章節 23: Terror

Inside a luxurious receiving room, Gavriel was sitting across the general and Thea.

The general had been formal and polite but Gavriel would never forget the look in this man's eyes every time this exalted general turned his gaze on him when Gavriel was still young, until before he left the empire. Like all of the other high-ranking officials, this man was another thick-skinned hypocrite who only knew how to judge based on outward appearances and political gains.

Time had gone by and yet, the general was still babbling on about things Gavriel did not even care about. Anyone could tell that the robust and huge general was beating around the bush, perhaps trying to appeal to the prince's good side or elicit a positive reaction from him before finally landing on his real purpose. But Gavriel never spoke. He looked as if almost all expressions were wiped off from his good-looking face. Except for that cold expression his men knew so well – the adamantine one that meant it was easier to move a mountain or kill a dragon than to change his mind about something.

Elias had just entered the room when finally, the general stopped beating around the bush.

"Prince Gavriel, I came to speak with you about your engagement with my daughter, Thea. You are the most intelligent young man I have ever met so I believe I need not state the very obvious reasons why I intend to hasten your wedding with my daughter. Even though you had just married the other day…" the general continued speaking, not knowing that his words had already turned into a background noise to Gavriel the instant Elias entered the room.

The prince had met Elias' eyes and his first question was to ask him whether or not Elias had escorted his wife back to her chambers. When Elias told him that the Lady insisted to continue hunting a bird in the little forest, Gavriel's face darkened.

"So, you're telling me she's still there until now?" he asked the butler through their eyes and when Elias nodded, the prince abruptly rose, causing the General be a little startled and to stop talking.

Gavriel's gaze fell outside the window and when he saw that it was almost twilight, he grabbed his jacket and without a word, he stormed out of the room as if nobody and nothing else mattered, leaving the general dumbfounded, with his mouth hanging open.

"Your Highness, where are you going? Did you even hear what the general had just said?" It was Zolan who had chased after him. "You can't just leave the general like that. He'd be a huge help to you. What you need most right now is an ally …"

Zolan let out a defeated sigh because as soon as they reached a window, the prince jumped down and disappeared without a word. It seems like his only choice now was to go back and entertain the general until Gavriel finishes whatever was it that caused him to rush off like that. Although, at the back of his mind, he is almost a hundred percent certain that it could only be her.

…

Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the little forest, Evie was on the ground, frozen in utter horror. Something filthy and cold and dark had been splashed on her pale skin and hair and over her dress. Her already marble-like pale face became even whiter as if all her blood was drained from her face.

The beast had been shot precisely in its left eye. Her arrow flew strong and was now buried deep in its eye socket as some dark viscous liquid that appeared to be its blood was gushing out as the beast growled thunderously while shaking its large head violently in front of her, hoping that the movements would make the arrow dislodge and fall out on its own. The bone-chilling sound, the bloodied beast, and the dark blood splashing everywhere… Evie had never experienced such primal fear.

She felt as though her lungs had stopped working and her breathing was on a strike since that moment the beast leapt towards her. Her whole frame was shaking, as if there was no part of her body that was under her control now.

If it was a normal wolf, it should have been dead by now, and yet, it was still standing. It somehow seems as if it was going to heal itself soon – not dissimilar on how vampires heal themselves whenever they get wounded. Evie's instinct and adrenaline kicked in not a second later, despite the fear that had consumed her. As her trembling body moved and crawled blindly on the ground, she could not even bring herself to open her mouth to scream.

Evie's pounding heart and the sounds of the beast in pain was all she could hear now, still unable to take her eyes off away from it. Her body seemed to know that the moment she turned her back to run, the beast would attack her from behind. When her pale trembling hand had touched one of the many arrows she had taken with her, Evie frantically prepared her weapon and lifted it again, aiming for a crucial spot on the beast.

It was as if the beast had sensed another source of danger, it suddenly stilled, and its one remaining eye burned darkly as it looked at her. Evie felt as though she was staring at the gates of hell. The terror that ran through her was too much for her to handle.

Another arrow flew without warning and because of the uncontrollable tremors, the arrow hit the beast's legs instead of hitting the mark at the middle of its forehead. Evie frantically picked another arrow without taking her eyes off the beast but before she could even get it notched on her bow, the beast snarled in anger and it leaped. Towards her.

Her heart froze as though fully encased in a block of ice. The next thing she knew, she was looking up at the huge beast airborne and about to land a killing blow on her. She did not know how possible was it that she could still move but she felt her hands clasped the arrow in the event she get the chance to stab it into the beast once it reached her. That probably was a futile move, but she was out of other options.

