Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 542: A warm reunion

The touch of damp and frail grass beneath her feet prompted Arabella to open her eyes wide and behold... Witness the never-ending green topped hills in view.

The same high grounds she prayed and begged with all of her soul just to glimpse a lick of that paradise the previous night.

Instinctively, her hands flew to her still sore throat only to directly connect with her bare skin as no obstacles, no metal collar stood in the way.

Emeric had been right. As a living being, her body arrived in limbo in the same condition it held in reality.

Speaking of Emeric... Where was he?

His comfort, his warmth was so needed. Just a hint of that soothing perfume that emanated from his jacket would have sufficed. Truly, the young woman wasn’t asking for much, was she?

However, no matter where she looked around herself, no sign of him was to be seen.

Should Arabella have run around, seeking him? What good would that have done? That place was anomalous in various ways, one of them being the fact that movement and distance worked very differently to the world she always knew.

So, sitting down it was! The fresh grass was cold on her naked bottom and back, standing as another reminder of her continuous humiliation.

It seemed so perpetual that even dreaming of an end to it ran far ahead of her outreaching hands, disappearing behind the horizon.

Arabella hugged her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them only to bury her face in them...

Tears wouldn’t come. Were there any left to shed anyways? After the gallons she had spilled, that was more than a valid question.

The sense of something warm and light falling on her shoulders made the young woman sprout to her feet and spin on her heels, a tormented beam on, ready to greet her father-in-law but... The man that faced her was not Emeric.

In fact, despite their strong familial bond, they looked almost nothing like each other. Arabella finally glanced down at the jacket wrapping her, only to realize it was indeed not black, but light blue and grayish, adorned with perfectly embroidered silver lining...

Her hands clamped down, tugging at the collar of his jacket to wrap herself further into it and cover what remained visible of her body.

She refused to ponder the dubious expression her husband had upon making eye contact for those slim seconds they did.

The fit of shivers that overtook her could not be tamed. The only recourse available to her were the tiny steps her feet were taking backwards, away from him.

"It is me," he finally said, "I am not here to hurt you,"

"I know," eyes still on the floor, Arabella choked down her cries.

"Then why are you stepping back?"

There lived something in his voice that did not help her look him in the eyes... Something broken, hurt and bleeding. It pierced through all the layers of calm he clearly put a lot of effort into pushing forth in front of her.

"Because... I can’t... I can’t," nothing else came out her mouth.

"Please, put your hand in mine," he extended a hand out to her, urgency gradually creeping through each syllable uttered.

"I am sorry," she cried, "I am so sorry," her head shook profusely from left to right as her eyes squeezed shut.

Silas took that opportunity to close the distance between them and embrace her in his arms.

She struggled, tried to flee but to no avail as even in limbo where his vampire advantages were null, he remained stronger than her.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" his voice softened to near whispering level, hand caressing up and down her hair.

"No, please," the tears returned stronger which was incredible considering only minutes ago she had believed the wells had dried, "This is too much! This is too cruel!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Let me hold you, my love. If only for a moment," the man bent lower so that his nose would connect with her head as the embrace grew tighter.

"I do not deserve it! I do not!" again, shaking her head, "After everything...," she trailed off, voice cracking mid sentence.

"Settle down and tell me all. Tell me about everything that burdens those frail shoulders of yours. Let me carry if a shred of that weight with you," his knees bent too, guiding her figure towards the ground along with him.

"I did not lie to you! I did not!" the words were barely intelligible, "I was never going to turn myself back to him but... But when he caught you too I...," nothing else managed to push through her constrained throat.

Her face was deep in his chest, leaving no way for her to glimpse his face at that moment, but it was quite unnecessary seeing the pressure he put around her body. As if attempting to absorb her whole into himself, to keep her from the cruel cold and heat of the world, to shelter her from any incoming strike...

It was nice, warm and safe but mostly, it was missed. It had only been two days since their separation but already felt like an eternity of them apart.

"Look at me," eventually his hands went around her face to force her eyes onto him, "Please, open your eyes and look at me, my love,"

Nothing. Arabella kept on squeezing her eyes shut, while still failing at containing her tears.

"Please," he repeated softer, sounding more defeated, "Please, open them for me. I have missed their color so much,"

That helped quell the fire at her core long enough for her eyelids to relent and let a glimpse of her gemstones slip.

Silas took a deep breath as though air had been withheld from his lungs for so long.

"It is I who must apologize to you," he started, "I had my reasons, but I should have waited. The walls weren’t pressing onto me as much as I thought they were. I was so blind to everything around me that I made the single worst decision of my life. Whatever you believe you did as a result of that... Know that you owe me no apology,"

The warmth coating his features was kind, not overwhelming as Arabella believed it would be. The fair smile he donned towards the end of his speech was just as kind and soothing.