Chapter 207: Blood On Marble, Hope In Hand
[Music recommendation: OSI AND THE JUPITER (feat. Anilah) - Wights]
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She sat there motionless, lost in thought, when the curtain shifted strangely against the breeze. Her breath caught as the fabric distorted and soon formed the outline of a figure. A man’s silhouette stepped through the window pane as if carved from the shadows themselves.
Her heart lurched at the sight. An intruder! In her room, and that too at this hour.
Her lips parted to scream, but the man tore off his mask, lowering his voice to a hurried whisper, "Don’t scream, Your Highness. It’s me....Alex," he said quickly.
Evelyn’s eyes flew wide, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to smother the sound rising in her throat. A second later, she scrambled off the bed and rushed toward him.
"Sir Alex! Did you find Ivan? Where is he? How is he?"
Alex’s silence was enough, but it still broke her. His brows drew together, tension lining his face before he finally replied, "His Highness was taken to the far end of the west wing and escorted into a sealed chamber. No windows were left open to view inside." His voice dipped with frustration as the guilt tightened his jaw. "I-I don’t know what condition he’s in. I couldn’t see him."
Evelyn’s heart dropped, and a sharp breath left her like a punctured lung. Her gaze fell to the floor, and helpless anguish clouded her eyes.
Alex saw the raw angst in her eyes, and it pained him. He then spoke gently but urgently, "Princess, we are in a very dangerous situation. I don’t know what the queen is planning, but something tells me this won’t be resolved by the bargain you made with her."
Eve’s eyes widened again, "How did you-"
"We don’t have much time," he cut in quietly. "I need to return to His Highness. A report has already been sent to King Iskara. Things will not be simple from here on."
He met her gaze firmly, "I came to ask, do you want me to take you away from here?"
"Sir Alex, what are you talking about?" Eve asked as confusion tightening her voice.
"Princess," Alex said gently, yet firmly, "my loyalty lies with His Highness, and so does the loyalty of the entire Ignis Blades unit. And there is one thing I am certain of....His Highness would never allow you to be dragged into this mess or forced to be with that lowlife. In his absence, it is my duty to protect you. I know he would want that."
Eve’s heart swelled at those words....at the devotion Ivan commanded even when he wasn’t here to speak for himself. His right-hand man, the one closest to him, was willing to risk everything....for her. Her eyes stung, filling with heat as Ivan’s face flashed painfully through her mind, along with the terrible reality of their situation.
But she couldn’t leave. Not now....not when he was trapped in this palace. Not when her friends were captive under the same roof.
She swallowed her tears back with resolve. She was not running, not while Ivan was still in chains.
A tear slipped down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away with a trembling hand. She swallowed the tightness in her throat and drew a shaky breath as she held herself together. Then, she shook her head. "No, Sir Alex. I thank you for coming to my rescue, truly," she said softly, but her voice was full of conviction, "but I will never leave Ivan in the dark like this. Nor will I abandon the others trapped in the dungeon."
She drew in a sharp breath and looked out the open window, the cold wind brushing her skin like a reminder of everything she stood to lose. "I have to see this through. I have to walk this path...for him."
Her voice softened, "He has always been the one shielding me, protecting me, fighting for me." Slowly, she turned back to Alex and this time, her eyes burned with determination strong enough to fracture mountains, "Now it’s my turn to protect him....I promise you...I will bring Ivan back to being himself again."
Alex’s red eyes stayed on her in silence, weighing the truth in her resolve, and when he finally saw it, something in his gaze softened. The fierce determination blazing in Evelyn’s eyes told him everything he needed to know.
She loved his prince, not out of obligation but with a heart that was willing to burn for him.
For the first time since entering the room, Alex felt something like relief settle in his chest. Ivan...the loneliest man he had ever known, was not unloved after all.
He had expected her, even half-hoped for her to choose escape when he offered. To run away from this hell. That was what most people would do. But this woman stood firm, not for herself, but for his prince.
