“Take me Ezekiel…” she gripped him hard, holding to him like letting go would kill her as she begged him to bring her along. “Don’t leave me alone. Please…!”
With her sobbing and trying to speak at the same time, Alicia could hardly breathe when he cupped her face in his hands and made her look at him. The tender way he held her face, his eyes deep and dark only indicated to her very clearly what he was about to say to her. And her heart bled even as her eyes hungrily drank up the view of her beloved person. That small and soft smile could only mean one thing… that he was going to say goodbye to her.
“Alicia… I believe you’re already pregnant with our child.” Ezekiel broke the news to her as gently as he could.
The world seemed to shake violently before suddenly freezing up for a moment. A moment that felt like an eternity to Alicia. She opened her lips. Then closed it before opening it again. But still nothing came out. She was still too shaken by the news.
He placed her hand on her lips and kissed it so tenderly. “Forgive me… I have to leave you and our…” his voice then broke, and he just gathered her lovingly into his embrace again.
Alicia cried. She did not know what else to feel at the moment anymore. There seemed to be a numb sensation that was spreading from the center of her, towards her extremities.
“You can’t come along with me, my wife.” He continued whispering into her ears. He could already feel the bonds that were as chains around him, pulling him away from her. “I can’t risk you. And there is no guarantee if a non-demon could survive there. I still have no idea if that’s possible no matter how powerful one is. But I will find out. I will find out everything.”
Pulling away to look at her, he gave her a gentle kiss filled with promise. “Wait for me, Alicia. I promise I will come back to you and this time… I vow not to fail. And no… I will not make you wait for seven hundred years. I will do everything to come back to you as soon as possible. So don’t cry…”
Her heart trembled and ached and broke all at once, but her tears had now stopped flowing down her eyes. This was enough for her. She would wait no matter how long. Waiting for him, knowing that he would one day come back to her side was… bearable. Losing him forever was not. She would wait… even if it ends up taking him seven hundred years. She would still wait…
Reaching out, she caressed his face as if memorizing every detail of him. Not that she had not already done that. She could feel it in her heart that this was it for them. At least for now. She had somehow felt the signs even from before, that this will not go well for them. But she had chosen to remain silent and not admit it. Even to herself.
She understood now that there was nothing that she could do but to continue trusting in him and believing in his capabilities. Her husband is the one and only Ezekiel, the powerful and renowned crown prince of the vampires. She would continue trusting that even in hell, he would somehow be able to bring about a miracle.
A pained yet understanding smile finally curved on her lips and then she nodded. “Okay…” her voice was hoarse, “… I will wait for you, Ezekiel. I will wait no matter how long it takes. So don’t push yourself too much, okay? I don’t want you to suffer anymore. I don’t want you to get hurt. So don’t do anything dangerous, you hear me?” she could not help but nag gently at him.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, a ghost of a smile flashed across his face. “Same goes to you, Alicia.” His expression turned grave and worried. “Please never put yourself at any risk anymore. You have someone else to think for now.”
Alicia nodded, wiping the quiet tear that fell from the corner of her eyes. “I promise, my husband. I will be careful from now on. I now have our child who need my protection and care. So please don’t worry about me. You have also made me so powerful, remember?” she tried to laugh a little, though even that small action caused a gnawing ache to yawn like a black hole within her.
“And you don’t have to worry about me as well. Nothing can harm even on the other side. You should know how capable your husband is, right?” Ezekiel stroked her hair fondly, savoring these last moments he would have with her. The next time he could do this would be a long time to come.
She could only smile at his absolute confidence. “Will you see your mother there?”
“I am not hundred percent certain, but I am expecting to see her.”
“Can I get you to pass her a question for me?”
“Of course.”
“I want you to ask her about your dagger. I want to know if there’s a connection between these two things that we have.”
He nodded. “Sure. I will ask her that. I also have another burning question for her that I had been wanting to know. I’m curious to know at why she sent me to that cliff back then.”
“Oh right! I am also very curious about that matter!”
Then their eyes held, smiles fading, as the shadows behind him started to swirl even fiercer.
Zeke pulled Alicia back into his embrace again and his gaze fell to the men standing there, watching. They could not say nor do anything. Everyone was helpless. And since they could not help, they did not want to disturb whatever time he had left with his wife. His gaze landed on everyone and finally settled on Alex.
