Chapter 267: Chapter 267

"Now, tell me what happened!" Ian asked, watching the back of his father disappear from his line of sight. Ian knew that the knowledge of what Avril had done had aged Alex, proving that this was affecting him more than the old man let on.

However, Ian was not interested in that. It was not his burden to carry. Ian knew that there was a lot that his close assistant, Currey, and Shelby’s guardian, Murray, had left out because of the audience they had.

After he made sure that his father had left.

Ian’s mood was unsettling, even for himself. To be more precise, he felt as if something was slipping through his hands. This was the reaction when he thought of the dream he had before he had awoken.

It felt so real as if he had actually been in that pitch-black area. For someone who was mostly fearless and used to doing as he pleased, that was the second or third time he had felt as such ... and all these were related to the woman who had become like the air he breathed. It scared the hell out of him to even imagine a world without this woman.

Ian had sat up on his hospital bed, propped up and being supported by the many pillows. Ian was up, and he could feel himself return, as if he was finding a long-lost portion of himself. At least Ian did not feel himself grow weak as before he had collapsed.

That thought scared him, for Ian had thought that, that was his end. His eyes softened when they landed on his Elfin. His guts informed him of the possibilities, but he somehow needed that confirmation of his thoughts from the two men who seemed to be hesitating in front of him.

The vastly spacious hospital room became momentarily silent, but the slight hums and beeps from the many small machines that had been hooked up to Shelby were the only sounds. She looked so pale that it was alarming. Her lips had all but lost their colour. Ian sighed.

’Come back to me. Don’t leave me!’ He beseeched her, trying their mind-link, but there was no response. She was like a well-preserved inanimate object of a sort.

Currey shared a look with his brother before Currey commenced the conversation,

"Your Majesty, we think your link with her Highness is stronger than we initially thought. We suspect that somehow, her Highness’ connection was cut off from you in a way."

"This should not be possible, but I cannot explain how I could not link nor feel her either," Murray interjected. His frown deepened as if he was thinking long and hard about what may have been the cause.

"Yes, and this caused your abilities to fluctuate. Whatever force that was, it was really strong.

They nearly succeeded in killing the mistress after cutting off your connection, but I guess they also underestimated how strong the bond was."

Ian played with Shelby’s fingers and stared long and hard at them.

"The bond?" Ian asked,

"That may have been what had saved you."

Ian smirked and shuddered at the same time as he remembered that desperate but weak call from his Elfin that had pulled him to her location. He was himself and had grown a little stronger, but he could still feel that he needed rest—a lot of it.

"When you were linked to Her Highness back then, it seems like your life force is indeed linked to hers, as I suspected. I am not too clear on this because there is little data on the blood oaths.

As I said last time this came up, there is no record of anyone successfully doing this. It is something that most have only heard of in the folktales. So, we have to learn as we go. How your abilities and even strength seemed to have been affected only makes me draw this conclusion."

Currey lowered his eyes, expecting a lash out from Ian but Ian’s eyes were only glued to Shelby.

"Then why is she not awake?"

"I- I’m not sure, your Highness!"

Currey and Murray bowed their heads in unison and straightened up as if rendering a military salute.

"Did you find anything on the culprits?"

"The two girls, we think, were just being used."

Ian raised his eyes to meet that of them. "Being used?"

Ian smiled. A cold smile that made the two take a step back even though they knew that this was not directed at them.

"It seems like I have become too soft, and every insignificant person thinks that they can touch MY wife!" The corners of Ian’s lips raised at that same time, and then he added,

"None of them will go scott-free, but I have a hunch that my Elfin would want this prize for herself, and I am more than willing to grant that."

Murray stepped forward, but Ian raised his other free hand to stop him before the words fell out of his mouth. Ian was overly optimistic, but Shelby’s features and the machines attached to her made anyone wonder if she would indeed wake up... if ever!

"Have you found her whereabouts?"

"Brianna Mush seems to be back at her home -"

Ian raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "She’s brave. She went home to relax even after daring to touch my wife?"

Ian nodded and indicated that Currey continued. Even though that cold smile remained in place, Currey knew Ian best to know that whatever was coming for those two girls was not something they could handle. Currey lit a small candle for them in his heart.

"And the other?" This time, Ian did not even bother mentioning Avril’s name. To Ian, Avril had lost that privilege the day she had decided to touch his wife.

"She drove out of town, but we have her whereabouts...."

Currey raised his tablet, which showed a small red mobile blinking light on a digital map.

"Avril is still on the move, but we know where she is."

"Do you want me to bring her here? It will take me just a moment." Murray volunteered. Murray wished that he could kill that person who had laid a hand on his mistress, but then he knew that he needed authorization for this, but Ian waved his hands dismissively.

The action startled the two brothers, and they exchanged another look.

On the other side of town, Avril’s car sped along a highway at the highest speed she could muster. She knew that the further she got away, the better her chances of escaping were. Avril knew how powerful the Thornstons were, and she did not want to risk it, one bit. Avril had disposed of her phone and other things that could identify her.

She had cut her hair and dyed it a different colour at a public restroom sometime during the night. In fact, most people would not notice that this was the same girl who had left the Thronston wineries just a few hours prior.

Avril had never thought that she would have had to run after her actions. She thought that there was a foolproof plan but after she had contacted both her contacts, she realized the mess she was in.

"WHY! Why did I do that? Avril, you are so stupid! I just wanted to have brother Ian for myself, but now, I don’t know if I ever can!"

She hit her steering wheel several times and screamed out in frustration.

"I miss brother Ian!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, but Avril did not stop. She just could not risk it.

Little did she know that a tracker had already been embedded in her car. If Avril had known that with all the miles she had covered, it would take Murray or even Currey just a moment to get to where she was, she would have died out of her wits before she got to them.

"I need to find a way to leave this island, and that is when I would be truly safe." Avril was both right and wrong. She needed to leave the island, but what she did not know was that nowhere was safe for her.

In the hospital room, Ian still played with Shelby’s hands and then added to the last statement,

"My Elfin will deal with them. I cannot take this away from her. She needs to have that satisfaction herself."

The brothers sighed as Ian muttered in a whisper under his breath, "...as soon as she wakes up. Wake up, Elfin."

"Keep an eye on them .... But I’ll only step in when my Elfin is done!" Ian added.

"These two are just scapegoats. What of those working in the shadows? This is by no means no action of a human. This is getting too much!"

"There has been nothing so far. We are banking on the person captured on the CCTVs...."

"....and you think that will lead you to a clue?"

"We are sorry, Your Highness! We deserve to die!" Currey and Murray dropped to their knees with their heads bowed.

Ian did not say anything about them wanting death. He was tired of them and their gimmick and only wanted answers.

"Get to work on it and deploy as many resources as you need. I need answers ASAP!"

"Thank you for your malevolence! We will not let you down!" They said in unison, then Currey added,

"There’s another thing, your Highness,"

Ian looked at them thoroughly in the face,

Ian raised an eyebrow, understanding what they said even without context.

A fascinating smile spread on Ian’s face, and the brothers shared another look, each wondering if they had made the right decision with Ava.

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