Chapter 56: 56
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I wake up the next morning to a deathly quiet.
Gone is the ample banter that sings down our corridor, and the tip-tapping off butlers feet as they run from room to room calling service. Gone is the wind, and the bird song that rushes outside the castle walls, replaced only by the long thrum of a lone, stagnant silence.
Something is wrong.
Ithuriel sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, his glossy hair tinted yellow with an ardent worry. His fingers tap together in a prayer like motion, eyes unfocused, grand wings spread behind him, stone still and unmoving like one of the many statues that lines this palace. Never before have I seen such an expression so pained.
I make to get up, but before I can even bring myself level to him Ithuriel catches the movement, and pushes me forcefully back down. I frown, and try again. Once more, he pushes my back down, harder this time, and this time I snarl in response.
"Ithuriel?" I growl, face twisting in confusion and continue to struggle against him in obvious futility, my body still weakened from the day before. Ithuriel lays a steady hand on my chest, remaining silent. The warmth of his skin soaks through me, stark against the coldness of a vampires touch I have grown so used to. The wiry smile he gives me is enough to send shivers shooting down my spine.
I'm not sure what to be afraid of more: him, or the unspoken silence that lies between us- the promise of something terrifying.
"Ithuriel?" I repeat again, the beginnings of panic lacing the edges of my voice. I struggle to wipe away the beads of sweat condensing on my upper brow, my breath spiking with the feeling of claustrophobia setting in as Ithuriel continues to pin my down to the bed like paper under a weight.
This is not like Ithuriel at all. The unnerving calm, the silence… Ithuriel has always been a worrier, even at the best of times, and would always do his best to prevent me from driving headfirst into reckless situations. He is my knight, my guardian, but even he had his limits, knew when to make concessions. Even with our spat the other day, he knew when to back down. But this… Never before have I been so forcefully and directly opposed by him.
"He told me to keep you here," Ithuriel says softly at last, too softly. There is something brittle in his voice, as though he is one moment, one bad move away from breaking, crumbling under the force of this self induced silence. Or perhaps, I think uneasily to myself, the person liable to breaking in not him, but me. The thought alone is enough to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
"Stay down, Serena. It is better that way," he whispers soothingly, but the panic under the surface of his face is undeniable. I have hunted long enough to recognise that look as easily as one might recognise the stars, the tell-tale signs left behind under a façade of calm. Ithuriel is just like those animals. I don't need to read aura's to see he is terrified.
An unnatural feeling of calmness floods through me as Ithuriel gives me another smile, spreading from where his hand meets my chest, consuming me with its sickening falseness and quelling my anxiety. Even so, I have enough sense to ask:
"You talked to Soren? He saw you?" Ithuriel shakes his head.
"He did not see me. But he knew I was there. He came back and waited outside the door and started speaking to me. Of course, I did not reply. He told me that he put you to sleep, and that you would probably want to find him when you wake up." Ithuriel pauses, scanning me with his sun and moon eyes.
Seeing I have settled, he gently he releases his hand, allowing me to rise from the bed. My head spins a little as I do, and I suddenly become all too aware of a dull throbbing in the back of my head. Soren had been right again, of course. I did want to see him.
My mind flashes back to yesterday, to the worried look that had been etched into the fragments of my mind, the obvious concern, the pleading, when faced with whatever the hell I had conjured up. Whatever that is, whatever is happening to me, he knows something about it.
"So you are actually listening to him? You are making me stay here, after all you said about him?" I cry faintly, a dirty trick really. Trying to guilt trip Ithuriel into letting me out is not a move I am proud of taking, but if it works and he lets me out, then it surely wouldn't be in vain. "Don't you hate him?" I press on, louder now. "Why would you listen to him?" Ithuriel's eyes narrow in anguish, hair streaking a dark blue.
"Serena, it had to be done," he murmurs gently still, and leans to cup my cheek, pressing his forehead to mine. At that moment, I feel it. Grief radiates off him like heat off a bonfire, tinting his heart with the icy cold of anguish and sorrow. Grief for me, for what has become of things, for whatever is happening outside the walls of our room, the cause of the deathly silence. "I would let you kill him, if you wanted. I do not care for him. But please, you must not try to leave and find him. Not today."
"Ithuriel, I have to ask him, there is…" I swallow hard, fumbling over my words, my heart fluttering in my chest. "There is something wrong with me. Why won't you let me go?"
On hearing these words and likely reading my aura, Ithuriel draws me into his lap, and wraps his wings around me, cocooning us in their feathery warmth. I sink into the familiarity of the feeling of silky feathers and the comforting rustle of wings, deeper into calmness. Ithuriel's power drags me down further. He places a light kiss on my forehead.
"He told me if you went out there today, you would lose control again, and this time you wouldn't be able to stop yourself." My heart stops.
"Ithuriel what is happening, please," I beg, and despite Ithuriel's powers, anxiety starts to boil in the pit of my stomach, overriding the false calmness with its raging fire. For a moment I feel like I am going to throw up. Sighing heavily, he freezes for a second, and then pulling back Ithuriel lets me go and looks me dead in the eye.
"Serena, they are having an execution.." My insides go cold.
