Chapter 74: In A Warm Embrace
[Music recommendation: Ursine Vulpine - Never Let Me Go]
Ivan moved slowly, turning his face towards the platform, where Evelyn remained suspended mid-air, with her powers surrounding her like a volatile tornado. The moment his eyes fell on her, his eyes widened as a sudden flashback of his very dark past flashed before him.
A child.
A blast of fire.
A gut-wrenching scream of a woman, one he had long buried but never truly escaped.
"No!" he whispered. Violent tremors passed through his body, and cold sweat started to break across his back, as if he were reliving his ultimate nightmare. His knees buckled, and he suddenly dropped to the ground as his breathing came in heavy.
Alex, alarmed by this, dropped before him. "Your Highness! Are you alright?" he asked in panic.
But Ivan didn’t respond; he covered his eyes with his palm, trying to fight his very own demons. Before he could recover, the air crackled around them, and then a violent vortex started to spread from the center where Evelyn was, threatening to obliterate everything in its path.
"Your Highness! We need to get out of here! She’s going to destroy everything around her!"
Hearing Alex, something snapped within him, "No! I won’t let her leave me."saying that he clenched his teeth and got up. Ivan pushed against her violent aura and said to himself, ’I won’t let the past repeat.’
Leaving Alex shocked to his bones at what he was witnessing. He turned towards the figure flowing above and finally realised that it was no other than Princess Evelyn.
Ivan saw her hair whipping wildly around her, her arms hanging loosely at her sides, her back arched upward as if she had surrendered to her fate. The truth struck him then, all this while, that the unease he was feeling was because she was actually in grave danger. Ivan’s heart squeezed tightly at her sight of her suffering, not knowing what she must have endured amongst those creatures.
But one thing he knew for certain was that if he didn’t stop her, her body would soon shatter under the weight of her own powers, and he would lose her forever. The structure around trembled, and cracks began to spread from the pillars to the ceiling under the assault of her stormy powers.
His eyes blazed orange as he stood right beside the platform where she hovered, bathing himself in her golden glow. Then a deep voice echoed within him, ’Call out to her...’
So he did, "Evelyn!" His deep voice echoed through the hall.
When she didn’t respond, he called again, "Evelyn, you have to stop..."
When she didn’t respond, Ivan’s chest tightened as he desperately thought of the best way to reach her without worsening the situation, leading her to unleash destruction.
Then, in a flash, he remembered the incident from potion-making class and instinctively understood what he had to do. So he closed his eyes and extended his hands, palms upwards, and released his burning flame from both his palms, stretching it like rope-like streams that coiled upward and wrapped around Evelyn.
Alex and the other elites’ eyes popped out at the sight. None of them could fathom what their prince was thinking by using his flames in such a manner. ’Won’t it burn the princess?!’ they thought in unison.
Alex, who couldn’t restrain himself any longer, cried out, "Your Highness! She’ll burn at this rate!"
But Ivan, who seemed to have shut out all the noise from the outside world, didn’t react. He continued to keep his sole focus on only one person, the harsh rhythm of her breathing, the erratic pounding of her heartbeat, making his heart twist painfully, knowing just how much pain she was suffering.
As soon as his flames coiled around her body in a gentle caress, her power pulsed in response to their contact, and with his eyes still closed, he whispered softly, "Come back to me, Eve. I am here."
Evelyn, whose emotions were spiraling out of control, pushed her body locked in a complete defence mode and, on the verge of destruction, triggered by the dark ritual forced upon her. She believed she was completely alone. Alone to fend for herself, alone to eliminate all the evil around her. She felt her body was about to rip apart with the amount of power surging within her.
Oblivious to all the chaos that took place around her, she felt her body pushed to the limit, pain and anguish clouded her thoughts of dying alone. Just as despair consumed her, she felt something warm coil around her body. It didn’t burn her. Instead, it felt like she was finally wrapped in a warm embrace. It gave her that sense of security she thought she didn’t have. And then she heard him whisper, "Come back to me, Eve. I am here."
’Am I dreaming....or am I in heaven?’ she thought faintly.
And as if Ivan heard her thoughts, he responded in a gentle voice, "I am here. Come to me, Eve..."
Her eyebrows furrowed, her lips trembled as she finally whispered, "I..van.."
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "Yes. Calm yourself....you are safe now."
And as if his words had struck the right chord in her heart, a lone tear slipped past her closed eyes. His calm, soothing voice worked like a balm to her raging emotions, making her finally draw in a deep breath, and slowly the storm of energy within her started to subside. As her powers slowly began to ebb, Ivan opened his molten orange eyes and guided his flames to lower her gently back onto the platform. The moment she was finally within his reach, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly and enveloping her body in a warm embrace.
He held her as if to remind himself that she was truly safe, as if letting go would make her disappear. Evelyn, who still couldn’t believe he was actually here, let her tears slip freely down her cheeks. She pulled back slightly and opened her eyes just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
When her golden gaze met his blazing orange, she whispered softly, "You came..." the only words she could manage.
"Yes, Eve..I’m here," he said tenderly while cupping her face and brushing away her tears with his thumbs. At his gentle reassurance, the dam she had been holding back finally came crashing down all at once. A sob escaped her trembling lips, then another, until she completely broke down.
Ivan couldn’t bear to see her in such a broken state and pulled her back in his embrace. "Shh... you’re safe now," he whispered as he brushed his hands against her back and head. He felt his throat tighten with unfamiliar emotions to see her in such a fragile state.
He had noticed the swelling on the right side of her cheek, the cut at the corner of her lip, and the faint droplets of blood stuck to her neckline. He took in every single detail: her trembling, her painful sobs, the way her body quaked in his arms....everything. And etched all into his mind that he would make them pay back a thousand times more over for what they had done to her.
He pressed a soft kiss on her head and whispered again and again, "You’ve stayed so strong...you are safe now, Eve." The more Eve heard his gentle voice and felt his tender touch, the harder she cried, as if every fear, every pain, every yearning came pouring out all at once. Clinging to him desperately, she wept with unrestrained abandon.
While he continued to comfort and reassure her, the elite soldiers and Alex stood frozen in utter shock to see such gentleness from their prince, something he had never shown even to his own family, let alone to any woman.
When they shifted their stunned eyes to the trembling princess in his arms, a realization struck them. That she was no ordinary princess, not with the tremendous powers she carried, nor the way she didn’t get burnt by his flames. And on top of everything, she had done what none had believed possible. She made their ice-cold prince show such a warm side of himself. Watching them, they couldn’t help but think, perhaps the prince had finally found his match.
Alex was the first to snap out of his daze, realising the princess would need some time to calm down, so he went to the soldiers, ordering them to contact the rest of their subordinates stationed in Welfort and arrange for all the captives to be transported to the capital city of Bastian.
The soldiers quickly snap out of their reverie, slipping back to their professional mode as they follow the orders of their second in command, soon leaving the couple alone in the dark hall.
After a long time, Evelyn’s cries gradually faded into soft sobs. Ivan never once stopped her, understanding that she needed this great emotional release after everything she endured. When her soft sobs began to quiet, he finally asked in a low, gentle voice, "Are you okay now?"
When she didn’t respond, Ivan tilted his head downwards, trying to see her face, which remained buried against his chest. When he pulled back slightly, he saw her head lolled to the side, as she had passed out after exhausting her body completely. Yet even in an unconscious state, she still sobbed lightly every now and then. With one hand, he gently wiped her tears from her cheeks before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
Then, without another word, he adjusted her in his arms and walked out to the godforsaken place.
