Chapter 56 Octavio's request
A day had passed, and the grief that followed throughout the castle hung thicker with darkness and more silent than a crypt. The coos of crows and hisses of bats echoed constantly, keeping the atmosphere at a perfect halt.
At that point, Evyths could hear the thud of her heartbeat, and for the first time, she wasn't scared that she might stop listening to it.
She once had a reason to live, love, and survive, but that reason had now died. He was gone. Gone forever, and nothing would bring him back.
Evyths' tears continued to roll down her cheeks, carving a constant pathway on her face.
She could feel the thick fog that consumed the castle, the moon barely showing its fragments. Everything went bland.
"Evyths?" Hana called out from outside the door. Octavio had ordered that Evyths be kept there, untouched.
For reasons no one knew, no one broke the law. Besides, the late King Valerio had already passed a decree to keep Evyths untouched.
"Evyths, it's me, Hana—"
"Just go," Evyths said. Her voice barely came out, but Hana's senses were sharp enough to catch her whispers from behind the door.
"I just want to talk," Hana said, materializing before Evyths.
Her eyes landed on Evyths' body. She was paler than she used to look. Her hair had been uncombed for days, her lips were arid, and her skin looked parched.
Hana couldn't believe it. Evyths wasn't the girl she used to know. This newer version was the opposite of pretty and kept.
Hana leaned closer, taking Evyths by the hand and staring at her with sympathy.
"You are ruining yourself. I know that the King's demise struck a chord, but… you are ruining yourself," Hana began. Evyths' eyes were weary, the dark circles around them imitating grief itself.
"You are not close to him. You don't know what it's like to feel… dead while your heart beats," Evyths said, her words cold and distant, making Hana contemplate whether it was right to come talk to her.
"I understand grief, though. However, you have to press forward. You have to rely on yourself for strength now," Hana said, looking around and back to Evyths. "It stinks in here. You should take a bath. I can arrange for that in secret—Queen Raven wouldn't have to know. I have fragrances that you can—"
"I do not need it," Evyths countered, her tone rising slightly.
Hana scoffed, frustrated by Evyths' stubbornness. "You don't want to bathe? My word, this is not you. You haven't eaten for days, not even drunk water. You've been locked away. What if Queen Raven comes to attack you? You won't be able to shift…"
"I don't care, Hana!" Evyths said, her voice shaky yet her words firm. "I don't care if she comes after me. I don't want to live either." She snatched her hand from Hana's soft grip.
Hana rose swiftly, her face thick with a frown. "You may not be in the right place now, but you certainly cannot stay locked away from reality. You have to step out and know your fate. Rumors are flying that… that you…" She paused, her words hanging. She swallowed hard. She didn't want to go that far to bother Evyths, but Evyths' gaze was already demanding and suspicious.
"What rumor is flying? What are they saying?"
"I can't tell you," Hana said defiantly.
"Why?"
"You'll break."
"Well, you can't break what's been broken and mended and finally broken again, Hana. So… speak," Evyths demanded.
Hana hesitated, her long nails peeking through her veil. "I won't tell you, and you can't force me unless you leave this shit hole of a room!" She said one last time and vanished.
What Hana had said bothered Evyths, tugging at her skin like thorns. What exactly did the rumor entail, and who was spreading it? She asked herself.
For the first time in days, she slowly walked into the inner room to take clean up with the little water in a moulded pot, something decent enough to scrape the pile of dirt from her skin.
…
When Evyths finally stepped out of her room, the air smelled of pure sand and oak bark, and the temperature was colder. Nothing far from what she used to know before silence controlled the castle.
The first person she bumped into was Octavio. He was walking in her direction, planning to see her.
Just as he had predicted, she wasn't in good shape—something Valerio would not have liked. She looked paler and thinner to him.
It was as if Valerio had been the fragrance in her life and the vitamins in her body.
When Evyths caught a glance of him, she attempted to turn around as if she hadn't seen him, but it was too late by then.
Octavio appeared before her, his eyes heavy with darkness and sadness.
Distant. Deprived. Silent.
"We should talk," he began, his sleek tone gone, replaced with something different, darker.
"Lord Octavio, I am not sure it is right to—"
"Don't worry, I am not after your scent. I have to talk about the king with you. Are you free now?" he asked.
Evyths swallowed hard, wondering what he wanted to say to her. If only he could tell her that Valerio was probably on his way back and that all the stories were fake, she debated in her mind, knowing that she sought the impossible.
"Come along with me to the study!" he said, leading the way.
Evyths was still skeptical about Octavio. Her experiences with him had been a battle for life, but at this point, he didn't seem to be after her or anything close. What if he was tricking her? She wondered. There was no Valerio to watch after her anymore, and her pack members weren't the type to acknowledge her either.
Once they entered the study that Valerio loved to keep for his solitude, Octavio shut the door without physical contact but with his mind.
Evyths almost jumped out of her skin, remembering that vampires were biologically gifted with such abilities.
However, the smell of jasmine and dust scattered across the air lazily, leaving a fragment of Valerio—probably the only thing he left before he passed tragically and unexpectedly.
She could feel her tears brimming and her throat tightening, but she held it together, distracting herself, her hand over her chest.
"It is okay to cry if you must. You'd feel better after all…" he said, interrupting her moment of revisited grief.
"I have cried enough, I guess," she said, unsure, since she was telling a lie.
"Very well. The situation has befallen us like a dream. I didn't think that my king and best friend would meet his demise. It happened so fast at the battle grounds, but he was brave and got stabbed by the hunters' commander—"
"Dra—Draco?" she chimed in knowingly, her face squeezing slightly. The memory of the day she was taken by the hunters still haunted her.
"Yes, Draco," Octavio confirmed, his gaze narrowing at her, wondering if she could actually be of help like he had suspected before approaching her.
The king was dead, yes, but he could reawaken, although the rest of the coven believed it best to let him rise naturally if he ever would.
Octavio's conviction conflicted. He had once heard Valerio confirm to Lucian that Evyths had healing powers, but could she heal complex cases like raising a dead vampire? Or healing the badly injured Lucian, who was hanging between the earth and the other world?
What exactly was the way out, and how would she come in? He thought carefully all over again while he stared at her.
"He was trying to save his brother from a hunter and unfortunately got struck…" he progressed one step at a time. He didn't want to overwhelm her at once, even if she didn't look like she would stay strong for the next three minutes.
"What happened to Commander Lucian?" she asked, her voice beginning to betray her, her eyes watery.
"He… He is neither dead nor alive. Preferably dead if we are forced to accept his fate," Octavio paused while she covered her face halfway. What he feared was happening—she was already in tears. Silently.
"Thank you for telling me everything, your grace!" she said, turning to leave.
Octavio caught her by the arm swiftly, and Evyths' body reacted harshly, the hairs on her skin rising as if in defense before she would shift if she felt further threatened by his touch.
He took off his hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask for something…" he said calmly as she gradually spun to face him.
"I'm not sure I have what you're seeking… Duke," she said, keeping it light and simple, but the look in the Duke's eyes requested more than just words.
He wanted something different.
Not her body. Not her scent. Not her.
It was something else, something that she possessed.
"You do, Evyths, you do," he let out, his voice slightly rough yet calm. And for the first time, harmless.
Her gaze sharpened, her tears disappeared, and her mind grew curious.
"Come with me to Valerio's private wing. I have something to show you!" he said.