Chapter 29: Chapter 29
“What have you done to her?” Geraldine flinched and took few steps back, terrified by the way the shadows lord was looking at her while radiating with that terrifying aura of his.
It was uncommon, rare even, to see Eren burst out like this, he was known to be a cold hearted person whose every move and word were planned, it was one of the things that lead him to be the lord of the shadows empire without him having any heritage and claims over the lordship position, the shadow lord was not only strong but also smart, sharp, and very efficient when it came to controlling his barely existing emotions.
However, he was seething with anger as he stood in the cell in front of the unconscious hybrid, his eyes completely red and black, his fury palpable in the air and his shadows danced around the dark cell like hidden wolves, his fists clenched tightly to the point where his veins were visible.
“Answer me!” Geraldine gasped and took a jump back, only to hit the cold wall stained with the hybrids blood, she didn’t know if it was her fear or his aura that pushed her back, she only knew she wished the cell was larger so she could keep a safe distance between them as he took slow threatening steps towards her, Geraldine felt her throat tighten as the words refused to come out, knowing that would only make him angrier.
“You…You said…a close death experience would wake her divine blood resurface...” Eren looked at the woman trembling under his gaze, saying the exact same words he said to her before, but that didn’t help reduce his anger, not even a little bit.
“You better pray that nothing happens to her, Gera, or I swear I will make you regret it.” He threatened before stepping away from her and walking to where the hybrid was, hanging by one of her wrists while the other arm fell on her side, dislocated from the shoulder, her dress was ripped apart and scattered all around the cell floor without a single piece of it left to cover her body, the cloth he found previously stuffed in her mouth that caused her to suffocated was drenched with her saliva and blood.
Some patches of her beautiful silver hair were gone, some from being pulled too harshly while others were removed using a heated metal, Eren gulped as he saw the bloody patches, his eyes descended to where her face was, it was no longer recognizable, the smooth soft skin was now a swollen mess of blue and purple, the parts which weren’t swollen were bleeding from the several small cuts, a bayonet was dug in her lower chin and upper chest, and it was a miracle how it didn’t pierce through her throat or trachea.
Her arms were full with burns, cuts, bruises, the whiplashes he caused her were nowhere to be seen as they were completely hidden under new injuries, her arm hang from her shoulder as if it was related to it by the outside layer of skin only.
Her soft breasts which were previously the most delicious sight to his eyes were now bruised and burned, her torso and legs were in no better state, and her back side was full with not only bruises but small circular cuts, holes, Eren thought, Geraldine must have made her sit on a nails’ chair.
Releasing her wrist from the shackle holding it, Eren picked the unconscious girl in his arms, careful not to cause her anymore damage, seeing him ready to leave the cell, Geraldine, with her jealousy clouding her fear, stood on his way.
“Where are you taking her?!” The black-haired demoness felt the hair in her body stand by his deathly glare, however she didn’t back down as she demanded explanation.
He was being irrational, carrying the girl like that outside the dungeon when the guests from the other empires had just arrived! What was he thinking?! The girl needed to stay there, in the cell, tortured until her divine blood wakes up, and then they can use it for their plan, only a near death experience can assure that, he said it himself, then why was he acting that way?
Unless the girl wasn’t lying, a small voice mocked Geraldine from inside, unless he truly cared for her.
“The girl needs to…”
“One more word and you can consider yourself dead, Gera.” This time Eren’s voice wasn’t loud, but instead very calm and composed, a little above a whisper, however it made the black haired demoness’s eyes widen in horror, for she had heard that tone of his many, many times, right before he would kill someone in an unimaginably gruesome way, his eyes were so cold as they glared at her, daring her to say another word.
Not having any other choice, Geraldine took small steps away from the cell’s gate, and the shadow lord didn’t spare her a second glace as he walked away with the hybrid in his arms, only his voice trailed behind as he warned her not to get close to the girl again.
Once he was out of the cell, Eren allowed his shadows to emerge, surrounding him like a dark cloud, and hiding both his scent and Sara’s as he walked through the castle corridors towards his private room.
Once the door to his room was closed behind him, Eren released a long breath, looking at the girl in his arms with sorrow, he swallowed the painful lump before placing her gently in his bed.
He stared at her few seconds while one of his shadows took the form of a man, and while the shadow sat off to bring the necessary tools to clean and aid the hybrid girl, its master kept on watching her with pain and pity clouding his red eyes.
He knew it was wrong, all wrong, and he did try to prevent things from coming this far but he couldn’t.
He began to clean her wounds as he remembered the first time he saw her, many years ago when he was still a deranged demon uncapable to control his thirst, struggling to survive, hiding from the humans who wanted him dead and the demons who wanted him devoured and dead, at the time, he didn’t belong to any of the worlds as he was a hybrid himself, and for years he had lived like a rabid animal, surviving purely on his instincts, on the half madness caused by starvation, abuse, pain, and fear.
That was all he knew for years, savagery and cruelty were his only means to survive, every day was a struggle, to kill or to be killed, until he once ended up in the room of a little girl who was no older than five, he was there ready to devour the little thing as he was wounded and starving, but she innocently offered him the cookie in her hand.
Eren remembered that day as if it was yesterday, for so very long, he had known no love, no gentleness, no care, for years he was deprived of any kindness and tenderness, he was surprised when the girl, who was at the time binging on the small chocolate cookie she stole from the kitchen, offered him her treat, not knowing about his intentions towards her, and something inside him woke up.
His human side, the side that was buried under piles and piles of pain and suffering that turned him into a savage predator, he felt it with his whole being, the look in her pure eyes, the innocent smile on her face, but mostly the ability to give what she wanted for herself, so simply.
Now that he had grown out of that little boy and lived and learned so much about life and people, he understood what a rare trait it was in a person to be able to give away even the things one held dear, it was something born with the person as it couldn’t be sullied with any selfish needs and cravings, it was something only pure hearts possessed, something his fair lady who had the purest of hearts didn’t need to learn from anyone as she had it in her since she was a child.
Placing the bowl of the bloodied water aside, Eren pulled the covers above the girl’s frail body worriedly, for she didn’t make the slightest move even when he replaced her shoulder, the pain she had suffered must have been too great for her to be this deeply drowned into unconsciousness.
What if she never woke up? His human part asked him, the part that still remembered the young girl he loved as a child, the young beautiful girl who was nothing less than the small light to his darkness, the one who made him wake out of the state of instinctive madness he was in, the one who’s blood he tasted that night as he bit down her hand instead of the cookie, and the one he was so sad and lost when he couldn’t find her in the same house when he came to visit her again.
Eren shook his head, not having an answer to that terrifying question, all while another one popped in his head
Even if she did wake up, will he be able to finish what he had started?