The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 167: The Summon

Chapter 167: The Summon

Annalise remained standing there outside the library for the next couple of moments as she couldn’t decide if she should enter or not considering Valerius especially told his brothers not to disturb him.

She turned her attention away from the library’s door to look around and found pure darkness and eerie silence of the night surrounding her, not a single lantern was lit across the entire hallway.

She took in a deep breath before returning her attention to the door in front of her as she continued to contemplate her next move. It took another couple of long moments but she eventually made her decision.

Mustering up the courage, she creaked open the door enough to slip inside while clutching the robe tightly around her frame as this particular floor of the castle was filled with chilly air that had nothing to do with the absence of light. She wondered if it was related to her husband who was somewhere between the long shelves of books that greeted her enhanced eyesight upon entering the library.

She followed her bond with Valerius which led her to the very farthest corner of the library and she found the first dark lord sitting on a big couch with dozens of scrolls, old bindings, and parchments scattered all over the wooden table in front of him.

Unlike the rest of the library or the entire floor, this particular area was filled with warmth and brightness as dozens of candles were lit around the place, and even a group of moonstones were floating in the air, providing further warmth and brightness.

"Why are you not sleeping at this hour of the night?"

The sudden question from the lord surprised Annalise who was peeking from behind a shelf while making sure that her presence won’t disturb him. Yet, he seemed to have noticed her which did make sense considering he was an immortal with keen senses and also the bond that she shared with him, it was impossible for him not to feel her presence in the library.

"I..." She slowly stepped out of the shadows and moved a couple of steps toward him but stopped soon as she wasn’t sure if her presence there was actually invited or not. "... I woke up and decided to get some air... and came here to check on you... I... I will leave now..."

She didn’t even wait for a single second before turning around as she was ready to flee from there but was stopped before she could have taken even a single step away.

"If you don’t mind, can you accompany me for a while?" His voice was just as soft as the warmth that was filling the air and it made all her worries and anxiety disappear.

A small smile finally made its way to her lips as she turned around to look at him and nodded her head in affirmation before making her way toward the couch and taking a seat next to him.

"What is it that made you stay awake the entire night to look through these scrolls and ancient books?" She couldn’t stop herself from asking as she was really curious to know why he was rummaging through the library so late at night.

Valerius let out a small sigh before he put away the scroll that he was reading and turned to face her. His beautiful ice-blue eyes gazed at her in silence for a while before he surprised her with a sudden hug. "Let me hug you for a while, I feel like I’m draining." His voice suddenly sounded just as tired as he just claimed.

Annalise immediately wrapped her arms around him as she returned the hug and called her powers to fill the bond and boost his ice and air. The idea worked like magic as Valerius let out another sigh while his stiff body finally started relaxing.

She brushed her fingers through his long silver locks as she let their bond do its work. She could feel that he was indeed tired after the long journey and the entire day that he spent in the palace with tge King and even now, instead of resting, he had been working till so late at night that it was almost near dawn.

"You don’t have to carry all the burden on your own, we are here for you... I’m here for you... You know that, right?" She whispered to him as she felt the need to say the words to him, to tell him that he could tell them whatever was worrying him.

Valerius finally pulled away from the hug as he fixed his gaze on her while replying, "I know, Annalise. I’m alright... just a little bit tired..."

Annalise smiled softly as she cupped his face between her palms and spoke, "Your words don’t match with your actions, My Lord. If it’s not something important or worrisome, why are you still here looking for things while you should be resting considering how tired you are?"

She let her hands slip from his cheeks and moved to take hold of his hands which felt really cold against her warm ones. "Forget it. If you don’t want to tell..." She didn’t get to finish as Valerius placed his index finger against her lips and silenced her.

Once he was assured that she was not going to speak, he lowered his hand and returned it to her awaiting one. "Fine, I won’t keep things to myself... I never planned to do it in the first place. I just wanted to ensure a couple of things before telling you all about them."

Another couple of moments passed in silence as they both sat there holding each other’s hands. Annalise allowed Valerius to sort out his thoughts and finally share some of the things that were causing him his current distress.

"I will start with the most important one..." Valerius spoke, bringing her attention away from her own thoughts and back to him as he continued, "The King wants to meet you. He has summoned you to the Royal Palace."

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