Chapter 278: Unspoken
Back at the quaint cottage nestled in the womb of Mother Nature, a fire burned in the fireplace, casting a warm glow throughout the room. Night had already descended, shrouding the outside world in darkness.
The silence was broken only occasionally by the crackle of burning wood or the soft turn of pages. It had been a couple of hours since Eve and Ivan had returned from their trip, and ever since, things had been unusual, to say the least.
At first, when Ivan had teleported them back to the cottage, he had expected Eve to be inconsolable after everything they had discovered in Luminear. Instead, she reacted in the opposite way, which troubled him even more. She had not cried at all, and he could not shake the feeling that she was burying everything deep inside her heart.
Dressed in his night robe after they had bathed together to wash away the dirt and grime, Ivan was now in the kitchen, preparing food for her to eat. His dark crimson eyes flickered towards her every so often, and he could not stop himself from worrying.
He remembered all too clearly what had happened a couple of hours earlier.
Tears had streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably, utter shock etched across her face as she looked into her mother’s grave....only to find it empty.
"I-Ivan..." she had whispered. "What....where....where is she?" Her voice trembled, words barely forming as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
For once, Ivan found himself speechless. He did not know how to explain the situation to her when he himself was at a loss. His mind raced through various scenarios, searching for any possible explanation for what might have happened.
One thought surfaced that perhaps her mother had never been buried there in the first place, and that King Solan might have deceived her, choosing to lay her to rest elsewhere.
But he dismissed the idea almost immediately, recalling how Eve had spoken of her father’s love for his wife and the reverence with which he had honoured her final wishes. There was no way he would have done such a thing.
The second possibility pointed towards something far more disturbing, that someone had stolen her remains. And that could only mean one thing: there was someone practising dark magic, using her mother’s body for nefarious purposes.
Ivan prayed with everything in him that this was not true, because the thought of what they might have used her for was too horrific to dwell on. After all, Queen Selene had been a pure-blooded lumen.
Yet even if that were the case, another chilling question followed.
How long ago had she been taken from the grave? Thirteen years had passed since her death, and there was no way of knowing how long her resting place had been empty.
Ivan could only conclude that it must have happened soon after her death, as the blood and organs of a lumen would have been most valuable to those who practised dark magic.
That thought alone made his blood run cold, and if Eve continued to question him, he did not know how he could ever bring himself to voice such a theory about her own mother.
Pushing those dark thoughts aside, he pulled her close. Pressing a gentle kiss to her head, he whispered softly, doing all he could to console her breaking heart.
"I’m sorry, love..." That was all he could offer as he rubbed her back, feeling her continue to tremble in his arms.
His crimson eyes drifted back towards the cracked grave, and as the light of the setting sun fell upon it, something shimmered faintly where the reflection struck.
He narrowed his eyes at the sight and murmured, "What is that?"
Eve heard him and slowly pulled away from his embrace to follow his line of sight. As she did, she too caught a faint glimmer beneath the dying sunlight.
"It....it looks like a stone?" she squinted, trying to make out what it was, but the fading light offered too little clarity.
It was Ivan who moved first, raising his hand over the grave as a gentle orange aura seeped from his skin. Eve watched him, puzzled, until she saw the shimmering object shift slightly. It began to tremble, then, with effortless ease, slipped free of the cracks and floated above her mother’s grave.
He kept his hand steady and flicked his fingers lightly, causing the object to rotate slowly so they could see it clearly.
The object was an ornate silver locket necklace, circular in design, with intricate engraved details surrounding a smooth, polished black gemstone at its centre, likely an onyx, which was now heavily damaged, with only small fragments remaining.
"Does this belong to your mother, Eve?" Ivan asked quietly.
Eve stared at it with glassy eyes before giving a small shake of her head. "No....I’ve never seen this before."
Ivan made a beckoning gesture, drawing the locket closer so he could examine it more carefully.
As he did, he said, "It appears we have found the source that was containing that creature."
He paused briefly before continuing, "The broken stone at its centre was what held it."
A short silence followed before Eve asked quietly, "B-but why would anyone keep it inside my mother’s grave?"
Ivan let out a slow sigh before extending his hand to finally touch the locket. The moment his divine power came into contact with it, whatever remained of the stone burned away and evaporated into the air, leaving only a hollow setting behind as the last traces of darkness were expelled.
Eve was about to ask more questions when Ivan’s sharp senses picked up movement in the distance. He realised that the commotion caused by the serpent must have alerted those in the Palace below.
"Come, we need to leave quickly. I sense people approaching," Ivan urged.
Eve cast one final glance at her mother’s grave before nodding. Ivan gathered her into his arms once more, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished back to their hideout.
Coming back to the present...
He snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of another page turning. His gaze drifted to her, dressed in a pale blue silk nightgown with a robe draped over her shoulders to shield her from the night’s chill. Her hair lay loose behind her, still drying, as she sat on the carpet before the coffee table, close to the fireplace.
Thick books lay open across the table, a golden candle stand placed nearby, its soft light illuminating the pages as her blue eyes skimmed the text in search of anything related to the locket they had discovered in the grave. The locket itself, now inert and stripped of all remnants of dark magic, lay cold against the wooden surface beside the scattered books.
She had not spoken a word since they had returned. The only time she had spoken was to ask him whether he had any books related to relics.
He kept a few of them here, so he had helped her gather them. Since then, she had taken the books and immersed herself in searching for anything connected to the locket.
Ivan’s gaze lingered on her face as she concentrated on the open book before her, and even in that state of intense focus, he could not help but find her beautiful.
When he looked outside and saw how deep the night had grown, he realised she should eat something, especially as it was already nearing nine.
Setting the food on a tray, he passed his hand over it, and the cold meal warmed instantly.
He carried the tray to her and placed it gently beside the table before speaking softly, "You have to eat something, Eve."
"Hm....in some time," she replied softly, her gaze never leaving the book.
Ivan pressed his lips together, wondering what the most effective way would be to persuade her to eat. She had not eaten anything since breakfast, aside from the fruit on the island, and it worried him.
Unwilling to give up, he spoke gently. "Eve....how about we go through the books together once you’ve had your dinner?"
Her fingers paused over the text, and Ivan noticed he had finally caught her attention.
"I-I’m not hungry, Ivan," she said quietly, still keeping her eyes on the page.
"I know, but just a little? For my peace of mind? Arthur has prepared your favourites."
Before she could refuse again, he added, "How about I feed you while you continue your research?"
She pressed her lips together, understanding his concern. Truthfully, she did not feel hungry at all after everything that had happened, but she also knew Ivan well enough to realise he would not relent until she agreed.
With a soft sigh, she finally gave in. "Alright... just a little."
Ivan sighed inwardly in relief. He picked up the cutlery, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces along with some vegetables, and brought the fork gently towards her lips.
He waited as she finally turned towards him and parted her lips to take a bite. She chewed slowly while he prepared another spoonful. From the corner of her eye, she noticed how patiently he brought the next bite towards her. Meeting his gaze, she accepted it.
After a few bites, she realised he had not eaten anything at all and finally asked, "Where’s your food?"