Funnily enough, the beast didn't seem to land when she expected it to. The wolf had been hit by what seemed to be a sword that had been used as a spear mid-air and disappeared in a blur from her sight. There was then sound of a tree falling coming from the direction where the wolf's flying body disappeared to.

Before she could wrap her head around what had happened and another heartbeat had passed, she was firmly lifted up from the cold ground that she was sitting on. Something solid, warm, and exuding the feeling of safety held her close.

"Evie!" she heard her name called out in a suspiciously frantic tone and when she blinked and saw Gavriel's worried face filling her vision, she just spaced out and stared until he called her name again. "Evie! I'm here now, I've got you."

Her heart seemed to finally resume beating again but this time it decided to make up for the pause from earlier and started racing too hard, too fast – causing her chest to ache from the strain of her breathing. "G-gav…"

"Yes. I'm here, wife."

"T-t-take me away from h..."

Immediately, her feet left the ground, and the feeling of being cradled and enveloped in something comfortable all at the same time. She clutched her frozen fingers into his clothes, not knowing why there was that feeling as though she was being strangled.

"Evie. You're safe now, love." his lips curving gently against the cold rim of her ear as he whispered. She didn't even realize that Gavriel had already lowered her down onto the grassy meadow just outside the forest as he cradled her. His hands were moving swiftly over her bodice and hastily unhooking her corset.

She felt like her lungs were about to burst and no matter how hard she breaths, she could not seem to get enough air. And then his voice suddenly sounded as if it was coming from a great distance before everything suddenly turned dark.

創作者的想法
KazzenlX

Thank you so much Mariani Ali, Hope Zuccaro, Yvonne Chavez, Valencia Mobley, Kathleen Crozier, Diane Morgan, Elisabeth Palmer, Jackie, April Gladfelter, Cosette Meiring Heyns, Sri Vibha Kumar, Alicia Anuszewski, Andra Cash, Parwan Kaur, Sonya, Cking14, Santa Lopez, Tyler Beth Roe, Rand El Jarrah, daniBird, Maggi Thompson, Sophie quinney, Melissa Saganich, and Erica Harold-Heine for your support on pa.treon.

www.pa.treon.com/kazzenlx

評論 97條評論

投票

送禮

章節 24: Outburst

When Evie finally regained consciousness, it was already morning and there was a sliver of bright sunlight streaming in from the small opening in the curtains. Gavriel was already inside the room when she came out from the dressing room. However, she simply threw him a glance and refused to look at him after politely thanking him for saving her.

She had donned on a mask of irreproachable serenity and proceeded to inform her husband very formally that she wished to be left alone when the man tried to strike up a conversation with her. Still, he never glared at her neither was he angered by her sudden coldness towards him. But one could see the surly look in his eyes as he stared longingly at his wife.

Even during meals, Evie continued to act indifferent towards Gavriel. Her gaze never lingered longer than a second and she answered all his questions as curt and as monotonous as possible until Gavriel stopped talking to her as well. When she told him to leave her alone the third time, her husband never came to their chambers again.

And then, three days went by so fast. That was probably the most torturous days in her life. She had blamed herself and her heart for being so easily and quickly enthralled by him. She had put herself into that nightmarish event and nearly died because of being ridiculously jealous. She believed that it was all her fault for being so stupid. And she even thought that that was probably a warning sign for her that falling for him would only bring about her disaster. She had known that all along. True, legally he was her husband, but at the same time, he was also her enemy. When that day comes and her father would rescue her and attack the vampire kingdom with his dragons, she and her husband would be forced to go against each other.

She could not imagine what would happen if that day came, and she was already deeply and madly in love with him. Falling for him would earn her nothing but a shattered heart and hell and damnation in the end. Because there would be no way she can ever betray or turn her back on her family and the entire human race for him. So, all she could do now was to shut herself inside her own walls and harden her heart, if that was what it takes – even if it ends up killing her.

"Have a goodnight, milady." Fray and Gina curtsied, and she nodded listlessly at them. She had turned her gaze towards the window and sighed so deeply when they were gone.

Clad in a pure white sleeping gown, Evie rose and was about to walk towards the window to get a better view of the moon when she felt rather than heard the door open. She thought her maids had forgotten something but when she turned around to look, a pair of silvery moon-lit eyes met hers.

