Chapter 80 I never knew you liked me
Chapter 80 I never knew you liked me
Varian did not say a word as he led Elara away from the corridor where Valerian still stood frozen in place.
His grip around her wrist wasn’t painful, but it was firm. Protective. As if he feared that the moment he loosened his hold, someone else would snatch her away.
Elara had to half jog to keep up with his long strides.
When they finally turned into a quieter street glowing with crimson lantern light, Varian stopped.
He turned to face her.
“Don’t wander off again,” he muttered.
Elara nodded quickly. “I won’t.”
Behind them, hidden in the shadows of a tall archway, Valerian watched.
His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.
The way Varian stood in front of her.
The way Elara looked at him.
The way she hadn’t even hesitated to choose.
It burned.
“Just you wait,” Valerian said coldly under his breath. “You will come back begging.”
With one last dark glance, he turned and stormed off into the crowd.
\---
Varian and Elara walked side by side through the festival streets.
Music drifted through the air.
Vampires, fairies, witches, and other creatures laughed together, stalls glowing with enchanted lights and floating crystals. Vendors shouted cheerfully, offering sweet drinks, glowing pastries, weapons made of moonstone, charms that hummed with magic.
Elara kept looking around in awe.
Everywhere felt alive.
“This place is beautiful,” she whispered.
Varian said nothing, but his eyes lingered on her face as she smiled.
They searched for Aurelius, Seraphina, and Caelum, weaving through crowds, stopping at familiar-looking stalls, scanning faces.
Nothing.
Elara sighed. “I guess we lost them.”
Varian shrugged. “Good.”
She blinked. “Good?”
“I don’t like crowds,” he said flatly.
Elara hesitated… then smiled.
“Then we can just hang out,” she said.
Varian didn’t respond.
But he also didn’t walk away.
They wandered slowly, stopping to watch performers breathe blue fire into the air, stopping to stare at illusionists creating floating dragons made of light.
Elara gasped at everything.
Varian pretended not to notice.
But he did.
\---
They were standing near a stall selling glowing crystal apples when it happened.
A group of vampire girls nearby started whispering.
Their eyes were not on the apples.
They were on Varian.
“He’s insanely handsome…”
“Is he a prince?”
“Look at his eyes…”
One of them giggled.
“I could spend the rest of my life with him without thinking twice” another one said.
Another nudged her friend. “You should talk to him.”
Elara felt something twist sharply in her chest.
She glanced at the girls.
Then at Varian.
He wasn’t even looking at them.
But they were looking at him.
Too much.
Before she could think, Elara stepped closer and grabbed Varian’s arm.
She wrapped both hands around it and leaned into his side.
Her heart was pounding.
Varian slowly looked down at her.
Elara lifted her chin slightly, pretending to study a nearby stall… while very obviously clinging to him.
The girls stared.
One of them scoffed.
“Oh. He’s taken.”
Another rolled her eyes and pulled her friends away.
Elara only relaxed once they were gone.
She realized what she had done.
Her cheeks turned pink.
Varian’s lips curved into a faint smirk.
“So,” he said quietly. “I’m yours now?”
Elara froze.
“I…. I didn’t mean…. I just…they were staring—”
He didn’t tease her further.
But he didn’t pull his arm away either.
They stayed like that.
Walking.
Together.
\---
As night deepened, thousands of floating lanterns began to rise into the sky.
Each lantern glowed softly, carrying written wishes inside.
Elara’s eyes lit up.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Lantern wishes,” a passerby answered. “You write what you desire most. Light it. Send it to the sky.”
Elara’s face brightened with excitement.
She turned to Varian.
“Can we do that?”
Varian shook his head. “I don’t do meaningless traditions.”
Her smile faltered.
“Oh…”
She tried to hide her disappointment, but Varian saw it.
Her shoulders drooped.
Her eyes followed a small child releasing a lantern with a huge grin.
Something in Varian’s chest felt… uncomfortable.
He turned away.
Minutes passed in silence.
Then Varian abruptly walked toward a lantern stall.
Elara blinked in confusion.
He returned holding two lanterns.
Her eyes widened.
“You said you don’t—”
“Just write,” he muttered, shoving one into her hands.
Her face broke into a huge smile.
“You’re doing it with me?”
He looked away. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Elara hugged the lantern.
They sat on a low stone bench near the river.
Elara pulled out a small charcoal pen and stared at the paper.
“What are you wishing for?” she asked.
Varian didn’t answer.
She smiled softly and wrote.
Varian hesitated.
He had never wished for anything.
Wishing meant hoping.
Hoping meant wanting.
Wanting meant weakness.
But somehow… his hand moved anyway.
They folded the papers and placed them inside.
They lit the lanterns.
Warm light filled the space between them.
Elara held her lantern carefully.
“Ready?” she whispered.
They released them together.
The lanterns floated upward, drifting side by side into the endless dark sky.
Elara watched with shining eyes.
Varian watched her.
\---
Elara leaned closer.
“Do you want to know what I wished for?”
Varian shook his head. “No.”
She smiled. “Too bad. I wished… that I become strong enough to protect the people I care about.”
She looked at him.
“And that I don’t lose the ones I’m starting to care about too.”
Varian’s chest tightened.
He didn’t ask what she meant.
He didn’t need to.
Elara tilted her head. “What about you?”
“I didn’t wish for anything,” he said.
She raised a brow. “Liar.”
Varian didn’t argue.
They sat in comfortable silence, lanterns reflecting in their eyes.
Elara slowly rested her head against his shoulder.
Varian stiffened.
Then… didn’t move.
The festival continued around them.
But for a moment, it felt like only the two of them existed.
Elara smiled.
She had a strange feeling.
That whatever was growing between them…
It was already too strong to stop.