Tension

Tension
Chapter 177

Ruby’s POV

‘’Don't worry, I’ll get the door.’’ Thane immediately said as his leg went flying over mine. He was out of the bed in the next second, his broad back still clad in his dark clothes as he moved with speed toward the entrance.

He was slowly vanishing from my sight as he headed across the darkened room to get the door, leaving me alone with the heavy silence of the massive bedroom. My mind danced over Thane’s words from earlier, and honestly, it made perfect sense now that I actually stopped to think about the logic of it.

I wondered why I hadn't thought about that before. I mean, Tautia had already taken Thane’s looks to approach me a few times in this life, so why wouldn't she have done it back then to ruin them? And about Auxoria’s final words to him, I could be very sure that she didn't actually mean them. Maybe she just wanted Thane to hate her since she knew she was dying. Maybe she thought if he hated her, he could move on better and not spend centuries mourning her or something.

Then my mind flew back to the child in the dragon spirit realm, and that was when I remembered he was right in the middle of telling me something important when I had been dragged out of the void so violently. It also crossed my mind that I needed to discuss giving him an actual name with Thane, especially since the kid said he would be forming a real body in the real world soon enough. I made a mental note to immediately talk to Thane about that the second he walked back through those curtains, but that didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon given the tension in the air.

I could feel the change in Thane’s footsteps the moment he closed the bedroom door back with a heavy bang. He headed right back for me, but the rhythm of his feet hitting the floor sounded tense  now. 

The air in the room suddenly felt thinner and colder than it was just moments ago. I quickly pulled up the hanging straps of my nightie so they now rested on my shoulders again, covering my breasts as I slowly got out of bed, my legs felt a bit shaky but I forced myself to walk toward the bedroom entrance to meet Thane halfway. 

‘’What happened?’’ I asked immediately the second I sighted Thane. From the look on his face, I could tell this was nothing good. The serious, deep-seated frown on his face was enough to make my stomach do a nervous flip. 

‘’Get dressed first, will you? We need to head downstairs immediately. Lucas said we need to see what's on the news… he said he didn't even know how to put it into words,’’ Thane spoke hurriedly. His hands flew down to catch me by my wrist with his grip firm but careful as he calmly pulled me back into the room and straight toward the dressing area. 

‘’I mean, he didn't even drop a hint? Not a single word?’’ I pressed him as I followed behind, my mind racing and wondering what the hell could be happening now. ‘’How is my dad? Did something happen to my dad… talk to me, Thane!’’ I pressed harder as I stopped in my tracks. I pulled my hands out of his hold and took a sharp step back from him. I could already feel my eyes misting up in fear. The thought of losing him after everything else was too much to bear.

‘’No, Ruby, your dad is fine. He’s perfectly safe. It's something on the news, something else entirely. Just dress up so we can both head down and see what it is for ourselves,’’ Thane calmly explained. He turned his back to me and began shuffling through my side of the wardrobe, looking for something for me to wear. 

His words were enough to calm me down for a split second, and I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Thane turned back over to me, holding out a pair of black leggings, a plain t-shirt, and a thick hoodie.

‘’Put this on,’’ he said calmly. Something about his demeanor made me even more worried than if he had been shouting. He was moving too calmly, like something was seriously bothering him but he was trying to remain calm for my sake.

I didn't ask any more questions as I just took the clothing from his hold and slowly began to dress up. I could feel Thane’s eyes on me while I pulled the leggings on, but they were glazed over like he was deep in thought. I knew it was serious seeing as his hands were planted firmly on his hips and his foot was tapping restless on the floor. 

He was usually so composed so seeing him this on edge made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. 

‘’All done,’’ I said to get his attention just as I pulled the hoodie over my head. I stood there for a second, waiting for him to speak next.

‘’Shoes, shoes…’’ he mumbled to himself as he immediately turned his back to me and went digging through my shoes at the bottom of the wardrobe, eventually bringing up a pair of black sneakers I had never worn before. He walked back to me and immediately got down on his knees, taking my foot in his hand as he secured the laces onto my feet with quick movements.

He didn't even look up at me. ‘’Let’s go,’’ he mumbled. He had a firm hold on my wrist again as he led me out of the room, grabbing both his phone and mine as we left. He handed mine to me, but he stayed glued to his own screen the whole time he led me through the long hallway. I would have loved to see what had him so serious on his phone, but I was way too short to even get a proper glimpse of what he was reading.

We went down the spiral stairs, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the walls. My eyes fell on a worried Lucas sitting at the foot of the steps, his face was pale too. He didn't even say anything as he just turned his back the moment he sighted us. 

We all made our way to the sitting room, and I could already see my dad seated right in front of the television. He was hunched over with his hands clasped so tight his knuckles were white, and he wasn't saying a single word not to mention he looked like he had aged ten years in the last hour.

‘’Ruby… your sister..’’ My dad’s words trailed off, his voice choked with a thick emotion that made my heart drop into my stomach. My eyes snapped to the news broadcast, my breath catching in my throat.

‘’Reporting live from the air, the black hurricane that suddenly started at the middle of the city outskirts only seems to be getting wilder by the second and growing even faster. Forecasters say they have seen nothing like it before and do not know the cause, as it had shown no prior notice before its sudden appearance this evening. For now, it is recommended that people stay home, and those at the city outskirts make their way into the city…’’

The rest of the news seemed to be a blur as I just stared at the image on the screen. That shit right there didn't look like any normal hurricane I had ever seen. If you asked me, I would say it looked more like a portal being opened, though how I knew that, I wasn't so sure.

The hurricane was pitch black, going as wide as a huge skyscraper and connecting to a sky that was now completely dark and swirling. Thunder was striking violently from the point of contact, lighting up the edges of the void with a purple-white light. It didn't look anything like a hurricane because it wasn't even moving as it remained in one spot like a flashlight was being pointed down from above, but this one reflected only pure darkness.

The force around that thing seemed to be massive as it was suddenly swallowing up cars and trees nearby as the vacuum pulled everything in, but something else struck my eyes when I looked closer at the high-definition footage. Shadows. Actual shadows were swirling within the darkness.

I turned on my heels to look at Thane, who was pacing around a distance away and making calls. His jaw was stiff and his voice was low and dangerous as he spoke to whoever was on the other end. 

I moved closer to the couch,‘’It’s the shadow wielder doing this, isn't it, Lucas?’’ I asked, my voice low . Lucas was right next to me and all he could do was nod in response, his eyes never leaving the screen. I could feel my hands grow cold with a thought . Was the shadow user now finally making his move to take over the earth?