Stone Cold

Chapter 58

The sleepy town of bran was suddenly brought to life by the roaring engine of the Bugatti soaring through the town's old streets. Through the car's tinted mirrors, the man leaning back on his seat was staring lifelessly at the unknown structure the town had acquired through centuries of development. It was no longer the place he remembered from his memories.

Nothing had remained the same, neither the towns nor its occupants.

‘It was never home.’

To his surprise, the mention of ‘home’ brought a gray-eyed smiling girl to his mind. A glassy look suddenly masked his eyes as his thoughts started wandering in different directions.

‘I shouldn’t have left you alone that day. I should have taken you with me.’

Guilt couldn’t even come close to describe the feeling he held in his heart for the night she disappeared from their castle.

The memories from the night were still fresh in his mind, as if it had been only a day since that incident occurred, not a whole week.

He had been extremely disturbed since the day Faith returned from the past. Although was relieved to find out that his efforts to save their baby had been successful, it wasn’t enough to put his heart to ease. She had Cyrus’ lineage flowing in her veins, ultimately complicating the situation more.

He wanted to trust her and he had started trusting her as well but her sudden uninformed rendezvous with Ruth had formed cracks in their budding relationship.

From the time she stumbled in front of his castle, he had tried hard to avoid doing the things she had complained about on her last night in the medieval times. He tried keeping his distance, not letting her near him; he didn’t want her to feel the suffocation her past self was claiming to have felt in his grasp.

Nothing worked.

Contrary to how the girl had belittled his touch and love in the medieval era, the girl from the present never kept his distance from him. No matter what he did, she kept coming back to him. In the end, he was still turned to stone, punished for a crime he never committed.

He had been looking forward to that confrontation since the night he thought that he had gotten betrayed by her. He wanted answers and he did get them.

It was up to him to believe her words, but this time he didn’t want to dive in blindly.

He had failed once. His carelessness in taking a woman with no background cost him multiple human lives and a burnt castle.

He needed to confirm the authenticity of every word spoken to him. He was no longer a lord now, he was a king. His lack of attentiveness could cost a huge deal to the vampire race.

Until he could prove the truth behind Faith’s story, he had chosen to bring her back with him. No matter what, she was his wife, pregnant with his child. He couldn’t ask her to go away, not in this condition. But he was not going to behave stupidly either.

He knew he had to keep his distance from her this time. She was his beloved, her presence always clouded his senses and he couldn’t afford to act rash this time.

One bad decision and the Vampire Kingdom would fall into a killer’s hands.

His temples had started throbbing by now, causing him to massage the top of his eyebrows with his long fingers. He hadn’t slept properly for days. It was the same for Henry, who had been driving silently for hours by his side.

Henry genuinely liked Faith and did everything he could to find evidence in her favor. It had taken him some time but eventually he was able to prove it to Ares.