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I wake up the next morning to a deathly quiet.
Gone is the ample banter that sings down our corridor, and the tip-tapping off butlers feet as they run from room to room calling service. Gone is the wind, and the bird song that rushes outside the castle walls, replaced only by the long thrum of a lone, stagnant silence.
Something is wrong.
Ithuriel sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, his glossy hair tinted yellow with an ardent worry. His fingers tap together in a prayer like motion, eyes unfocused, grand wings spread behind him, stone still and unmoving like one of the many statues that lines this palace. Never before have I seen such an expression so pained.
I make to get up, but before I can even bring myself level to him Ithuriel catches the movement, and pushes me forcefully back down. I frown, and try again. Once more, he pushes my back down, harder this time, and this time I snarl in response.
"Ithuriel?" I growl, face twisting in confusion and continue to struggle against him in obvious futility, my body still weakened from the day before. Ithuriel lays a steady hand on my chest, remaining silent. The warmth of his skin soaks through me, stark against the coldness of a vampires touch I have grown so used to. The wiry smile he gives me is enough to send shivers shooting down my spine.
I'm not sure what to be afraid of more: him, or the unspoken silence that lies between us- the promise of something terrifying.
"Ithuriel?" I repeat again, the beginnings of panic lacing the edges of my voice. I struggle to wipe away the beads of sweat condensing on my upper brow, my breath spiking with the feeling of claustrophobia setting in as Ithuriel continues to pin my down to the bed like paper under a weight.
This is not like Ithuriel at all. The unnerving calm, the silence… Ithuriel has always been a worrier, even at the best of times, and would always do his best to prevent me from driving headfirst into reckless situations. He is my knight, my guardian, but even he had his limits, knew when to make concessions. Even with our spat the other day, he knew when to back down. But this… Never before have I been so forcefully and directly opposed by him.
"He told me to keep you here," Ithuriel says softly at last, too softly. There is something brittle in his voice, as though he is one moment, one bad move away from breaking, crumbling under the force of this self induced silence. Or perhaps, I think uneasily to myself, the person liable to breaking in not him, but me. The thought alone is enough to leave a sour taste in my mouth.
"Stay down, Serena. It is better that way," he whispers soothingly, but the panic under the surface of his face is undeniable. I have hunted long enough to recognise that look as easily as one might recognise the stars, the tell-tale signs left behind under a façade of calm. Ithuriel is just like those animals. I don't need to read aura's to see he is terrified.
An unnatural feeling of calmness floods through me as Ithuriel gives me another smile, spreading from where his hand meets my chest, consuming me with its sickening falseness and quelling my anxiety. Even so, I have enough sense to ask:
"You talked to Soren? He saw you?" Ithuriel shakes his head.
"He did not see me. But he knew I was there. He came back and waited outside the door and started speaking to me. Of course, I did not reply. He told me that he put you to sleep, and that you would probably want to find him when you wake up." Ithuriel pauses, scanning me with his sun and moon eyes.
Seeing I have settled, he gently he releases his hand, allowing me to rise from the bed. My head spins a little as I do, and I suddenly become all too aware of a dull throbbing in the back of my head. Soren had been right again, of course. I did want to see him.
My mind flashes back to yesterday, to the worried look that had been etched into the fragments of my mind, the obvious concern, the pleading, when faced with whatever the hell I had conjured up. Whatever that is, whatever is happening to me, he knows something about it.
"So you are actually listening to him? You are making me stay here, after all you said about him?" I cry faintly, a dirty trick really. Trying to guilt trip Ithuriel into letting me out is not a move I am proud of taking, but if it works and he lets me out, then it surely wouldn't be in vain. "Don't you hate him?" I press on, louder now. "Why would you listen to him?" Ithuriel's eyes narrow in anguish, hair streaking a dark blue.
"Serena, it had to be done," he murmurs gently still, and leans to cup my cheek, pressing his forehead to mine. At that moment, I feel it. Grief radiates off him like heat off a bonfire, tinting his heart with the icy cold of anguish and sorrow. Grief for me, for what has become of things, for whatever is happening outside the walls of our room, the cause of the deathly silence. "I would let you kill him, if you wanted. I do not care for him. But please, you must not try to leave and find him. Not today."
"Ithuriel, I have to ask him, there is…" I swallow hard, fumbling over my words, my heart fluttering in my chest. "There is something wrong with me. Why won't you let me go?"
On hearing these words and likely reading my aura, Ithuriel draws me into his lap, and wraps his wings around me, cocooning us in their feathery warmth. I sink into the familiarity of the feeling of silky feathers and the comforting rustle of wings, deeper into calmness. Ithuriel's power drags me down further. He places a light kiss on my forehead.
"He told me if you went out there today, you would lose control again, and this time you wouldn't be able to stop yourself." My heart stops.
"Ithuriel what is happening, please," I beg, and despite Ithuriel's powers, anxiety starts to boil in the pit of my stomach, overriding the false calmness with its raging fire. For a moment I feel like I am going to throw up. Sighing heavily, he freezes for a second, and then pulling back Ithuriel lets me go and looks me dead in the eye.
