Chapter 71
ELARA’S POV
I gazed at him, completely at a loss for words. Dr. Alen was the absolute last individual I hoped to run into. A rush of recollections came crashing back—harsh, agonizing ones of how he’d extract my blood until I was on the verge of fainting, treating me like nothing more than an instrument to cure the others. A monster, that’s what they labeled me. And he seemed to take twisted pleasure in amplifying my agony.
I gulped down the lump in my throat and gave a stiff nod. “Hello, Dr. Alen. It certainly has been quite some time.”
“Indeed, it has,” his tone remained steady, yet there was an underlying chill that made my skin crawl. “What exactly has drawn you to the healing center today?”
“I was here to tend to a young boy. He had a cut on his arm.”
He arched an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping across the room. The other attendants simply disregarded our exchange and carried on with their tasks. “Which boy are you referring to?” he inquired, his stare piercing as it locked onto me.
“He dashed off just a moment ago, right before you came in.”
“Ah, I see. That makes sense. I assumed you might have come for your own reasons.” A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
As if I’d ever choose to. I rolled my eyes inwardly. Plastering on a polite grin, I responded, “I don’t have any need to be here otherwise—why would I show up voluntarily?”
“I’m not sure,” he replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “You tell me.”
I kept quiet and shot a quick look at Clara, who was positioned beside me, appearing uneasy—or more like distinctly out of sorts. I cleared my throat and shifted my attention back to Dr. Alen. “In that case, I’ll be on my way then… There are matters I need to attend to.”
“By all means. Feel free to drop by whenever you’d like.” He commented as he moved past, making his way toward a doorway on the far side, away from the main exit of the healing center. Without uttering another syllable, I strode out of the place, refusing to glance backward, with Clara trailing right behind me.
Once we were outside, she released a long, trembling exhale. “First things first, that whole interaction was incredibly uncomfortable. And second, if you don’t mind me asking, who exactly was that, Miss Elara?”
I shook my head firmly. “It’s a lengthy tale that I’d rather not delve into right now.”
She regarded me with a worried expression but held her tongue. Instead, she quieted down as we made our way back to the palace. Out of the periphery of my vision, I spotted a fleeting shadow lurking behind a tree adjacent to the open field. I halted in my tracks and pivoted toward the tree, but whatever had been there was already gone.
“Is everything alright, Miss Elara?” Clara questioned as she caught up to me, tracing my gaze.
“I’m not certain…” I shook my head again. “Something just doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Like what, exactly?”
“Let’s keep moving.” I resumed our walk. First that mysterious letter, and now this… this eerie sensation I’d experienced back in the Moonwhite Pack… It’s resurfacing, like someone’s keeping tabs on me, but who could it be? And for what reason? More crucially, who might have dispatched them? Could it be Darius?
~
When we entered the palace grounds, even before we could make it past the sentries, a silhouette appeared—Seraphina, her eyes enormous and glistening with tears on the brink of spilling over. She came to a abrupt stop right in my path, her features twisted in a fury that left me utterly stunned.
“I despise you!” she shrieked, the phrase harsh and gut-wrenching, striking me as if it were a tangible strike. I wasn’t taken aback by her words themselves, but rather the motive behind them. I hadn’t done a single thing to provoke this, so why was I the target of her outburst? I remained rooted to the spot, completely baffled.
What had I possibly done? The query reverberated through my thoughts, frantically hunting for some explanation.
“This is all your fault! I hate you with every fiber of my being—I wish you’d just drop dead!” She shouted once more, her voice breaking under the weight of her feelings, before she spun around and bolted away, vanishing from sight before I could muster a response.
“What… what in the world was that?” I finally stammered, my tone quivering a bit. I scanned the palace surroundings; the guards nearby fidgeted awkwardly under my scrutiny. Had an incident occurred during my absence?
Clara appeared just as perplexed as I was; she moved closer, her shoulders rising and dropping in a resigned sigh. “Perhaps some sort of issue arose.”
“I’m curious what could have triggered all that.”
Her mouth twisted into a slight grimace. “Trouble never seems to take a break, huh?” I didn’t offer a reply, simply standing there in contemplation. Clara grasped my hand gently. “You ought to get some rest, Miss Elara. You’ve been on your feet for ages—it’s about time to unwind until later.”
I exhaled deeply and nodded, the sharp irony of the situation not escaping me. Together, we ascended the staircase. The servants we encountered along the way whispered softly among themselves as they dipped in respectful bows and continued on past me. My brain was whirling faster with each passing second, attempting to assemble the puzzle of recent events and figure out why everyone was behaving so strangely.
Upon arriving at my chamber, Clara reached for the door handle, but we both spotted Kael approaching me at that very moment.
“Lycan Kael,” Clara greeted with a courteous bow.
“Clara,” Kael acknowledged, coming to a halt a short distance from where I was positioned. “Would you mind giving Elara and me a moment alone?”
Without so much as a glance in my direction, Clara nodded affirmatively and departed. I felt an urge to protest, but I held back.
“Hey, Kael…” I offered him a smile. Seeing him stirred up a tangled web of feelings—wariness, a residual ache from before, and a spark of something deeper.
It’s tough keeping my emotions in check. With each passing day, I notice it’s becoming increasingly difficult, and that just doesn’t feel appropriate.
“Hey, Elara,” he responded with a gentle smile. “I was starting to wonder where you’d gotten to.”
“I went out for a stroll. Just needed to loosen up my muscles a bit.”
His expression shifted into a concerned frown. “That’s too risky. You really should have let me know beforehand or at the very least brought along a protector.”
“I realize that… But it was only in the vicinity of the palace—I didn’t venture too far,” I fibbed. In truth, I’d wandered quite a distance, nearly to the edge of the woods. But admitting that to him wasn’t an option.
He released a quiet sigh and stepped nearer, resting one hand on my shoulder. “I’m serious about this. Strange occurrences have been popping up recently, and I can’t afford to take chances.”
“I get it, Kael,” I assured him as I carefully lifted his hand off my shoulder; his features briefly clouded with disappointment, but he masked it almost instantly. “It’s just that I craved some breathing room. Things are unfolding so rapidly and in such a bewildering way.”
“I completely understand.” He replied, and then silence fell. He simply lingered there, regarding me with a look that was impossible to decipher.
“I should probably—”
“I’ve ended things with Seraphina.”
My eyes grew wide in astonishment. “You did what?”