Chapter 311: The Echo Of A Personal Hell
It was before dawn, a time when the world was still tucked away in peaceful slumber within the coziness of warm blankets.
Back in Ivan’s room at the academy, the couple lay sprawled lazily across the bed. One remained in a deep, undisturbed sleep, while the other lay with eyes shut with a peaceful expression.
Soon, however, his eyes began to move beneath his lids. Signs of distress started to build within him, spreading like ripples caused by a stone thrown into calm water.
His breathing turned erratic, and his pulse quickened just moments before his eyes snapped open. They were shining a bright, fiery orange, like two burning suns. His skin broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart thudded loud and clear against his ribs.
Try as he might, he was unable to calm himself, even after several attempts to take deep, stabilising breaths.
He sprang up in bed and buried his face in his palms, trying once again to rid himself of the horrible nightmare.
It was a memory of a major turning point in his life after all, the one he was unable to separate himself from, even though years had passed. It felt as though it had happened only moments ago.
He could see and hear nothing of the present, feeling instead as if he were still trapped in his personal hell. He boiled with a rage he could not quite control, a fury that felt ready to burn everything to the ground. Anger was the only thing preventing him from breaking down, a vulnerability he had never allowed himself. After all, people did not call him hollow or ice prince for no reason.
The temperature in the room grew hotter by the second as his emotions escaped his control. The pressure built until tiny, sharp cracks echoed through the space, spidering across the glass of the room’s massive arched windows.
Eve, who had fallen into an unusually deep sleep after Ivan had thoroughly exhausted her during their late-night activities, felt a faint crease form between her brows as the temperature in the room began to rise.
Feeling uncomfortably warm, her fingers twitched before curling into the blanket, and she kicked it off in mild irritation.
But with the heavy rain outside, the temperature should have dropped. So why did she feel so hot? The fleeting thought brushed against her sleeping mind, and mere seconds later, her eyes snapped open, only to be met with an intense brightness flooding the room.
She winced at the sudden light against her sleep-heavy eyes and lifted a hand to shield them for a moment.
When she lowered it again, any trace of sleep vanished instantly. She sat upright in bed, only to find every candle in the room blazing with flames so tall that, for a split second, she wondered whether dawn had already arrived or if the room itself had caught fire.
The fireplace roared with fierce flames as well, its crackling adding to the suffocating heat filling the chamber.
Her wide blue eyes instinctively flew toward her left, only to find Ivan crouching forward with his face buried in his hands. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest at the sight of him in such a defeated position.
What had happened? Why was he like this? He appeared to be struggling intensely, his body drenched in sweat. She could hear his uneven breathing and see the slight trembling of his naked form.
"Ivan!" she called out as she inched closer to him. But he did not respond, appearing as though he could no longer hear her.
"Ivan! Look at me!" She sat in front of him and reached out to touch his shoulders, but he still did not lift his hands. His skin was scorching, and Eve knew that if anyone else had touched him, they would have suffered third-degree burns immediately.
She had seen him like this once before when he had suffered from a nightmare. At that time, he had been trapped within the memory of it for a long while before finally snapping out of it.
Not waiting any longer, she acted out of pure desperation. She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled his face, still covered by his hands, against her bosom as she continued to speak to him.
"Ivan! Look at me, my love. It is okay. You are here with me. It is Evelyn....your Eve. Come back to me, please." She pleaded with him, her voice coated in love and desperation, praying that her words would finally reach him.
"E...ve," he choked out, his voice a jagged rasp of pain.
She felt his hands grip her shoulders.
Just as she thought he was finally snapping out of it, he suddenly shoved her away to arm’s length. "No! You can’t!" he roared in a sound of pure agony and raw panic "I will burn you too!"
Eve was completely caught off guard by his words.
It was then that she truly saw the horror etched across his face, something she had never imagined witnessing on a man so strong and powerful.
She realised it then that he was not truly seeing her. His hands, which were still holding her, trembled violently, and the sight tore at her heart.
Just as she reached out towards him again, he moved with terrifying speed, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing in the far corner of the room, near the window.
She noticed then that it was still pitch black outside. Within the room, the fire continued to flare violently, reflecting the way he was losing control of his own power. His breathing grew harsher as his struggle intensified.
Unable to witness his agony a moment longer, she stepped slowly out of bed, moving carefully so as not to startle him.
"Ivan," she whispered his name.
"Don’t! Stay there!" he gasped. He thrust one hand forward to ward her off while bringing the other to cover his face.
Eve swallowed the thick lump in her throat, her chest aching at the sight of his vulnerability.
He squeezed his eyes shut, as though forcing himself to regain control, yet failing. Taking advantage of his closed eyes, she refused to wait a second longer, and her feet moved on their own.
Before he could react, she lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck and back, plastering her body firmly against his.
She felt him go completely rigid at the contact.
His hands immediately moved to her delicate shoulders, trying to push her away, but Eve had expected that. She tightened her hold around him instead.
"No! You will get burned!" he choked out, every word torn from him was raw with agony and terror, and the sound alone felt like it was tearing her heart apart.
"No, you will not," she said fiercely, refusing to loosen her hold on him. "Do you not remember? I can never be burned by your fire. I am Evelyn. Your Evelyn. The woman who could never be burned by your flame. So, my love....please....calm down. I love you. I love you so much."
She spoke over his panic, over his fear, pouring every ounce of love she had into her voice, willing him to hear her, to feel her, to find his way back to her through the storm raging inside him.
The moment her words settled between them, he froze.
The room fell into a deafening silence, broken only by the ragged sound of his breathing. Seconds stretched into minutes....until finally, she felt it.
His hands. Slowly and hesitantly, they moved to rest against her back.
"Evelyn," he whispered her name as though it were the only thing tethering him to reality.
"Yes, my love," she breathed, relief and devotion flooding her voice. "I am here. I love you....I’m right here."
Ivan pulled away slightly, just enough to finally look upon her face with his burning eyes, and he saw only worry and unconditional love reflected upon her face.
"Eve," he whispered again.
As if the strength had finally left his body, he dropped his head into the crook of her neck and closed his eyes, inhaling her maddening and unique scent.
Eve felt the tension slowly begin to leave his body and started to feel his full weight leaning against her. Unable to support him for long, she carefully guided him down onto the couch beside the window.
The raging flames around the room began to lose their intensity, slowly dimming before dying out completely, as though they had never been lit at all. Eve released a shaky breath, relief washing over her as she realised he was finally calming down.
She continued to stroke his back and hair in slow, soothing motions, feeling him sink further into her embrace. His arms tightened around her back as he pulled himself closer. She bent to press a gentle kiss to his head, never stopping her comforting motions until he shifted and buried his face against her chest.
