At that moment, in that very moment, Ava realized something.
Her heart had been beating so fast inside her chest. It felt like she had just run a marathon. She opened her eyes and listened.
No. That wasn’t hers!
It was his!
She gulped.
"Questions?" he asked.
"Can you read my mind?"
"No. Though I could feel your confusion. It was the mating thing."
Ava nodded.
She hesitated for a few seconds.
"Where are you going next? What about the rogues?" Those were the only questions that she could ask right now.
"I’m looking for something. And I will take care of the rogues. Do not leave this place without me."
"What if... What if your enemies will know you are back?" What about Matthew’s body? What happens if they trap him again? Was he even strong enough to fight them? What if he kills him? What would happen?
The more she thought of the possible answers to her questions, the more confused she was.
"You sound worried?"
She lifted her head and glared at him.
"That was a serious question!"
"Am I not asking another serious question too?" he retorted. He was smiling. Again, she could feel his warmth and somehow something that felt like gentleness.
The Josef inside that place didn’t have such an aura!
"I am not worried. Just curious! What would I tell them if they asked about you? I told them you will come back!"
"So you are just worried about their possible reaction to my absence?"
"Naturally!"
"And you are not worried about me?"
"Not at all!"
"And you are not lying?" he moved his head closer, his lips almost touching hers.
"No. Why would I lie?"
"And why would you tell the truth?"
"That— " she couldn’t answer that. "It was just a simple question!"
"Was it?"
She felt embarrassment cloud her gaze.
Alright, arguing with someone old is definitely different. Yes. That’s right. This man’s soul had been around for centuries. Even the others in the pit thought so too. It is only right that he is this good. After all, he is already an old man!
However, just thinking about him as an old man suddenly made her uncomfortable.
Again, she wasn’t a fan of an age gap.
She cleared her throat.
"By the way..." Ava started. "How old are you?" she blurted out before she could even think!
He offered a bemused smile.
"Older than you think," he answered. "But that shouldn’t be any of your concern. I can assure you... I am way better than men my age. Especially in giving you what you want."
Her face flushed when she realized what he really meant. And maybe he was right but...
Hello?
Age difference?
But hey... why does she care so much about those things?
She buried the thought in her consciousness.
"I am going to find something," Matthew said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Something that would keep you safe even if you are not inside this place. For now... you should wear this." Again, Matthew showed her the velvet box that he used when he proposed.
"That— "
"It’s not what you think," Matthew said. "I would not risk another refusal. That would surely break my heart." Despite saying those words, he was actually smiling. "The ring was to protect you." He opened the box and the same ring with a discreetly large diamond— "It’s not what you think," Matthew interrupted her stupor.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"It’s not diamond," Matthew said. "Diamonds aren’t even that rare so don’t be disappointed."
"Then what is it?"
"It’s an Arsunite. It looked like a diamond but was not made of carbon. And it was designed to protect you."
"Protect me? From what?"
Matthew only gave her a mysterious smile in response. By now, Matthew already walked out of that small space. Then he held her hand and quickly slid the ring on her middle finger.
To her surprise, the ring changed its size just like the grimoire!
"What is this ring?"
"I told you. It’s for protection."
"Was it a relic?" she asked.
You see, relics had other purposes aside from hiding a soul in them. They could do various things like give the owner some gifts. These gifts include invisibility, flying magick, stealth, speed, and other various abilities. However, relics are very rare and most of them don’t have any Sigels. Ava knew this from the Shaman’s memory. In fact, according to the Shaman’s grimoire, he only encountered a relic four times and he was able to encounter them during his expiditions to other realms.
"No. It was designed to protect. That’s all you need to know."
She looked at him. She felt suspicious about this ring. But something is telling her that something would happen if she took it away.
"The reason why you proposed was just to slide this ring into my finger?"
"Not neccessarily," Matthew said.
"I don’t believe you."
"First..." Again, he leesen the distance between them. "I proposed because I wanted you to marry me."
This time, Ava didn’t take a step back. It was useless. She knew he would not stop walking toward her.
"Second, I wanted to fuck you without draing your strength."
"And third— "
"What did you say?" Ava asked.
"Hm?"
"The second reason..."
"Oh..." Matthew smirked at her. "It seems that I already knew what attracts your attention."
"I am serious. What did you say? What about draining my strength?"
"Actually it was simple. You aren’t properly marked." Matthew said. "Only half of me Marked you. So the..." he held the part of her neck where Matthew bit her before. "The mark disappeared."
"And?"
"And that was the reason why every time we mate, I would accidentally drain your strength."
"You could have killed me!" Ava’s eyes widdened.
"That wouldn’t happen."
"You— " Irritation flooded her body. "You are protecting me against you... aren’t you?"
"Partly."
"Then— " she tried to remove the ring, but sadly, it didn’t move. She couldn’t remove the ring!
"Not so fast Princess..." Matthew said. He smirked then he quickly planted a kiss on her lips. "How could someone be so beautiful even if they are angry?"
She heard him say before he suddenly vanished in front of her.
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