Under the vampire Lord's protection-Chapter 574: Until things settle

Arabella’s eyes flickered from the gardeners to the tools between their hands and then the very green they tend to.

All the while saying nothing, a serene expression hogging her features since they split from Irene and Luiza.

From time to time, Silas would steal quick glances at his wife, expecting her face to crumble, waiting for her to run into his arms for comfort. Especially after her short conversation with the General, but that did not happen.

Instead, she made her way straight for the carriage assigned to them by the king.

Ada cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention then spoke up upon earning it, "You all may go home first. There is something very important I need to retrieve from my late father’s house,"

Before Silas could say a thing, Edgar beat him to the mark, "I shall accompany her and make sure she returns safely,"

Surprisingly, Arabella uttered none of the objections visible on her face and merely nodded in their direction.

In the end, Silas resigned to following her example and watched them as they went, Ada struggling to climb on a horse in front of Edgar.

The next voice to rise was that of Cynric, "There is no way I will ever agree to travel in one of these things," he nodded towards the carriage.

That came as no shock. What did, however, was the way Allegra backed away from the carriage as well, moving closer to Cynric, "I... I’d like to...," she stuttered and never got to finish her sentence.

"She is coming with me," Cynric spared her the effort.

That did not please Silas one bit. After everything that happened? After learning that she had been a partial cause to all of that suffering? His insides writhed just at the thought of her running into the sunset with Cynric as if nothing had happened.

What about his mother? What about her sisters? What would their reactions be? There was n-

A gentle and warm hand wrapped around his. The vampire turned around only to note it was Arabella’s, giving that tame pleading look, "Allow it if just for a while. Just until things settle a bit," her voice was just as brittle as the shine in her eyes.

His heart simmered that very instant, his hand returning her grip without squeezing too hard. The next in line to come forward with different plans was Rubius.

"I shall be at my son’s estate," his eyes were strictly on Arabella, "Will you... Come for the funeral?" he hesitated.

"Of course," she, on the other hand, did not skip a beat, "I will bring Arthur back with me once you settle. Hopefully being home will do him some good even though I frankly doubt it,"

"No, I believe that for now, like you said, until things settle, your brother belongs with you. I will keep you updated along the way," Rubis turned to leave after a bow.

"Wait," Silas stepped towards the man, "Your injuries are still visible. I can heal them," he offered.

Rubius cast one look at Morgana then responded, "From what I understand, ingesting your blood in its raw form would send me decades back in my time... Don’t get me wrong, but I would give absolutely nothing to spend seventy more years in this world," he chuckled.

"No, you absolutely would," Arabella chuckled too.

The last to remain after Rubius’ departure was Morgana.

"Oh, do not look at me with those eyes. I am not about to give a speech like the others," The witch waved off and walked right past Arabella inside the carriage, "I need a ride home,"

The inside was quite cushy with Arthur already waiting for them inside, eyes through the opposing window.

The young man hadn’t said a word at all, to anyone. Not even when his sister had pulled him into a tight embrace.

His ear had not so miraculously grown back with the help of the vampire’s blood. The cuts and bruises on his flesh were no more either, but his mind wasn’t exactly there.

It seemed it had ventured far out of his blood’s reach.

Arabella sat facing him and the sight stunned Silas for a moment. The resemblance between them was uncanny as neither of them took much from their mother in terms of physical traits. One could have assumed they were twins of the opposite gender.

She too only looked at her brother for a short moment upon settling down before following his gaze through the same window.

Silas sat by her side whereas Morgana faced him when the carriage started moving. He hadn’t expected his wife to be all cheery after the ordeal but her cold demeanor and the flat tone with which she spoke made the hair on his body stand.

"I am going to need some more of your blood," Morgana shattered the uncozy silence in the car, "That will give me the time to prepare the potion for the king. His meeting with the syndicate will surely take place somewhen next week,"

"You do not have to do that if you do not wish to," Arabella’s gemstones snapped onto him.

After pondering her words for a moment, he shook his head very slowly, "I am afraid it isn’t about me or what I promised him. From what I understand, he hasn’t had any luck reproducing and all other heirs were found death under mysterious circumstances,"

Arabella scoffed quietly, "Mysterious...," she muttered, eyes back on the window.

"He might want to give it another try or at least wait for the children that the prince has fathered to grow. Otherwise, if the king were to die in the following years, the throne falls right back onto the current crown prince’s lap and we will circle back to our starting point,"

She made no comment after that, holding her hands clasped on her own lap and keeping completely to herself.

The knot inside his stomach never stopped pushing against the rest of his organs, expanding ever so slowly...

There was much between them to discuss and do but somehow, none of it found its way out of their mouths.

Free again to live they were but... Were they? Were they to move forward after what had mercilessly been done to their bodies and minds?