With that single choice, every doubt Alex carried about her fell away like ash. He took one step back, then sank to one knee before her, head bowed, one fist placed firmly over his heart. "Then command me, Your Highness," he said firmly and with absolute loyalty. "Tell me what you need of me, and I vow to do all within my power to see it done."
Eve had not expected Alex, the man who answered to no one but Ivan, the commander of Ignis Blades, the blade and shadow of the vampire prince....to kneel before her with such unwavering conviction.
For a moment, she could only stare. His oath was more than loyalty....it was recognition. A silent admission that he saw her not just as his prince’s partner but as Ivan’s equal.
Her eyes softened at him, "Thank you, Sir Alex," she said quietly. "There is one thing I need from you." She paused, weighing her next words, "A paralysing poison....with an antidote."
Confusion flickered in Alex’s expression as he lifted his gaze to her, but she continued, "I need you to mix a strong dose of it into a wine bottle and place it in a chamber where I plan to meet Valen tomorrow," she explained. "And I require the antidote for myself. If I expect him to drink it, I must drink it as well."
When Alex heard her entire plan, he said exactly what she expected. "It’s completely reckless, Your Highness! I cannot allow you to put yourself in such danger!"
"Yes, it is reckless....but necessary, Sir Alex. This is the only chance we have. With the ball in full swing with every noble, every official watching, the Queen will be powerless to act without consequences. That window is small....and I intend to seize it. In the meantime, I want you to use this opportunity to try to get Ivan out of wherever he’s being kept."
Alex opened his mouth to object again, but she cut in swiftly, "You promised to assist me, Sir Alex. Let me do this for your beloved prince....for Ivan." Her voice trembled on the last word, filled with pain and longing for her love, and Alex’s resistance shattered.
He bowed deeply in reverence, "Your wish is my command, Your Highness." And like a shadow, he vanished, leaving only the curtains swaying in the dark.
Back to the present...
As she stabbed the hairpin into her thigh, she bit her lip hard in order to stifle her scream while praying for the antidote coating the metal would reach her bloodstream in time. Warm blood trickled down her leg, and she forced the pin deeper, her vision blurring as pain exploded through her nerves. Slowly and agonizingly so, the stiffness began to release its hold on her limbs, and they twitched back to life.
Knowing Evelyn would have to ingest the poison herself, Alex had fetched the strongest antidote, the one that would take effect within seconds, giving her a chance to run. And it did!
Strength seeped back through her muscles, and Evelyn dragged herself off the cold floor before Valen could reach her again. Her breathing was ragged but determined, and with the golden Vault key glinting in her blood-slicked fist, she stumbled twice, but momentum caught her, and her feet began to move faster.
Her heartbeat pounded like war drums in her ears, every inhalation burned her tired lungs, but she didn’t dare look back. She just ran....ran with all her might for the door.
Valen, who caught the movement in the corner of his eye, snapped his head toward her. His voice tore through the corridor like a whiplash, "GUARDS! GUARDS! SEIZE THE PRINCESS!"
Though the hallway seemed empty, the open window carried his voice outside. Two guards patrolling the exterior heard the command and rushed inside toward the prince.
Evelyn, panting hard, half-paralysed and leaving a trail of blood from her thigh and arms, pushed herself forward with every shred of strength she had left. She had chosen this chamber for a reason; it was the nearest point to the Vault, the only place where she could risk meeting him. Anywhere else, she would have never made it this far.
Her trembling figure abandoned her heels as she ran barefoot ran harder. She prayed, desperately to every god who might be listening, to let her make it through. Her heart thundered in her chest, pumping blood hard enough to push the antidote faster through her veins, each beat sharpening her movements, granting her fragments of control slowly but surely.
She crossed the lonely corridor, turned the corner and came to an abrupt halt.
Dozens of guards charged toward her from the opposite end, shields raised, armour glinting like a wall of steel, filling the hallway and cutting off her escape without mercy.
Evelyn’s breathing hitched, and she felt her heart plummet like a stone in her chest.
