to make a deal when you sent me here."
Yes, he knew. But he didn't know she would be so calm when she found out. Not only did she sound calm, but also confident.
"You couldn't make a deal, so you started a war?" He asked. "That is not why I sent you here. You were supposed to prove me wrong since you sounded so confident."
"Father." She changed her tone, which made it seem like she was going to be personal. "I know why you avoid war, but when it comes to matters involving the kingdom, we shouldn't let our personal reasons get in the way. I had my own personal reasons. I wanted to save those children, and the only way to do it for good was to eliminate the King. But you taught me that we should always think of our people and our kingdom first, so I abandon any thoughts of war, despite always coming to the same conclusion. Then King Rufus suggested the challenge. It made come up with a plan where I would get answers to my questions and not have to make decisions. I questioned whether war wasn't the solution. I listed all the benefits and disadvantages a war would bring and came to the conclusion that war could be the solution. But I am not as clever or as experienced as you or the royal army, so my conclusion could be wrong. Nor do I have your status to make decisions concerning the kingdom. Therefore, all I did was provide you with a reason to go to war. The decision was yours."
Lucian listened carefully, and for the first time he was speechless. It felt as if he was speaking to someone else and not his daughter. The way she calmly explained to him, and her plan where she let the decision fall on him and the blame fall on King Rufus impressed him.
"Being a good General is about knowing when to go to war and when not to. It is not about avoiding war at all costs. The Royal armies duty is to protect and provide for their kingdom, and they would rather die in battle than from starving with their families. The Royal army is supposed to fight for their people more than their honor because the honor lies in accomplishing their duties. I am sure you didn't even have to convince them when you told them about this incident. That Your Majesty and The Royal army is here only proves that my conclusion wasn't wrong. If you are willing to fight for honor, you should be more willing to fight for the people. And if war wasn't the solution, I am sure Your Majesty would find another way to save me."
Lucian continued to be surprised. Now she questioned The Royal armies' reasons for going to war. She seemed to have educated herself in the subject and spoke without a doubt. It usually took a long time for men to become a knowledgeable General but Heaven showed her potential after such a short amount of time.
This made him worry.
When she was a child, his father had told him that Heaven had the traits of a ruler. That she was naturally gifted. Now he could see what his father meant. For someone who had only studied politics for a few weeks and didn't have much knowledge about the outside world, she came up with a perfect plan.
She was naturally gifted.