Chapter 325: A Lover’s Arm

Aira instantly turned around to look at what it was that shouldn’t be there, only to feel two strong arms slowly wrap around her waist, preventing her from turning back.But she didn’t have to.

They were arms her body remembered, almost like they were her own.

The person easily towered over her, and even before she could think, she could smell the distinct scent of him as he leaned into her, basically asking that she do the same.

He didn’t speak or say a word, which only made it even harder not to cry—something that she hated him for—as she tried to pull away.

But clearly, he wasn’t going to let her go. There was no way, and he made it clear by tightening his arms around her as he nudged his face into the crook of her neck.

Before turning her around and hugging her into his chest, he picked her off the floor with ease, almost like she weighed nothing, until her face was buried in the crook of his neck.

"It’s okay!" he whispered.

Aira only cried harder, her sobs soft under her breath as her entire body trembled and she hid her face against him.

The truth was that it wasn’t okay. Nothing was. Her mother was dead, and even with her ability, she hadn’t been able to save her.

The thought only made her cry even harder than she already was, even as she felt herself being carried.

She didn’t know where Zyren was going, but at that very moment, she didn’t care. It was the last thing she cared about, even as she allowed herself to be carried away.

Knowing that staying there would only make her go insane as different thoughts flew through her mind.

She was sick!

She didn’t know better!

I should have treated her more carefully!

Zyren warned me!

This is my fault!

I knew she was acting weird!

She said it herself!

She said she wanted to kill herself!

I should have listened.

I should have... I should have...

The thoughts bombarded her from every side, even as she did her best to stop them.

Her eyes closed as more tears slid down her face.

She expected Zyren to put her on the bed and leave, which surprised her when instead she felt him sit down.

Not even knowing where he chose to settle, she felt his arms wrap around her as he left her on his lap, pressed securely against his chest.

He didn’t even speak as he simply sat there, without saying anything else or doing anything else.

He just held her.

The silence, though, was almost abnormal, for no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hear anything at all.

Her tears would stop, and then they would start again, until finally she fell asleep, her body too tired to continue under the assault and pressure, right there on Zyren’s lap.

While she slept, though, the body of Selira was carried off to be bundled appropriately for burial while Aira slept under Zyren’s orders.

Even more was the order that anyone who made sounds louder than a whisper would be instantly put to death—something he had put into writing and which no one dared to disobey.

For the first time in a long time, the castle was quiet—so much so that a stranger would think a royal was being mourned.

It also took quite a while before Aira finally stirred, annoyed by how hard the bed she lay on suddenly was.

Her eyes fluttered in confusion as she opened them and leaned back, taken aback to see Zyren simply sitting there, staring right at her with a slightly bored expression on his face.

One that slowly brightened the second she opened her eyes and met his gaze.

Aira was still processing what was going on when she felt him lean in until she could feel his breath right against her face.

"Your eyes still look red," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her right on the lips, leaning away before she could even think to react.

Her eyes fluttered in shock as she struggled to take it all in, even as she met Zyren’s red eyes, which continued to stare at her while his arms remained around her.

"Do you feel better?" he asked again.

That instantly made her heart sink as she slowly shook her head, only to be taken aback when, in response, Zyren went ahead and kissed her twice on the cheek.

"It gets better," he softly said, his gaze much gentler than usual, even as Aira found it difficult to reconcile his persona with the person who went around killing people.

"I don’t like seeing you cry. It’s not good for your body," he told her.

Her eyes widened in shock. If not for the fact that she still felt a bit blue, she would have instantly laughed at what he just said.

Even as she slowly shook her head, she moved to get off his lap, stretching the second her legs hit the ground.

Somehow, she felt better, even though she realized that she needed to check up on Liora, her sister.

Aware that there was no way she would make the mistake she previously did, considering that Liora was the only family she had left.

"I need to—" she began to speak at the exact same time Zyren got to his feet and also began to speak.

"You need to eat," he told her as he pulled her toward him and straight toward the door.

"I’m not sure you’ve eaten all day," he continued.

"When you’re done, then we’ll visit your sister, Liora."

He said it, and if Aira hadn’t been following behind him, she would have noticed the very sad look on his face when he mentioned her sister’s name.

Aira simply nodded, allowing herself to be gently dragged along, even as she stared at Zyren’s huge back—unable to help the hint of a smile that crept onto her face as she looked at him.

********

"Well, this ritual was always bound to fail," Savira sighed, leaning into her chair as she stretched her old back before getting up to stretch her legs as well.

Zyren had asked her to search hard for a solution—none of which she seemed to have found.

She stared right at the ritual Liora had chosen, and the more she stared at it, the deeper her frown became, especially since the goal of the ritual was to make monsters out of humans.

"Ancestral vampires really had a different way of thinking," she murmured to herself, which was a different way of pointing out the fact that they were cruel.