She stood frozen, as if just by the sight of him would paralyze her. He was clad in all-black garments and his hair was tussled very attractively. She couldn't help but remember the sight of him when he was standing in the middle of the pile of dead beasts back when they crossed the Dark Valley. The only difference this time was that his garments weren't splattered all over with those black and green unidentified liquids and his eyes weren't blood red. The worse thing for her was that the roughening of his looks made him look even more breathtakingly stunning in her eyes. There was a niggling curiosity at the back of her mind, wondering where he had been for the last three days that she did not see him.

Evie had to clench her fists and inconspicuously press her fingernails into her palms to distract herself from dwelling on useless thoughts when she began to think that he must have had spent his days with his fiancée and was busy with whatever arrangement they had agreed on with the general.

"I'm back," he said. His voice tender and soft compared to his dishevelled, roguish look.

He took a step closer to her, but Evie remained rooted to her spot, unmoving and just following him with her eyes. Taking off his coat, his eyes briefly surveyed her. "Are you alright now, wife?" he asked gently, a glimmer of genuine concern flashed in his eyes.

She clenched her fists even tighter. Why? Why was he so nice to her? How could she even…

Gritting her teeth, Evie frantically thought about what she should do. She could not hold her ground if this continued. His kindness and her traitorous heart would erode her will in standing firm in her decisions of not having feelings for him.

"Yes…Yes, I'm fine. But I still wished to be left alone."

A deafening silence followed as Evie begged him silently in her heart that he would quietly leave the room again. But this time, he didn't. A long and deep sigh escaped his lips.

"Forgive me but I'm not going to listen to you this time, wife. I never believed it was a good idea to leave you alone. Let's talk, Evie." His voice softened as he bent closer to her while she took a step back. However, her reaction no longer stopped Gavriel in his tracks like before. He stepped forward, maintaining their close distance as he kept speaking in a hoarse but gentle tone. "Tell me what's wrong. Did I do something wrong? Tell me, Evie."

Evie swallowed hard. She could feel the hot sting of tears just behind her eyes, threatening to spill over at the first sign of more care and concern on his part. His scent and the warmth of his breath went through her like the most delicious of wines and it took all she had just to step back and retreat. Warning bells began to ring in her ears, and those walls that she had built around her heart so painstakingly with blood, sweat and tears were already threatening to crumble. She knew it would only take a little more push and her defences would come crumbling down like a deck of cards downed by a puff of air. The fear, the calculations, the promises, the thoughts, and determination were all starting to tremble like dandelion seeds about to be scattered with the wind, threatening to leave nothing but the full brunt that this man had on her senses.

The panic of giving in to him forced Evie to burst. "There is nothing wrong Gavriel! Just ignore me and go to your fiancée and spend as many days there with her as you wish!"

Gavriel stilled, obviously shocked with her words. "You think…" he paused. "You think I was with Thea the last three days?"

"Yes! Weren't you? Don't tell me you're that shameful to deny it after being able to do it? Don't even try because I already know she's the one you really want to be your wife!" she sneered as her words tumbled out of her mouth, pouring out the hurt that was kept in her heart for days. She knew she had overstepped her boundaries, but she could not hold anything back once her dam burst.

"What made you even think –" Gavriel was shocked at the pain that was reflected in Evie's eyes and the obvious distress he heard in her voice that he could not continue his train of thought.

"While I was in the forest all alone – homesick and hurt – what were you doing? You were merrily sitting there with her and the general, talking and planning out your lovely marriage! But it's okay. I don't care! You can go back to her right now and marry her immediately. Since she's the woman you love and need after all! So just leave me alone. I'm sure three days is not enough for you."

The outburst of her fury lingered in the air, like a palpable thing, waiting to be addressed. She had just thought about provoking him so that he'd leave her alone again. That, and also to stop him from moving closer to save her walls from crumbling down. She didn't expect herself to end up revealing all the pain and distress welled up in her heart and uttering it all with real resentment. It had all come out before it even registered in her mind. Evie herself, was surprised at the depths of her own feelings and grudges that she did not expect the things she had said to resonate so profoundly within her.

A heavy silence reigned between them. Evie was silenced at the sight of his eyes and his offended expression. His eyes suddenly looked like they were frozen, and this was the very first time he had let his eyes turned that chilly while looking at her.

創作者的想法
KazzenlX

Thank you so much Christal DeCastro, Krystalcakes, Heather, Emily Sison, Gglennanthony, Tonia, Chatty, Cassie Flores-Arias, Monica C, Lajean Muegge, Meghan Stover, and Stephanie Jones for your support on pat.reon.

www.pat-reon.com/kazzenlx

評論 102條評論

投票

送禮