Chapter 309: Other solutions
He kept their fingers intertwined together, refusing to let go of her as if Arabella would evaporate should their skin break direct contact.
His second arm held her around the middle and kept her back plastered against his chest at all times.
"How are you feeling?"
Silas had taken the habit of asking about her wellbeing every time one of her inhales lasted a little longer than the previous.
"I am feeling quite alright," she nodded, "Just as alright as I felt about a minute ago... When you asked," her eyes darted curiously from left to right.
"Forgive me," he sighed, "It’s been a long day for all of us,"
"So, I’ve really been unconscious for the entire day," she half asked with a little voice.
"You... Were dead for over twelve hours,"
Through his own body, Silas sensed how tense her muscles had gotten so suddenly at those words.
The vampire braced himself for the questions to come but what followed sort of left him with no answer.
"That is... No, it would make sense for me not to die even after such a long period of time," around the beginning of her sentence, her heart had skipped a beat but quickly recovered its natural pace after that.
"What do you mean?"
"Right before the incident," Arabella started, "I’d ingested some of your blood to heal a self-inflicted wound," she paused. However, before he could ask the following question, the young woman quickly resumed the tale, "My goal was to attract Katherine away from the music room, so I corralled her with my own blood to the ballroom before making my way out of there through the balcony door. I drank some of your blood from the vial you left in my care to close the wound and cut the trail of my own blood there,"
When put like that, it somehow made sense.
But it was still hard to believe that his blood was what kept her alive.
"Your blood performs at a whole different level of potency. It heals superficial wounds in the matter of seconds after one tiny sip and so, it does not surprise me that it needed more than twelve hours to make my heart beat again,"
Her words siphoned the air out of his lungs, but Silas did not mind it. He’d had enough of speaking and listening to his own voice. Hers was nothing less than the most beautiful of melodies after everything that had unfolded. Him who thought he’d never get to hear it again...
Not to mention, she gave him more to ponder about with her last reflections.
He never considered the extent of what his own blood could truly do.
After the tests conducted in his childhood, he saw it as something to hide from others for his own safety.
Her free hand rose to the brooch he’d returned to her promptly since her come back.
"I was so scared when I opened my eyes and couldn’t find it," she whispered, "I thought you’d be so angry at me for losing it,"
In response, Silas tightened his hold around her and buried his face in her neck, "I would never," he breathed.
Thinking of her neck, upon lifting his head, he made sure to push her hair out of the way in order to get a better look at it.
All healed. Not a trace of Katherine’s fangs remained.
"Physically, I think it was the most painful thing I’ve ever had to endure," her fingers gently brushed that area.
"I truly am sorry," his forehead fell to her shoulder, "I am so sorry,"
"What for?" she turned to him.
"I should have never left you alone," he rubbed his face against her shoulder.
"You didn’t leave me alone," she shook her head.
The moment of silence that followed dragged on until Arabella took a deep breath, sounding as though she was plucking up the courage to speak.
"What will happen to Katherine?"
"Don’t worry yourself with that," he straightened up and delivered the answer as dryly as could be.
"That is impossible," she looked up at him, "Please, tell me that she won’t be harmed,"
He tensed up further, "She must answer for her actions,"
"They weren’t truly hers,"
"Those were her hands she laid on you and those were her fangs she drove in your neck," his voice reverberated through her chest.
"I know," she replied calmly, "But I had something else in mind for her. I still need to have a conversation with her and in her current state of mind, she can’t speak much,"
The vampire furrowed his eyebrows. There was something in her tone that kept him alert, waiting for the next part to eventually come.
When she said nothing, he inquired, "What do you have in mind?"
Arabella took yet another deep breath before articulating, "I believe your blood can cure her as well,"
"Katherine is a vampire. My blood would have no effect on her ailment," he declared in a steady voice.
"At this point, how much more harm can it do?"
She had a solid point. Arabella played with his fingers with the conviction that it’d mellow him and... It sort of worked.
Silas’ figure relaxed as he exhaled.
"I suppose there is no harm in trying," he looked away, "But no matter the outcome, she must still answer for what she did,"
Arabella did not argue that and instead asked about Katherine’s whereabouts.
"I ordered them to throw her in the dungeons,"
From the way he still refused to meet her gaze, it was clear that Silas wasn’t proud of the way he had handled things but didn’t allow his guilt to trip him as he believed his actions were justified.
Arabella tried to pull herself up, but Silas tightened his hold around her again to which she winced.
"Please," she begged, "You’ve been squeezing me a little too tightly. It hurts,"
"I really am sorry," he immediately released her, "Understand me as well. I feared the only way I’d ever see you again would be to dig up a grave,"