"Serena, they are having an execution.." My insides go cold.
I wake up the next morning to a deathly quiet. Gone is the ample banter that sings down our corridor, and the tip-tapping off butlers feet as they run from room to room calling service. Gone is the wind, and the bird song that rushes outside the castle walls, replaced only by the long thrum of a lone, stagnant silence. Something is wrong. Ithuriel sits on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, his glossy hair tinted yellow with an ardent worry. His fingers tap together in a prayer like motion, eyes unfocused, grand wings spread behind him, stone still and unmoving like one of the many statues that lines this palace. Never before have I seen such an expression so pained. I make to get up, but before I can even bring myself level to him Ithuriel catches the movement, and pushes me forcefully back down. I frown, and try again. Once more, he pushes my back down, harder this time, and this time I snarl in response."Ithuriel?" I growl, face twisting in confusion and continue to struggle against him in obvious futility, my body still weakened from the day before. Ithuriel lays a steady hand on my chest, remaining silent. The warmth of his skin soaks through me, stark against the coldness of a vampires touch I have grown so used to. The wiry smile he gives me is enough to send shivers shooting down my spine.I'm not sure what to be afraid of more: him, or the unspoken silence that lies between us- the promise of something terrifying."Ithuriel?" I repeat again, the beginnings of panic lacing the edges of my voice. I struggle to wipe away the beads of sweat condensing on my upper brow, my breath spiking with the feeling of claustrophobia setting in as Ithuriel continues to pin my down to the bed like paper under a weight.This is not like Ithuriel at all. The unnerving calm, the silence Ithuriel has always been a worrier, even at the best of times, and would always do his best to prevent me from driving headfirst into reckless situations. He is my knight, my guardian, but even he had his limits, knew when to make concessions. Even with our spat the other day, he knew when to back down. But this Never before have I been so forcefully and directly opposed by him."He told me to keep you here," Ithuriel says softly at last, too softly. There is something brittle in his voice, as though he is one moment, one bad move away from breaking, crumbling under the force of this self induced silence. Or perhaps, I think uneasily to myself, the person liable to breaking in not him, but me. The thought alone is enough to leave a sour taste in my mouth. "Stay down, Serena. It is better that way," he whispers soothingly, but the panic under the surface of his face is undeniable. I have hunted long enough to recognise that look as easily as one might recognise the stars, the tell-tale signs left behind under a faade of calm. Ithuriel is just like those animals. I don't need to read aura's to see he is terrified. An unnatural feeling of calmness floods through me as Ithuriel gives me another smile, spreading from where his hand meets my chest, consuming me with its sickening falseness and quelling my anxiety. Even so, I have enough sense to ask:"You talked to Soren? He saw you?" Ithuriel shakes his head."He did not see me. But he knew I was there. He came back and waited outside the door and started speaking to me. Of course, I did not reply. He told me that he put you to sleep, and that you would probably want to find him when you wake up." Ithuriel pauses, scanning me with his sun and moon eyes. Seeing I have settled, he gently he releases his hand, allowing me to rise from the bed. My head spins a little as I do, and I suddenly become all too aware of a dull throbbing in the back of my head. Soren had been right again, of course. I did want to see him. My mind flashes back to yesterday, to the worried look that had been etched into the fragments of my mind, the obvious concern, the pleading, when faced with whatever the hell I had conjured up. Whatever that is, whatever is happening to me, he knows something about it."So you are actually listening to him? You are making me stay here, after all you said about him?" I cry faintly, a dirty trick really. Trying to guilt trip Ithuriel into letting me out is not a move I am proud of taking, but if it works and he lets me out, then it surely wouldn't be in vain. "Don't you hate him?" I press on, louder now. "Why would you listen to him?" Ithuriel's eyes narrow in anguish, hair streaking a dark blue."Serena, it had to be done," he murmurs gently still, and leans to cup my cheek, pressing his forehead to mine. At that moment, I feel it. Grief radiates off him like heat off a bonfire, tinting his heart with the icy cold of anguish and sorrow. Grief for me, for what has become of things, for whatever is happening outside the walls of our room, the cause of the deathly silence. "I would let you kill him, if you wanted. I do not care for him. But please, you must not try to leave and find him. Not today." "Ithuriel, I have to ask him, there is" I swallow hard, fumbling over my words, my heart fluttering in my chest. "There is something wrong with me. Why won't you let me go?"On hearing these words and likely reading my aura, Ithuriel draws me into his lap, and wraps his wings around me, cocooning us in their feathery warmth. I sink into the familiarity of the feeling of silky feathers and the comforting rustle of wings, deeper into calmness. Ithuriel's power drags me down further. He places a light kiss on my forehead. "He told me if you went out there today, you would lose control again, and this time you wouldn't be able to stop yourself." My heart stops."Ithuriel what is happening, please," I beg, and despite Ithuriel's powers, anxiety starts to boil in the pit of my stomach, overriding the false calmness with its raging fire. For a moment I feel like I am going to throw up. Sighing heavily, he freezes for a second, and then pulling back Ithuriel lets me go and looks me dead in the eye."Serena, they are having an execution.." My insides go cold.
