"It's been a busy day." She said, standing up and pulling the book along with her.
He hummed, his feet carrying him to her with an aura that felt like hesitation on the first couple of steps before it faded away completely and he pulled off his mask, a tired smile on his face.
His lips grazed slightly against her forehead with a gentle kiss, that lasted for only a second because she was pulling away as fast as possible, stumbling away from him so she would be able to get to the door without any obstacle, go to her study and continue her mission already.
There was just so much to read and so little time, so many places that the book listed. She could only visit one place per night with Alaris' magic, so she would be needing a lot of coins to travel and make the best use of each night.
"The report reaching me is that there have been no attacks since the soldiers got to their locations." Eli's voice snapped her out of her train of thought. "There are still no traces of the witch either." He ended on a frustrated note.
"We will get the witch soon. Don't worry." The words pushed out of her mouth, her mind entirely on the door.
For no reason, the image of Kenji begging her to be "wise" and let him stay, flashed in her mind. He had been so desperate he told her he had seen the person who infiltrated the Castle.
The situations felt alike.
Eli wanted to catch the Soul Witch, believing that it was her, the image of her he couldn't recognize and Kenji had wanted to convince her by telling her there was someone in the study. Once again, that person was her.
It wasn't something humorous but she had to bite back a smile.
It was good she sent Kenji away. He was someone she couldn't figure out, didn't have the time to, and didn't want to have to try and figure him out. His driving motivation towards the whole bride situation was something she couldn't understand and having him around might just complicate things for her.
With him gone and with his book with her, she had one less problem to deal with.
"Tell me about your day."
Eli traced a lazy line on her neck, and with a dismissive smile, she pulled his hand away.
The thought of him carrying the weight of the summoned Alterer that was affecting the mind of his people flashed in her mind and once again, she convinced herself that his consent was gotten with Kestra's manipulation and he really didn't know what exactly the Alterer was about.
Every doubt that would flash in her mind about Eli, she would kill it.
Make it dead on arrival.
Eli was good.
He couldn't be anything else.
"Just trying to get more and more clothing resources to send to the affected villages." She took a step away, while she clicked her fingers against one another.
The faster she would get to that door, the better.
"I thought the Red-haired was spearheading that."
Eli's gaze didn't move away from her, she was glad he hadn't proceeded with taking off his robe after all that unbuttoning he did.
She still had a chance to leave.
Red-haired.
He was referring to Nadia.
Yes, the same Nadia that had been sulking ever since Anok was sent to Tikivah.
Of course, she was only using this as a cover story. Nadia was doing a great job despite her depressed state.
How Eli still found time to get involved in her business despite being occupied with the business of the Kingdom, that had just gotten ten times more tactical, would forever remain a mystery to her.
"Well, she needs me so." Belladonna chuckled, making her way to the door already. "Besides, you put me in charge of ensuring other needed resources are sent to the affected villages. The dispatch of the Physicians and many others."
A slight frown took over his face.
"And Sebastian reported that is going smoothly. From the reports I have gotten so far, Donna, you have no reasons to deprive yourself of sleep tonight."
Belladonna chuckled, it was getting harder to find excuses with Eli being one step ahead of her. If only she could dream of Alaris while next to Eli in bed, but that was impossible and a bad idea.
"Well, I'll like to confirm that myself. I will just do a quick check and ensure everything is fine, might take the whole night."
"I need a massage." He said after her. "If you will be so kind." He added with a suggestive smile as a cherry on top.
He was talking a lot tonight. It had been a while since they had exchanged so many words.
They had both been too busy for that.
"I'm terrible at that, you know." She giggled, uneasy. Her hand held the doorknob and without letting another question stop her, she stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her.
It was a race to her study.
Click.
She turned the key in the lock and heaved a sigh of relief, her heart thundering in her chest from how pressurizing this felt.
She hated keeping secrets from Eli and right now, she realized that she was always keeping secrets from him.
It was a tough place to be caught in, but she had no choice.
Then she moved to the sofa and flipped through the Black book, writing out a list of places she was convinced would have some worthwhile information for her.
It took a couple of minutes, now it was time to dream but wait, she had no sack of coins with her.
By Ignas, a stupid delay.
She would have to go back to their room, hopefully Eli would be asleep or too busy with something to notice her presence in the room.
Quickly, she was out of the study and back in the room.
Eli wasn't in the room but by the way, she would hear movement from the bathroom, that was where he was.
Well, lucky her.
Belladonna got the sack of coins quickly, she was about to leave when she walked past the bathroom door and stopped suddenly in her tracks.
The sound she was hearing was unlike Eli's.
Grunts.
Sounds of water splashing continuously, then silence.
What was going on in there?
Her stomach twisted in knots as a sense of deja vu rushed through her, her heart suddenly felt heavy in her chest and her hands became a little shaky as she tossed the sack of coins aside and opened the bathroom door to whatever was waiting for her at the other side.