Chapter 228: Words Not Said

Aveline slowly lifted her head and met his eyes.

Those beautiful dark eyes drew her in like the depths of a quiet sea, familiar and comforting no matter how stormy her own heart became.

Then she noticed something else.

He was fully dressed.

Not in the simple clothes he usually wore when he slipped into her room at night, but in traveling attire. His cloak was fastened neatly over his shoulders, sturdy boots reaching nearly to his knees, and a sword rested at his side.

She blinked.

"You’re dressed for travel."

Her voice was still hoarse from crying.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Theron’s hand slid gently to the side of her neck, his thumb caressing her cheek with infinite tenderness.

"I was just about to leave."

His fingers brushed away the last dampness beneath her eyes.

"I’ll be accompanying the first shipments of cotton. Lord Sylvarien will oversee the distribution among the provincial lords, and they’ll ensure it reaches those in need before winter worsens."

He smiled faintly.

"No single man can watch every village himself. So I’ll make certain the system works instead."

Aveline found herself nodding. "That’s... a better plan."

She had worried about that herself. Even Theron could not personally ride across an entire kingdom. This was wiser. More practical. Safer too.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then another beside her temple. Another against her cheek. Another at the corner of her lips. Each kiss was slow, gentle, almost reverent, as though he were trying to mend every crack inside her heart one touch at a time.

Aveline closed her eyes. The bitterness lingering inside her did not disappear. Not entirely. But beneath the warmth of his affection... It no longer hurt quite as sharply.

Perhaps... Perhaps now was not the time.

She would wait. She would give it time.

"You’ll be gone then?" she murmured as his lips brushed the side of her neck, sending a pleasant shiver through her. Her fingers slipped into his dark hair almost instinctively.

Theron rested his forehead against hers.

"I don’t have to."

She looked up.

"If you want me to stay... I’ll stay."

He meant every word. Nothing about her felt right today. Something weighed heavily upon her heart, and he hated leaving without knowing what it was.

Aveline smiled sadly. "You are the Crown Prince." She rested her palm against his chest, directly over his heart. "The people should be your first priority."

Theron swallowed.

He disliked hearing those words because they were true. Duty had always demanded pieces of him. Today, it demanded that he leave her.

"What made you cry?" he asked softly. His voice was almost pleading this time. "Aveline..."

She lowered her eyes. "I..."

The truth rose to her lips.

Lucien... Leveret... Her parents... Everything she had learned... Everything she feared...

Yet none of it came out.

Instead, she whispered, "I missed my parents."

Theron immediately wrapped his arms around her. His embrace tightened.

I’ll find out what happened to them.

The vow echoed silently inside him.

Whatever it takes.

And I’ll uncover the memories Father stole from me.

The two mysteries... They had to be connected. He felt it now more strongly than ever.

Yet he remained silent. If he admitted that portions of his memories were missing... If he confessed that he remembered neither their childhood nor everything they had once shared...

Would she look at him differently?

Would she believe he had abandoned her all over again?

His father’s cruelty had already stolen enough. He could not bear losing her too.

So he kept quiet. He did not realize that his silence was quietly wounding the very woman he wished to protect.

Aveline wasn’t much different.

Long ago, she had convinced herself that Theron had willingly made her his slave. She had never asked him. She had simply believed what she saw.

Now another quiet assumption began taking root. He had promised to investigate her parents’ deaths. Yet nothing had come of it.

Perhaps... Perhaps he had simply forgotten.

Neither of them spoke the thoughts buried deepest inside their hearts. Neither wished to burden the other. And so, without realizing it, they drifted one small step farther apart.

After a long silence, Aveline finally sat up and looked around.

The little stream continued its gentle song as evening painted the forest in shades of amber and gold.

"Where are we?" She smiled faintly. "You should take me back."

Then she hesitated. A selfish wish rose quietly inside her. She wanted to ask him to stay. Just tonight. She wanted to fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. To wake with his arms around her. Ever since he’d returned to her life, his presence alone had chased away the nightmares that had haunted her for years.

Now that the memories she tried to forget were returning... The fear had returned with them. She felt like that lonely little girl again. She hated feeling this weak.

But she couldn’t ask.

He was the Crown Prince. An entire kingdom waited for him. She could not become another chain around his ankle.

Theron seemed to understand without words. He took her hand. The world folded around them once more. When the light faded, they stood inside her room.

Neither moved. Neither wanted to be the first to let go.

Aveline rose onto her toes and kissed him one last time. A lingering kiss. One that quietly carried everything she could not bring herself to say.

When she finally pulled away, she rested both hands against his chest and gently pushed him back.

"Have a safe journey."

Theron smiled. He leaned forward until their foreheads touched.

"Find me in our dreams." His voice was barely above a whisper. "And if you need me... I’ll come back."

Aveline nodded. "I will."

But deep inside... She already knew she wouldn’t. He had duties. She couldn’t keep calling him away from them.

She watched him disappear into the evening light.

Only after he was gone did the room feel unbearably empty once again.

Aveline tried talking to Hamilton.

Usually, the little creature would flap his tiny wings, wag his tail until his whole body wiggled, or tilt his head as though he understood every word she said.

Today... He merely looked at her before wandering toward the window.

Aveline let out a quiet sigh.

"Even you’re ignoring me now?"

Hamilton glanced back, blinked once with those bright amber eyes, then settled on the windowsill, gazing outside.

She managed a weak smile.

Maybe... Maybe she was simply overthinking everything.

She stood and walked across the room.

"Lydia?"

No answer.

She peeked into the adjoining room and it was empty. Her brows knitted together.

That was strange.

Lydia was always back before sunset. Always.

Aveline waited a little longer. Then another few minutes. Still nothing.

"...Where did she go?"

She slowly returned to her own room.

The silence felt unusually heavy. She dropped onto her bed with little grace, her feet still hanging over the edge.

For some reason... It felt as though everyone was drifting farther away from her.

Hamilton.

Lydia.

Lucien.

Even Theron.

She knew that last thought was unfair. He had only left because he had duties. She knew that.

Yet knowing it did nothing to quiet the loneliness pressing against her chest. Without realizing it, tears slipped silently down her cheeks. She didn’t even bother wiping them away.

Eventually, exhaustion won.

Still wearing the clothes she’d worn all day, she curled onto her side and drifted into an uneasy sleep, the dried tracks of tears remaining upon her face.

-----

That same evening, the Arcanum was unlike it had ever been before. At the direct order of its Dean, security had been doubled. Patrols swept through every corridor, every garden path, every abandoned wing.

Even Lucien Caelvaris himself walked the grounds.

Any student found harassing or cornering a young woman was dragged away on the spot, their punishments severe enough to send whispers racing through the academy.

Yet... The Arcanum was vast. Far too vast for even its Dean to watch every forgotten corner.

In an abandoned stone tower at the edge of the grounds, hidden beneath years of ivy and neglect...

Blue fire flickered against cracked walls.

Once.

Twice.

Again.

Four young men stood in the darkness. One of them crouched before the naked girl trembling on the cold stone floor.

His hand clamped tightly over her mouth.

"Don’t make a sound," he whispered.

His voice held no anger. Only amusement.

"It can get much worse."

The girl shook uncontrollably.

Her face was swollen. Purple bruises marred her arms and shoulders. Fresh tears blurred her vision.

She tried to speak beneath the hand covering her mouth. "P-please..."

The word barely escaped. Her body trembled harder.

"...let me go."

Lydia’s pleading disappeared into the darkness.