Conquering His Cold Heart

267 Warning

Everard didn’t know how he was going to make Anastasia understand the real meaning behind his words. Even he didn’t know what Everard really was.

However, he still had to try to make her understand that Everard was different, in a bad way.

Thus, he used the same method that Hamilton had used with him. He looked his sister in the eyes and asked her, “Anastasia, you know how strong and fast King Caspian and the others are, right?”

Anastasia nervously looked at her husband and nodded her head.

Everard then further asked, “Do you recall what you witnessed in that hall? How Everard was unhurt even after–”

Anastasia widened her eyes and completed her brother’s sentence, “Even after getting so many blows from my husband! Yes, I clearly remember everything.” She looked at her husband and emphasized, “He didn’t even have any bruises on his face when I looked at him after I regained consciousness.”

When Caspian didn’t look surprised, she asked him, “Did you beat him that badly knowing that he would be able to endure it? Do you know something that we don’t?”

“Yes, I knew that he would die from a few punches from me,” Caspian mumbled and kept on looking down at the floor with an unchanging expression on his face.

“I thought that he did all those things because he was possessed by some evil. But that’s not it, is it?” Anastasia pressed her palm over her drumming chest and asked again, “What do you know, Caspian? Tell us.”

.....

Alexander had already tried asking that to Hamilton. And he was told about the ancient curse. He was sure that King Caspian was aware of that curse and wouldn’t risk his sister’s already short life by spilling the secret.

However, he didn’t want to take even the slightest chance. Thus, before Caspian could open his mouth, he shouted in fear, “Don’t ask that! I learned from Lord Hamilton that vampires aren’t allowed to speak about them.”

“What? Why?” Anastasia looked at her brother with a stunned expression on her face. “Do you also know something that I don’t know?” she curiously asked Alexander. It seemed like she was the only one who was out of the loop.

Caspian let out a quiet sigh of relief when he didn’t have to give some lame excuse to his wife. He was glad that Alexander was speaking on his behalf because if it was just him, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to properly explain anything about Everard because of the hatred that he felt towards that werewolf.

Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose because his head was now starting to hurt. And he softly mumbled, “I have some clue as to the real nature of Everard. But I am not exactly sure what he is.”

“What he is…” Anastasia repeated her brother’s words in confusion. “Do you mean to say that he is not a normal human? Do you also think that he might be a vampire?”

“No, he isn’t a vampire.” Alexander gulped hard as his throat had already parched. His dry throat didn’t get any better though. So, he got up to get a glass of water from the tea table nearby. He chugged down the whole glass of water and turned around to look at his sister.

He gazed into her questioning eyes and then slowly began to recount the things that he had seen in the battle.

“All of my guards were in pieces in a matter of a few seconds. The thing that came after us were definitely not humans.” The frown lines on his forehead deepened when he recalled the image of those gruesome creatures. “They all looked as if they were spawns of Satan.”

Anastasia couldn’t quite imagine what her brother meant by that. “What do you mean by the spawn of Satan? How did they look like?” she asked, although she wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear what her brother had to say.

Alexander sat back down on the sofa and then questioningly looked at Caspian before answering his sister.

When Caspian gave a nod, he explained all the details, “Their eyes were glowing yellow as if they were some wild animals. Not just their eyes, they had sharp teeth and claws that resembled wild carnivorous animals. And they were breathing and drooling as if they were rabid animals on the hunt. Also, they were fast… really fast. I wouldn’t have been alive if Lord Hamilton wasn’t there to protect me.”

Anastasia was too dumbfounded when she heard that. The way he explained them, Anastasia could only picture the vampires in her head. But at the same time, her brother was denying that they were vampires.

She held her head with both of her hands and asked, “So, what are they?”

Alexander shrugged and answered, “I am not sure. Whatever they are, they are really dangerous and merciless. We humans are no match for them.”

“So, you’re telling me that Everard is also like them?” Anastasia asked while grabbing her stomach. Her stomach was starting to hurt because she suddenly started getting nervous as well as scared. The yellow eyes of Everard that she saw from up close were starting to flash before her eyes and haunt her.

Alexander took a deep breath. He also didn’t want to believe all those things even when he witnessed everything with his own two eyes. He still wanted to believe that everything that he saw and heard was an elaborate nightmare.

He wanted to wake up from the nightmare and forget everything – everything about his brother-in-law and about his best friend. However, he knew that the sooner he accepted the reality, it would be better for both him and his sister.

Thus, though he didn’t want to say it, he hesitantly mumbled, “Yes. I am pretty sure that Everard can also turn into that thing, whatever that is. So…” He clutched his fists and forcefully made himself speak, “So, I suggest that you stay away from Everard from now on. I don’t want you to share any letters with him or try to meet him or do anything to contact him.”

Caspian couldn’t explain how thankful he was to Alexander for warning Anastasia and making his job easier. He then added to what Alexander just said, “Your brother is right. He sent out an army to do the unthinkable just because he felt humiliated. He didn’t even care that you and your brother were also staying at that inn. It’s better to completely cut off ties with such a person. I’m not saying that just because he isn’t human because neither am I. I am saying that because of the things he did to you, to us.”

Anastasia didn’t say a word. She kept on staring vacantly, her mind filled with hundreds of questions about Everard and that battle that took place.

‘What did you do to yourself, Eve? Did you do something to turn yourself into a monster? Or were you just perfectly hiding that side of you until now?’