The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 241: A Deal of Exchange

Chapter 241: A Deal of Exchange

Annalise blinked her eyes furiously as she tried to adjust them to her surroundings through the haze of brightness that almost blinded her when she first returned to consciousness after what seemed like a really long sleep.

She was expecting her body to be in pain, her temples to be aching, and her powers to be silently buried somewhere deep inside her but that was far from the reality. Her body was warm, she had no headaches, and her powers felt just as active as usual. It was almost like everything she experienced was just a mere dream and nothing more than that, but she knew better than to believe that what she went through was just a result of her imagination that was running wild during her sleep.

The pain was too real, and so was her discomfort and the feeling of numbness. Even the dark energy latching on her without any mercy... all of it was too real to be ignored as a dream, she knew at least that much.

And while there was no physical evidence of all that transpired with her, she could still feel how scared her body and mind were of everything. It was undoubtedly the most dreadful experience she had gone through in her entire life, even more than when she previously got attacked by the dark energy.

"You are awake."

The sudden familiar voice surprised her, pulling her out of her thoughts and making her turn her head to look in the direction from where the voice came.

To her surprise, she found no one other than Esme standing nearby with his back resting against the wall which also made her realize that she was still stuck somewhere inside the Secret City.

The masked man turned to look at her as if he was aware of her fixed gaze on him. His own bored directly into hers as if he was looking straight at her soul.

Looking into his deep green eyes and hearing his voice, Annalise suddenly recalled every single moment of hell that she went through right before falling asleep in some sort of pool or tub that was filled with icy chilled water. Her entire body shivered at the recollection of the thoughts and it was more than enough to shake her to the very core.

Despite her body’s warm temperature, she could still feel the numbness of ice making her body feel so heavy. Her mind was back to that hazy state and her breathing started getting out of control.

She couldn’t even seem to be able to find enough energy inside her to keep herself calm. It was only when she felt two warm compresses on her shoulders did her body stopped shivering and the fog in her mind started clearing. She immediately looked at her shoulders to see what was going on and found a very familiar red energy force pressed there.

As soon as her eyes landed on the energy, her entire body converged in repulsion as the was reminded of the dark energy all over again. She shook her body enough to get rid of those e energy pressures that Esme called back as if noticing her dislike toward it.

"What is this place?" She found herself asking in a very hoarse voice that was barely audible properly to her own ears let alone to anyone else. However, to her surprise, the man still answered - "It’s my temporary house in this city. You are currently resting in one of the many empty rooms."

Annalise tried to climb down from the bed but her body started protesting almost immediately as her muscles slightly throbbed as if they were left sore after a very long day of hard labor. She immediately slumped back on the bed as she couldn’t take any more pain or discomfort she already had.

"I want to go home." She whispered more to herself instead of for him to hear. She missed her bed-chamber, the warmth of her house, the familiar voices of Aunt Claire and the others, and most importantly, she was missing her husbands like crazy. All that she wanted and needed the most at that moment was to bury herself in the embrace of her soulmates.

That was why, despite her protesting muscles, she still tried to move but it didn’t turn out too good as she almost had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from whimpering as real pain shot through her body.

"Don’t move. Your body is not in a good state after going through all that stuff just a while ago. You will need to drink some elixir or some other healing potion to get rid of the pain. Unfortunately, I’m not really good at potion or healing." Esme reminded her as he pushed his body from the wall and headed straight toward her.

If not for her protesting body, she would definitely have run away even before the man started speaking, she was that scared of him and his stupid thoughts that could turn out darker than the night itself.

"I will take one after returning to my home." She blurted out as if to draw a line with him, reminding him all over again that she wanted to return to her home, to the castle, and her husbands.

The man came to a stop right next to the bed where she was sitting and then spoke while tilting his head to the side. His voice was once again devoid of any sort of emotion as he stated - "I thought you wanted to ask me something related to the Portal Hall incident."

Annalise’s eyes immediately shot up as she stared at the man in surprise. "Will you help me?" She found herself asking, her voice filled with the same hope that was swimming in her eyes as she looked forward to finally learning something useful about the incidents.

A twinkle appeared in the man’s eyes as if he was amused by something. He remained silent for a while before finally straightening his head and answering - "That’s the plan. You help me and I will help you in return."

Annalise couldn’t help but feel her fear and discomfort transforming into hope and excitement as she immediately nodded her head in agreement. Since she had already suffered so much just to find out about the secret of Portal Hall incidents, it was better for her not to give up when she finally had the option of gaining something out of all the drama that just transpired... even if it meant that she might be walking right into his trap.

"What do you want from me?" She asked while eyeing the man skeptically. She didn’t trust him at all, and just thinking about what sort of help he would be asking from her in return, made her shudder in anxiety.

Esme straightened up as he looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes, almost like he was smiling beneath that mask of his that had been hiding his face from Annalise’s curious eyes till now. "You have already achieved half of what I want from you, as for the other half..."

He didn’t finish and instead took a couple of more steps in her direction, once again making Annalise fight against her instincts of running away from him. He stood right in front of her and stared down at her before continuing - "... let’s just say I’m feeling slightly good today and I’ll only ask you to finish the other half after I’m done answering you."

Annalise watched him closely for a while and despite the firmness in his tone as if he was actually giving his words, she didn’t trust him the slightest. They were far from even the thought of trust between them. That was probably why she asked her next question - "What if I refused to give you what you want after getting the answers I need?"

The man suddenly chuckled softly, the sound both surprising and scaring Annalise at the very same time. He looked at her as if she was being ridiculous. "Where do you think you can hide from me? Didn’t I already tell you that I will always find you no matter what... or where?"

He turned away from her to face the closest wall as if there was suddenly something really interesting that had caught his attention. "Let me remind you again and for the very last time, you are bound to me for eternity. The two of us complete each other and there’s nothing in this entire universe that can change this truth whether you like it or not."

His gaze returned to her and this time, his eyes bored into hers as if he was digging holes into her body. "You can never... ever... run away from me."

Annalise had to take in a long deep breath to keep herself from completely shrinking away from the man as his powerful words took a home deep inside her... as the truth finally hit her hard!