A Bastard's Allure-Chapter 95: Emotions

The air was cold, the kind that makes you pull up a glove. The mist covered the ocean, hiding the anchored boats from Althenia. The atmosphere was so chilly that the birds were afraid to chirp this particular morning.

In the royal chambers, the smell of death clung to the air like a plague, refusing to leave as if one with the cold.

But to Elena the cold was nothing compared to the one clouding her heart. Her eyes were heavy as she stared unblinkingly at the city from her usual spot. It was no different from the other days, but today, she didn’t appreciate the little things she used to: the milkman dropping bottles at the doorstep, a drunkard hurrying to his wife in the wee hours...

All these were nothing today. Her eyes, with dark circles under them, were a void of emptiness. Last night, she had cried her tears out, left with little to nothing to spare for today.

The news about her brother’s death came quick and when she least expected. Everything had happened so fast she was still in disbelief. She turned her eyes away from the window to see a veiled woman expertly washing Andrian’s body.

She walked closer, each step like a ride into the abyss. Could it get any worse? Towering over his body, a sad smile, all she could afford, lined her thin lips. His face was so calm and peaceful, the worries of the world taken away from him.

Her eyes wandered south to spot a wound slightly above his ribs; the cause of his death! The physician had tried, but the wound was deep and fatal. She could still remember his eyes, how they stared at him, begging to cling to life, defying the very depths of death itself.

"Leave us!" She ordered. The veiled woman gathered the bucket and left after offering a curtsy.

A tear rolled down Elena’s cheek when she was alone, the grief taking over her afresh. To think that the last thing she did was argue with him when he was still standing tore her already tired heart into pieces.

"I will die!" He had whispered, fear clouded in his every nerve. The sheets had been changed thrice but his blood still leaked.

"You’re going to live!" Elena had assured him, holding his hands as if it was his life.

"I’ll finally meet with father and mother," he’d said, a sad smile scattered on his pale face.

Elena had wanted to rebuke him that time but she saw it too. The life was seeping out of his eyes. They had lost their glamour, his lips thin and tired.

"You have to continue alone, sister." Those were his final words, before he lifted his hands to caress her cheeks with whatever strength he had left. He didn’t even touch her before he dropped, eyes blue and lifeless.

"I’ve reached the limit of my art," was the last thing she heard in the background, probably from the physician. The whole room smelled of blood. To a vampire, it’d have been a black Friday sale!

Elena smiled again, her cheeks hurting from all the crying. She let her fingers touch his cheeks, resting on his beard and finally on his chest.

"You should have stayed," she whispered. The pain, it was too much to bear. He was the only family she had, and just like that, he was gone. For a brief moment, she wished Andrian was a vampire. Such a wound wouldn’t have killed him if he was the very creature he hated. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Gabriel walked in at the same time, his eyes settled on her as he closed the door behind him.

"I thought I hated him," Elena said, looking up to meet with Gabriel’s eyes. She couldn’t contain her tears anymore, breaking that instant. Gabriel crossed the distance between them and enveloped her into a tight hug.

He knew Andrian would die but telling Elena before it happened would have only worsened the situation. But he never expected she’d be broken to this extreme. On the contrary, he’d be over the clouds if he caught wind of his brother’s death. Ironically, he was planning to kill his own.

He stroked her hair gently until she mellowed in his embrace. Gods, she had cried a river, wetting his shirt in the process.

"He was a good man," Gabriel lied. "On my wedding day at least."

Elena looked up at him, his hands resting on her waist. "Gods! You’re more cute when you cry," he said to lighten up her mood. But it didn’t work. Instead, she rested her head on his chest away from Andrian’s body.

The bells tolled in the capital, breaking the ominous silence that reigned the capital this particular day. The king was dead, and not one but two! Two king’s dead in the same day. It was such a huge blow to the humans.

"Have you told her about the fleet?" Vathin enquired when he caught up with Gabriel.

"Will you be human for once?" Gabriel asked, and he meant it! Vathin... Allicent never cared about anything apart from his ascension to the throne. She was doing her best to make it up to him but not like this! If only she could try to be human... a mother.

"I forgot she was grieving, sorry," she apologized but Gabriel knew she didn’t mean it.

He halted in his tracks and turned to face him. "If you have to be around me all the time, I want you to be in your real form," he pointed.

"Do you really want this?" He asked. Gabriel nodded, still rooted at the same spot. Vathin hesitated for a moment before dropping his disguise.

Gabriel let his eyes travel her length and back to her eyes. They specifically were a reflection of him, but unlike his, hers were dead, void of any emotions.

"That’s what you’ve always been," he said, his lips twisted in disgust and hatred.