Chapter 286: Speculations
Iskara considered this deeply before asking, "Princess Evelyn, did you know about the prophecy from the very beginning?"
Eve shook her head lightly. "No, Your Majesty. No one told me anything about it. In fact, I only learned of the prophecy while I was inside the Vault of Ages. It showed me clearly that on the night I was born, High Priest Septimus revealed the prophecy to the king and my mother. There was no one else in the room at the time."
Iskara and Regulus noticed that Eve did not address Solan as her father, yet they remained silent.
Even so, the thought troubled them deeply. With Evelyn’s mother gone, the possibility that one of the two men still alive might have betrayed her was not something they wished to entertain. Knowing how cruel the world could be, however, they could not dismiss it outright.
Still determined to examine every angle, Iskara asked, "Do you think that King Solan or the High Priest might have told someone later?"
Eve’s heartbeat spiked instantly as the fear of betrayal rose in her chest. Ivan gave her hand a firm squeeze before brushing his thumb over it in gentle circles, a silent attempt to ease her.
Every sharp-eared vampire noticed the shift, and Iskara quickly added, "I meant, what if they confided in someone they trusted? That, too, is a possibility."
Eve pressed her lips together before drawing in a slow breath, focusing on Ivan’s touch until her pulse eased.
"I am not sure," she said at last, "but when I witnessed the vision, I saw the fear written plainly across King Solan’s face as he told both Septimus and my mother not to speak a word of it to anyone ever again. He wanted the truth to remain buried between the three of them."
"It could also be that someone overheard them," Cece said, wanting to ease her friend’s discomfort.
Damien added, "That is very possible, since everyone knows that every palace has ears. Besides, lumens are not gifted with sharp hearing like vampires are, so anyone could have eavesdropped without King Solan realising it."
Edward interjected, "I am not sure that could be the case, because even if lumens do not have hearing as sharp as a vampire’s, they do possess powers through which they can erect strong sound barriers that effectively block anyone from eavesdropping."
"Oh dear, perhaps you will need to learn that, Evelyn," Damien said, his bright eyes glinting before a grin spread across his face.
Eve did not understand why she would need to learn it at first, but when she caught his gaze flicking towards Ivan, her eyes slowly widened, and her face flushed a deep red.
Cece kicked Damien under the table for embarrassing Eve, while Iskara, Regulus, Edward, and Ivan all pretended they had not heard him. Although the idea was undeniably enticing to Ivan, he merely made a mental note to ensure she learned that particular skill.
Clearing his throat, Iskara drew their attention back to the matter at hand. "The possibilities are many. We will need to investigate further to uncover the truth. But," he paused, his dark crimson eyes shifting to Eve, "this happened long ago, so it will not be easy, Princess Evelyn."
"And we do not know where that woman might be," Cece added, worry clouding her expression. "What if she comes for the two of you again?"
"I would never let that happen again," Ivan said firmly. "If she ever dared to come near me or Eve, I would make sure she regretted it."
His eyes flashed molten orange, and everyone caught a brief glimpse of fire swirling within them before it vanished.
Iskara nodded in silent agreement with his son, and Regulus did the same.
"I will assign some of my best men to see what they can uncover," Iskara declared.
"I will provide all necessary support for the investigation," Regulus added confidently.
Eve and Ivan spoke together, "Thank you for all your help."
"Do not mention it. You two are my children, and a parent will always stand by their child, no matter the cost," Iskara said warmly.
A quiet warmth spread through Eve’s chest as she met his deep crimson gaze, something close to tears gathering in her eyes. A small, grateful smile curved her lips, but she quickly forced the emotion down before it could spill over.
Arthur and Barnaby entered the room once more, moving with practised ease as they refilled everyone’s cups with tea before withdrawing again.
For a moment, everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, until Eve remembered something else.
"Your Majesty?" Her sweet voice drew everyone’s attention once more.
