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The words hung in the air for a long time before Rebekah realized that there was nothing else left to say. Her brothers would throw their glittering party to cement their place in New Orleans while she left it. There was nothing to keep her, now that she’d said good-bye to her brothers. She and Eric could sail that very night.
Looking at her brothers’ faces, she knew that if she stayed even one more day, the guilt of separating their family would break her heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“MY LOVE,” KLAUS MURMURED, whisking Vivia
She looked magnificent in a long silver gown that trailed away into unexpected shadows of lace. So far she had held up her end of their bargain, which required her to keep their secret while the Mikaelsons maneuvered for power. But the next steps would probably be harder.
“I have been ready since the morning after the full moon,” she replied. A peal of laughter filtered in from the main hall, and Vivia
Klaus lovingly ran his thumb along the line of her jaw. “I am on your side, Vivia
She swayed closer to him, her entire body seeking contact with his own. “I know you would rather fight your way out of a banquet hall full of enemies,” she teased, a smile playing on her lips. “But as you say, we are our own allies now. And so I will be your ambassador in this, and keep you safer than your own instincts would.”
“A bit,” he conceded with pretend reluctance. “I won’t give up all my fun, but it’s true that the Navarros have far more to answer for than your witches. If they are prepared to accept the new order, so much the better.”
He pulled her face up to his, kissing her in earnest this time. She responded eagerly for a minute, then set her hands on his chest and gently separated them. “Let’s wait,” she told him seriously. “Just until I have officially called off the wedding.”
“You want to be free of Armand, to tell him first,” Klaus interpreted.
“You understand, then,” she said, looking so relieved that he hesitated to tell her no. “Whatever else he is, he is technically my fiancé. It is only decent to tell him first, before making a spectacle of the news.”
A spectacle was just the sort of surprise that Klaus wished on Armand Navarro, but Viv looked resolute.
“Very well,” he agreed, “Tell him, then a
“What’s the hurry?” she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We still can have a few more minutes of peace.” Klaus folded her against him, inhaling the lilac fragrance of her hair.
“I knew you were a faithless whore, but to betray me with this thing?” Armand’s voice was thin and strangled. “How could you, Vivia
While Klaus had kept half an eye on the door to the banquet, Armand must have approached stealthily from the other direction. He must have noticed that they were both absent and begun a calculated search. It was a dreadfully inconvenient time for him to have grown a mind of his own, and Vivia
“Armand,” she cried, straining forward while Klaus held her back. “I was going to tell you tonight. Within minutes. You should not have seen this.”
“Tonight?” Armand asked, his tone bitterly mocking. “And what about all the other nights you have spent ‘taking air’ in our garden, or sneaking out through your bedroom window? You never thought to tell me then?”
“You knew,” she breathed, shame flushing her cheeks to a deep red. “All this time, you knew.”
“I didn’t know it was him,” Armand spat. “I had nothing but gossip and rumors. No one knew you’ve been spreading your legs for a dead man.”
Before either of them could answer—although Klaus certainly had a few things to say about that—Armand ran in the other direction, making for the lights and music of the party. Vivia
Vivia
The music faltered, and Klaus saw Elijah gesturing furiously to the band. Elijah had arranged a spectacular party, Klaus noticed belatedly. The room glowed with thousands of chandeliers and candelabras, and every bit of space was packed with flowers and vines. The music was lively, the wine flowed freely, and up until this unfortunate interruption, everyone had seemed to be having a good time. The musicians resumed their cheerful reel, if a bit shakier than before. Klaus stepped between Vivia
“We were never in love, Armand,” she shouted recklessly. “You coveted me, and I was willing to do my duty. But once I understood what you demanded of me, what you let your family put me through...I never loved you, Armand, but after that I could not even bring myself to respect you.”
Armand laughed coldly. “You lost your respect for me? It’s mutual, Vivia
“If he’s an abomination, what am I?” she asked, and Klaus could see real despair on her face. He had not thought about the next full moon, but he realized that it must be always on her mind. “What did you make me?”
“Nothing you weren’t before.” Armand shrugged. “Nothing like what your undead lover will change you into.”
Klaus saw the light glitter off Vivia
“He has asked nothing of me,” Vivia
Armand’s laugh was bitter. “And when he does? Will you change your mind again, and slink around behind his back, too? I’m sure you will. It hardly matters what else you call yourself, Viv: That is what you are.”
She slapped him in turn, and now any pretense of a private argument had ended. Guests stared openly, curiosity and suspicion mingled on their faces. Vivia
“They might as well all know now, Vivia
He stalked away, and the crowd parted to let him through. Vivia