293: Lady in captivity (part 2)

Lady in captivity (part 2)

As Adela realized that the window differed from the Emorian ones, incapable of being opened from the inside, a sense of gloom descended upon her. Her heart followed suit, darkening as the absence of a mate bond — even without Aldric's dreaded bracelet on her wrist — left her feeling incomplete, as if one of her vital organs were missing.0

Before long, the door was wide open again, and the red firearm led the way into the small room where Lady de Lanark von Conradie was being held captive.

Adela's gaze lingered on the weapon, contemplating how differently her circumstances might have been had she possessed it. Her eyes flickered to the woman's face as the door clicked shut behind her.

The woman's cold, unblinking eyes seemed almost unnatural as she stared at Adela.

"...Why am I here?" Adela whispered.

"That's not important. People don't choose where they're born. Consider yourself born here if it makes it easier for you to accept."

Give up Lanark and my identity? Absurd!

"...What is it that you want from me?" Adela demanded.

There was no response, only a man's coat thrown onto the bed.

"Your size is closer to his than mine," the woman remarked.

Adela lowered her chin, a sensation of refusal coursing through her body, her eyes widening. "His... Is this Aldric's?"

The disdain returned to the light green eyes. "Stop using His Holiness's name so casually, and stop asking foolish questions. When he returns, he'll explain everything to you. Sit quietly and don't cause any trouble, and I'll make you some tea."

Recognizing the importance of an ongoing conversation, Adela nodded, hoping that by playing along, the woman might stay longer and provide more information.

When another door opened from beyond the closed door, the woman's eyes sparkled, and she practically flew out of the room with unabashed excitement.

The last time Adela had seen a woman's face light up like the sky when the sun peeks out from behind a cloudy day, it was during the early days of Larissa and Andreas's love story. The newcomer who entered whatever place Adela was held captive in was likely the woman's significant other.

Expecting a lengthy absence now that the woman's focus was on somebody else, Adela flinched when her door opened once more.

"You're finally awake."

Aldric's lopsided smile vanished as his eyes took in Adela's nightgown before drifting to the cloak on her bed. His face flushed, but the lopsided smile returned.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked.

She looked up at his face, smoke still clinging to his skin. She had been wondering how many days it had been since she was brought here, but it appeared to have only been a matter of hours since her home was set ablaze by the monster now standing before her.

"…Are you all right?" His voice trembled ever so slightly.

"No. I'm not all right at all."

He took a shaky breath. "Did Samandra mistreat you?"

Samandra. Where had she heard that name before?

"…She is treating me just fine." Adela looked around, searching for an opportunity to improvise an escape. "This place is too small."

He fidgeted in his place. "It's temporary."

Her face twisted, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why am I here, Your Holiness?"

His arm started to rise, but then he hesitated, lowering it with a disappointed expression as she watched him closely.

"It won't take you long to adjust to this place. Once you do, I'll build the palace of your dreams. You can design it however you wish. Whatever you desire, I can make it a reality. You'll see for yourself, you're safe in Varinthia."

Unable to restrain his longing any longer, his hand shot up and grabbed a strand of her hair, silver in the darkness. His longing swiftly turned to anger when she recoiled noticeably.

"Enough. Stop pretending that you're afraid of monsters when you choose to be with one. Deep down inside, you are fond of me. Otherwise, you would have left me in that mud to my demise," he declared with conviction.

She had no witty comebacks to throw at him, for this act of kindness she was paying for now might have been her gravest mistake of all.

"Quit the lies and admit it. I'm already in your heart."

She turned her head away, envisioning two furious eyes, initially brown, but rapidly turning red with anger.

"…He's not just my husband, Aldric; we're mates. If you think there's room in my heart for anyone else, you're gravely mistaken. It can be no one but Egon. He fills every void in me. Me and my heart, we are both saturated with him."

Her eyes focused on his white hair, then lowered to meet his angry midnight-colored gaze. In that moment, she came to a conclusion: whatever this man had experienced in life that had shaped him into the deranged man he was today, none of it justified the torment he was subjecting her to.

"I'm sorry that you don't share that same love with your wife. But for me and my husband, no one can come between us... In fact, there's no space between us to begin with, you see?"

He launched himself at her, but she didn't lift a finger, staring at him calmly as he loomed over her like a volcano on the verge of eruption, ready to unleash its fiery wrath.

"Your marriage is annulled!" he insisted, his voice seething with anger. "Kaiser doesn't know what that man truly is; otherwise, he'd never have allowed it! Mates? You're human!"

"Human beings don't perform miracles," she argued.

"Then I'll kill him, damn it!" He shouted, his face a breath away from hers. "I'll give you time to get over him, but only if I see you genuinely trying! Otherwise, I'd rather watch you grieve over his dead body than see this hope in your eyes when you think about him! Do you hear me? I'm the King from my mother's prophecy! I'm the only King in your life! Accept me already!"

pqdm.com