Ivan turned to look at her, and the sudden weight of everyone’s attention made her feel self-conscious. Still, she lifted her chin and pressed on. "There is something else I wished to ask, if you would allow it."
Iskara’s curiosity was clearly piqued, and he seemed more than willing to offer his attention. "Not at all, Princess Evelyn. Please, go ahead. How may I help you?"
Eve gave him a small smile before letting her gaze travel around the table as she began, "Ivan and I went to visit my mother’s grave yesterday."
Ivan immediately understood what she was about to ask.
"Your mother’s grave?" Iskara’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to Regulus, who wore the same startled expression.
"Isn’t that in Luminear?" Iskara asked carefully.
"Yes, it is. I....went there....ahem....by special means," Eve replied, her eyes darting quickly to Ivan, who looked thoroughly amused by her attempt to conceal his powers even from his father.
Just then, a soft chuckle escaped both Iskara and Regulus at Evelyn’s adorable attempt to cover for Ivan, startling her slightly.
Cece, Damien, and Edward were unable to hide their smiles, and Damien chimed in, "Oh dear, Evelyn, you should know that all of us are aware of the special means you are talking about."
"Oh," Eve mumbled before turning her gaze back to Ivan, whose lips twitched at the sight of her innocent eyes silently demanding answers.
"He is right," Ivan said, unable to keep the amusement from his voice. "Father and Uncle Regulus have been aware of my powers ever since Dartmouth."
"I see," Eve replied, her cheeks warming as the realization sank in. After a brief pause, she decided that her caution had been entirely justified. Better safe than sorry.
Iskara’s lips curved into a distinctly smug smile as he looked at his son. "Son, allow me to correct you there. I have known for quite some time now."
Ivan turned his gaze back to him, one brow lifting slightly. "Really? And when exactly was this?"
"Much earlier than you imagine," Iskara replied, amusement glittering openly in his eyes.
Ivan studied his father for a moment before responding, "I see. Then I look forward to hearing more about this."
Iskara chuckled softly and nodded before shifting his attention back to Evelyn. "So, you went to Luminear, to your mother’s grave," he said, pausing just long enough to fix both her and Ivan with a knowing look. "I trust everything went smoothly, and that the two of you did not attract any unwanted attention?"
Eve pressed her lips together while Ivan calmly lifted his cup and took another sip of tea, looking every bit like a man who had done absolutely nothing questionable.
Letting out a quiet breath, Eve answered, "We did not get discovered... we just ran into a few complications."
Damien, Cece, and Edward leaned in eagerly for fresh gossip, while Regulus watched Eve with renewed interest, clearly curious about what these so-called complications were.
"You are acting as though Ivan blasted something over there," Damien joked lightly, but when Eve’s heart skipped a beat, all their eyes widened as they looked from her to Ivan.
"By the gods. No, you didn’t," Damien muttered, his eyes lighting up as he became far too eager to hear exactly what had happened in Luminear.
"Oh my," Cece breathed in surprise, her gaze snapping to Ivan, her expression mirroring Damien’s almost perfectly.
Eve immediately came to Ivan’s defence. "Well, actually, he did not really have a choice with everything that happened over there..." She then gently tugged on Ivan’s sleeve. When he raised an eyebrow at her, she leaned in and whispered, "You have that thing."
Iskara and Regulus looked on with clear amusement, thoroughly entertained by how at ease Eve and Ivan were with one another, and waited patiently for the rest of the story to unfold.
Setting his teacup down, Ivan slipped a hand into his coat pocket. A faint metallic tingle accompanied the movement before he withdrew the object and placed it gently into Eve’s hand.
Eve lifted her gaze to everyone at the table, then let it settle on Iskara. "We stayed by my mother’s grave for a while," she began softly. "When it was time to leave, I reached out to brush the dust from the marble."
Her fingers curled slightly as she continued, "The moment I touched it, something felt wrong. A magic so dark it made my skin prickle."
