The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 71: On Their Way To Lakeshire

Chapter 71: On Their Way To Lakeshire

The carriage came to a sudden stop as soon as the last word was out of Annalise’s mouth, causing her to almost lose her balance and face plant herself on the floor if not for a sudden surge of energy that wrapped around her and stopped her from falling.

"Valerius, what are you doing?" Kenric was quickly by her side to check if she was alright after throwing the question in his brother’s direction. But Annalise knew that the power which stopped her from hurting herself belonged to none other than Valerius.

Kenric made his horse move aside as Valerius brought his horse beside the open window of the carriage. The look on his face was still as calm and collected as usual but she noticed clearly as his gaze roamed over her entire body to make sure that she wasn’t hurt before he pointed his attention to her and asked, "Is that how you see me?"

Annalise observed the man silently for a while. Even though he tried his very best to not show any sort of reaction and keep his expressions neutral as usual, the fact that he had stopped the carriage just to ask her that question, was already clearly explaining how much her opinion meant to him.

She finally let a small smile appear on her lips as she slowly shook her head negatively. "Of course, not. You are nothing like that, you are actually quite opposite. You are warm, love and care for those around you, your heart is filled with affection and tenderness, and... you represent hope."

She meant every word that she just said. And the smile on Kenric’s lips told her that he too agreed with her every word.

She returned her attention to Valerius and noticed the slight change in his expression and while it was barely noticeable, she knew that he was actually relieved now unlike before. He just nodded his head and without saying anything turned his horse around and returned to the front of the road.

The carriage once again started going forward as the magic leading the horse of the carriage once again started working. Kenric also resumed his position outside the window and questioned, "Don’t you wonder why his magic is so different from his actual personality?"

Annalise released a small sigh as she slowly nodded her head in agreement, "Of course, I am. He’s probably the last person I would have associated with ice magic but somehow, ice seems perfect for him. Experiencing his powers, I can’t deny that ice magic suits him the best."

She spared a look in Kenric’s direction as she asked, "There’s a story behind his magical core, ain’t there?"

Kenric returned the look and instead of answering, he just winked at her that pretty much did the same work as him just saying a yes.

She didn’t even try to ask him what that said story was because she already knew pretty well that she won’t be getting any answer from him. It was just another mystery that she would have to solve herself.

Her attention was pulled back at Kenric when he suddenly pretended to clear his throat. As their gazes collided, he swiftly signaled toward the direction of the back of the carriage and she didn’t need to be a genius to understand that he was asking about Damian.

Annalise knew that just like Valerius, Damian too was probably listening to their conversation.

Ever since the incident at her maiden home, The Grand Duke’s mansion, she and Damian hadn’t interacted even once. Though there were times when the two of them came across each other, he mostly avoided her or even looked at her at all.

"So?" Kenric pressed and it seemed like he wasn’t going to let her go without a proper answer.

She contemplated on the words, or more specifically the answer that she was about to give. Taking in a deep breath, she finally spoke, "I’m not really sure about the Lord’s magical core. We haven’t interacted much and the few times we did, I didn’t get enough information about his powers. All that I can tell is that he doesn’t carry any elemental magic like both of you, it’s something completely different."

There was a long silence for the next few minutes and then, Kenric finally spoke, "Even though you don’t have all the answers yet, you are still on the right path. If you will keep walking on it, you will eventually find all that you are seeking about us."

Annalise found her lips morphing into a smile, she was about to speak when there was a sudden disturbance from behind the carriage followed by Damian’s cold words, "How about you keep silent and not distract him from his work of tracking our surroundings? Since you can’t prove to be helpful, at least, try not to be a liability."

It was like a sharp knife cutting into her soul as the words immediately made her recoil in her seat and stop talking.

His harsh tone clearly implied that his anger, or misunderstanding, toward her, was still as strong as it was a couple of days ago.

She still hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him and clear things out, but most importantly, she wasn’t sure how to clear things between the two of them, to begin with.

"Damian."

"What’s up with you now?"

She heard Valerius and Kenric’s voices from outside the carriage as they confronted their brother but she didn’t dare to look, not because she was afraid of Lord Damian but because she didn’t want him to get angry and disappear in the middle of their journey. That would only create more problems.

"What? It’s not like I’m wrong. We need him to keep his attention on potential threats and not to get distracted by other things." Damian defended himself.

The three Lords continued to talk for a little bit longer but Annalise no longer paid any attention to them. She picked one of the books that she had brought with her, to read and pass the time.

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