The Return of the Hades

Lumina Root

31

As the guests at the gala began to make their way out, their expressions a mix of relief and lingering fear, Darien and Lavinia watched from the sidelines. They had become inadvertent heroes, a status that sat uncomfortably on Darien's shoulders.

Marcella and Bennett, looking considerably weakened but alive, made their slow approach toward the exit. Their eyes met Darien's, and instead of gratitude, there was a flicker of the same disdain they had always shown him.

"You think you're some kind of hero now, huh?" Marcella sneered, her voice weak but dripping with contempt. Despite her condition, she managed to stand tall, her pride seemingly untouched by the ordeal.

Darien, caught off guard by her harshness, was momentarily speechless. He had braced for some bitterness, but her hostility caught him off guard.

Lavinia, unable to contain her frustration, stepped up, her fists balled in anger. "He saved your ungrateful lives. The least you could do is say 'thank you," she retorted, he