Chapter 394: Trouble in paradise
The women reacted almost exactly as Silas had expected upon making his presence known. Arabella spun on her heels in a haste whereas the blonde in her company, shrunk a little behind her figure.
Although her heart raced to no end, the glare on her reflected less fear and more rage in his opinion.
Her shoulders slumped, but the shaking of her body was not without tension locking her muscles in place.
To Silas, it seemed as though she was ready to leap into a fight and the steps her feet were taking backwards stood merely as a means to gauge whether she was in danger or otherwise.
"Evina was sharing some calligraphy... Secrets with me," Arabella broke the stifling silence that had settled between the three of them.
"That is quite interesting," he said dryly, "Evina is one of the tributes we’ve received if I am not mistaken,"
His gaze along with his words about Evina probably played a role in the manner her body quivered harder in her shoes.
Her eyes refused to meet his, but the glower never left her features for a second.
All that warmth she once donned when deep into her conversation with Arabella was no more.
"She is, indeed," Arabella nodded, turning halfway just to smile at Evina. After that action, her attention fell back onto Silas, "Is something the matter?"
"No. I simply went by the room and did not find you. I worried, that is all,"
"Oh... I am afraid I lost track of time, and I wasn’t feeling particularly sleepy so...,"
"I see," Silas nodded, "Well, my apologies for interrupting your conversation. You may proceed,"
With that, the vampire turned around to leave, but Arabella looked between him and Evina before blurting, "That’s alright. It’s gotten quite late without me even noticing. Evina, do you remember the way back to your quarters, or do you need guidance?"
All of the tension melted off Evina’s shoulders so suddenly, "I do remember the path back to the dormitories," she straightened her stance.
"Well, then, you may stay for as long as you want, but I wouldn’t advise that. You still need resting,"
It was with those words that Arabella joined Silas’ side, leaving Evina alone in the library.
Though before the couple vanished out of sight, the blonde yelped a tame, "Thank you!"
To which Arabella returned a sweet smile.
"You two seemed to get along quite well," Silas stared ahead while making the statement.
"Evina is lovely, yes. She was sharing her passion for calligraphy with me,"
"She reminds me of Estrid a bit. Then again, it’s no surprise. They both hailed from Kalldaggar," his diamonds flickered up and swept the hallway ceiling, earning him a pensive look.
"You do remember that Estrid is from Kalldaggar," she half asked, her pace slowing down to a halt.
"Of course, I remember these things," he too stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows a tad knitted, seemingly confused by her surprise, "Why wouldn’t I?"
Arabella broke eye contact to look at nothing in particular before resuming her walk.
Silas followed but did not press on with his previous question. Instead, he asked a new one, "Will you be taking on a new hobby?"
The young woman, chuckled lightly before answering, "No, calligraphy isn’t for me,"
"That was an interesting conversation you were having about spirits and worshiping,"
"Yes, I’ve read about the southeastern way of the people and their worship of spirits, I simply never went deeper into it. Religion was never an easy topic for my family to broach hence my curiosity about the prayers and their answers,"
By the time Arabella stopped speaking, her features had already donned that distant air they took on whenever words about something came from the heart.
"Was that why you asked about the duke sending her here?"
That killed the previous expression she had on quite instantly.
"No. One thing led to another, and the conversation naturally branched towards that question. That is all," she cleared her throat.
"Tell me the truth," his hand went around hers, prompting her to stop again with him, "Do you suspect she is underage as well?"
"No," she looked him dead in the eyes. Not a hint of hesitation at the horizon.
"Then what is it? Because I know you suspect something about her," Silas kept a hold over her hand, but made sure to paint gentle circles on it with his thumb.
"I suspect she is innocent," her eyes glistened, "I am almost sure she did not commit the crime she was sent here for," she nodded along to her own words.
"Based on your... Judgement," Silas stepped even closer to her, "Why was she sent here if she was innocent?"
Their breath was allowed to mingle as their faces came inches from one another.
"She is young and extremely beautiful," she started, "They knew she would sell for a lot higher than the base asking price. Not to mention, she is female. Although that is not all that matters since I am pretty sure, at least, five of the men that were questioned today were completely innocent of the crimes listed on their charts,"
Arabella uttered all of it so quickly, giving the impression those words pressed on her from the inside as they tried to get out.
"Why didn’t you say anything about it before?" his grasp around her hands tightened.
"Because I heard you loud and clear, Silas," she pulled her hands out of his, "There is nothing I can do for them or their families and since they are of age, unlike Erik, their best bet is to be auctioned, anyways," she shook her head, "Then at least they’d have the chance to hope for an okay life. And maybe, just maybe, the king will keep his word that their families would be taken care of,"
Arabella turned and walked away from his figure.
Straight to the heart her words took to cutting. The truth of her thoughts was a lot harsher than he’d initially expected.
"Trouble in paradise?" Persephone’s voice managed to sneak up on him of all people.