The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 243: Graceful Light

Chapter 243: Graceful Light

"That’s me, the dark moon," Esme answered as he almost sounded proud while talking about his name and the meaning behind it.

"That’s a really beautiful name." Annalise couldn’t help herself from adding and watched as the man gave her a slightly longer look before he asked a question that really surprised her - "What is your name?"

She stared at him with a shocked expression on her face before blurting out, "You don’t know my name?"

Esme immediately shook his head in the negative, surprising her further.

"Are you for real?" Annalise was really having a hard time believing his words. How could he not know her name when he knew so much about her and what she had been up to these days?

"Why are you looking so surprised? I just never paid enough attention to you to find out about your name. Though I must have heard it once or twice, I don’t really recall it at the moment." Esme explained.

However, his explanation only made Annalise feel even weirder. Just maybe, it was better for him to not know her name entirely instead of him forgetting it after hearing it. Her name was not that common or uninteresting, was it?

"It’s Annalise." She finally murmured her name while answering his question.

"The Graceful Light," Esme whispered more to himself than for her to hear but her enhanced hearing still picked up every word very clearly. She looked up to face tge man and found him looking right back at her as he whispered, "It suits you just perfectly, a name meant just for you."

It almost seemed like he was telling her a secret through his words, a secret that she was unable to decipher.

The two of them fell into silence and Annalise suddenly found herself thinking about how coincidental the meaning of both their names was. He meant darkness and she meant light. Could it really be just a mere coincidence?

She hurriedly shook her head to get rid of the thoughts that were moving in a completely different direction, one that didn’t appear really safe to her.

"Where are you from?" She asked the next question. A part of her was aware that she should be asking him about the Portal Hall incidents before he would end up changing his mind but at the very same time, it seemed like this was the only chance she had to find out as much about him as possible. She probably won’t get a similar chance soon again, or probably ever in her entire remaining life.

Esme didn’t answer immediately and as he remained silent for a long while, Annalise almost thought that he was not going to answer but then he finally responded - "From the Death Valleys."

A barely audible gasp escaped Annalise’s mouth but it was less because of his another unexpected answer and more due to the slightest prick she felt from her powers. It felt like he was lying but not lying at the very same time.

She hesitated for a while as she couldn’t decide whether to press him further to make him answer correctly it to let it slide as half part of his answer was still right. What really worried her was the remaining half part as it could be hiding the most crucial information. After all that could be so secretive, that made him hide it despite his own rules of not lying in the game.

But again, the rule was not to lie about their answers, it was not restricting them from keeping the true answer from the other person, right?

"Let me guess, you are from the Capital City, so I don’t need to ask that. Then tell me... " Esme seemed lost in thought as he thought about what to ask and after a while, he finally did ask his question, "... why did you marry these dark faes?"

"Why are you so curious about my married life?" Annalise couldn’t help but ask as he once again asked a question that seemed too personal.

"I’m not asking anything that couldn’t be answered considering the questions you are asking. And I’m reminding you for the last time not to break the rules of the game. Now answer." Esme quickly pointed out and gave her a very unimpressed look.

Annalise let out a sigh before she answered, "It was because of an alliance that the King signed with the dark lords."

Esme just nodded his head in response but didn’t say anything, nor did he show any emotion that could help her understand what was going on in his head.

"How old are you exactly?" She asked next while recalling how he talked about being over ten thousand years old. She still was having trouble believing his words.

Esme thought for a while as if recalling the exact years was not really that easy. After a while, he gave his answer, "To be honest, I don’t really remember the exact years as I stopped counting a long time ago. All that I can tell is that I’m way older than your entire empire."

His answer, though a truth, didn’t really help much. The Seelie Empire was ten thousand years old and she already knew that he was near that same age, what she really needed was some sort of specific answer that would have helped her in investigating him later on.

"My turn. How much of your powers you can use right now?" Esme asked as he looked straight into her eyes once again.

Annalise was not sure what to think of his question but knowing how much he knew about her, she decided to answer truthfully. "Not really much. Probably around thirty percent or something."

"Want me to teach you?" He asked again, or more like offered without waiting for a single moment.

Annalise was taken aback once again but this time because of his sudden offer. "No... I think I’m good with..."

"I know you and your powers way better than your husbands. Learning under my training will only profit you, something you will need for your upcoming battles."