Chapter 297: An odd inkling
Silas realized he’d once again retreated to the side, clearly distant from the crowd.
The birth of the spirits unfolded under his bare diamond eyes. The air remained light on his lungs until a warm presence neared and stopped by his side.
"We haven’t truly spoken since... The last time," for once, Dragomir stood without Lauden, "Well, earlier does not count," he quickly added.
Silas couldn’t care any less and only wished for that moment to come to an end as well, Dragomir was never the best company to have.
"I am surprised Liriel isn’t stuck to your shoulder as per her usual," Dragomir chuckled.
"Presumably busy," Silas’ tone was as dry as ever.
"I am sure you’ve received the news as well," Dragomir straightened his suit jacket, "About the Lustrisian prince. There sure must be a reason for his insistence on coming, don’t you think?"
"I am sure there is,"
"What’s the matter? Aren’t you the least bit curious about it?"
"As long as he follows Umbrarian rules, I have nothing to be curious about," Silas turned around, ready to walk away but it seemed Dragomir wasn’t done talking.
"Come now! He’ll be staying under your roof, won’t he?" Darrick chuckled, "I’d be concerned,"
"And what should I be concerned about?" Silas’ head tilted ever so slightly, finally allowing their eyes to connect.
"As I am sure you’ve heard, Lord Sterling has been staying in my care since his arrival, but our history goes way back," Dragomir took a breath, "He’s informed me of the reasons that brought him all the way out here. I personally find it heart wrenching for a father to suffer like that,"
"I am sure you feel that way,"
"Yes, well, I reckon the prince’s travel isn’t simply for the sake of the auction, considering what he was promised sleeps under your roof,"
"What he was promised was never to be given in the first place," Silas’ fist clenched until his knuckles turned white.
Although, surprisingly, none of that strain showed in his face.
"You know how life goes back in Lustris. We abide by our own laws on our land, and they do theirs on their land. That was the deal after the war," Dragomir’s eternal side smirk seemed to dim at those words.
"True that," Silas started, "But are we in Lustris, now?"
"You know exactly what I meant,"
"And you know what I mean as well," the silver haired vampire wasted not another second and walked away.
Thinly veiled threats were never his cup of tea but looking around at all of the groups that had formed... Silas couldn’t decide which to join.
Even Cynric seemed to enjoy his time with his own people. Liriel found good company with the elder witches and as for his mother, she sat gracefully, chatting about things the vampire did not care to listen to.
Walking among people, there was that odd sensation that he belonged with none of them. That sort of obvious distance between him and the rest that always lived with him.
It was as though they all had a designated spot but him.
His was elsewhere, back home with the only person he found refuge in. A certain raven-haired girl with green gemstones for eyes.
The kind he detested before seeing in her sockets. The kind that brought awful memories back until she’d come into his life.
At that moment, he wondered about what she was doing.
Was she still trying the dresses on? If yes, then which one was to her taste? Which one would she pick?
Silas simply couldn’t wait to see her in it.
He wondered what sort of mischief that brat would drag her into... But just how happy it’d make her to see him laugh because that was exactly the type of person she was.
"Looking for a peaceful coroner again?" his mother’s voice reached his ear from the left side.
"I don’t think I can find one. Not tonight," he spared her not a glance.
"No, I don’t suppose you will," she chuckled, "It was quite kind of Dragomir to congratulate you, don’t you think?"
That question finally prompted him to look in her direction. Persephone stood tall and with grace.
Her collected smile reached her eyes, offering a lot of warmth when addressing it in the face of someone.
"Indeed, it was kind," Silas turned away again.
"Did he say a thing about Reubon?" she asked.
"He remains in Umbraria for now and isn’t happy about the recent developments involving his daughter,"
"Well, that is a given," the two of them stopped walking once they put some distance between themselves and the rest of the gathering, where the torch lights did not particularly reach, "How are you feeling?"
"Ecstatic," he said without an ounce of emotion on his face.
"Oh dear, tell me something that isn’t that obvious, would you?"
The trees swayed to the winds’ whims as the moon continued to shine with the same intensity since the beginning of the night.
"I feel odd," he admitted, staring up at one of the tall wooden trunks.
"Odd?" one of her eyebrows rose, "Elaborate,"
"Truthfully, I don’t know if I can," his diamonds then turned to the grass covering the ground, "It is as though a part of me remains back home and calls for me to run back,"
The sweet smile on the Lady was noticeable, "That is understandable. Worry not, the gathering is nearing its end anyway. You will soon return to your... Better half,"
Persephone kept him company for the rest of their time at the caverns. Nobody else approached them after that, allowing the hubbub accompanying their silence to mingle.
But as peaceful as the night seemed to be, there was that gnawing feeling that itched at his heart.
That unsatisfiable urge to simply run back home and be there for whatever was to happen.
A heavy sensation that kept weighing him down no matter how hard off he tried to shake it.