Read Novel Full Chapter 389: Sul Lotus Blood [6]
Chapter 389: Chapter 389: Sul Lotus Blood [6]
Chapter 389 – Sul Lotus Blood [6]
Inara’s Sul Lotus Blood festival ended, but the festival itself did not, and the night was still long.
She disappeared, feeling somehow a little bit better after the last talk with Kaden.
Nothing was certain yet between them. It was full of uncertainties, the kind the world loved to shatter and destroy.
Still, at least now, there was a promise of something more between them.
It could work. It could also not work.
Time would tell.
Inara hoped it would, and to be able to know that, she needed to come back alive from whatever was waiting for her.
Motivated and suddenly reinvigorated, the Mother of Monsters went back to prepare herself for another trip to Fokay.
All of that while, meanwhile, the lovers of Waverith were still dancing, their steps in perfect sync, their movements fluid.
They danced like the wind ruffling around them, soft and sweet, their faces wearing beaming smiles that illuminated the whole surrounding.
One could hear giggles constantly, with crimson fire bursting through every now and then, accompanied by exploding laughter.
Yet amidst all these folks foolishly smiling, there was one couple who seemed to be slightly lost.
"What is happening to you?" Orien raised an eyebrow at Sabine, perplexed.
At her husband’s question, Sabine was puzzled, unable to say anything.
They were in the middle of the dancing ground, intending to, like any other couples around, move their bodies together and seek warmth from each other.
Yet something was strange.
’I-I forgot how to dance?’ Sabine thought, her heartbeat speeding up in sudden dread. ’But how?’
She had been practicing this dance for the past days relentlessly, all in order to please her husband.
Yet today...everything seemed to elude her.
Nothing came to mind when she intended to move her body, and even when Sabine looked at others, the sight of them dancing felt like something she had never witnessed before.
Her chest trumpeted in alarm, the blood inside her chilled, frosting her body into a sculpture of dread.
Instinctively, she took a shaky step back. But with Orien holding her hands tightly, she didn’t manage to go far.
Still, her reaction made her husband even more worried. He saw how Sabine’s face was slowly draining of color, fear painting every sheet of it like vicious ink.
Her body was quivering, and tears were swelling in her eyes, threatening to blur her world.
Orien’s eyes dilated, his heart thundering beside his ribs so hard it began to hurt. In one step, he moved closer to Sabine, enclosing her in a deep, tight hug.
"Hey, hey, hey!" he hushed continuously, hugging her tighter. "It’s fine. I swear it’s fine. You don’t need to know how to dance, okay?"
All around them, the song kept going, the fire still crackling nearby.
Absorbed in their own world, no one seemed to pay them any attention, each busy shaping their own small universe with their partner.
Sabine’s body didn’t stop trembling at her husband’s words. If anything, it worsened. Her teeth clattered together, so hard, so violently, that Orien thought they might shatter.
"I-I learned it, Orien! I did. I knew how to dance it. I knew everything. But...but..." Sabine choked on her fear, and Orien watched in dread as she seemed to be devoured by something even he could not name.
"Everything is fine, love. I’ll teach you how to dance, okay? You hear me?" he said, gripping her shoulders firmly, forcing Sabine to look at him.
Finally, she seemed to slowly calm down. "Y-You...will teach...me?"
Her words were broken, sounding like a baby trying to speak for the first time.
Orien set his jaw tight, suppressing the horror threatening to slither inside his mind and body.
He forced a smile, his facial muscles straining and trembling.
"Yes," he said, "I will teach you, love. Don’t worry."
Sabine nodded. One time. Two times. Then faster, like a chicken pecking relentlessly at the ground.
"D-Do it," she whispered, her eyes pleading.
Orien bit the inside of his lips and gently held her hands. Lovingly, he began to guide her, showing her the steps, the twists, the rhythm.
It was awkward at first, but steadily, she seemed to pick it up.
Sabine began to smile, her usual self slowly returning.
Orien felt relief bloom inside him, yet his fear refused to fade.
He looked deep into Sabine’s eyes, and for a brief instant, Orien thought he saw a flash of intense, sky-like blue, fast as lightning, coursing through them.
He licked his dry lips, gulping down a mouthful of saliva, before forcing himself to return Sabine’s smile.
’Help... I need help,’ Orien thought inwardly.
All the while, Sabine herself was going through something far more wrecking.
’When...’ Sabine mused internally as she danced with her husband, ’when and where was I born?’
Suddenly, Sabine seemed to forget her own beginning.
She wept inwardly, feeling the end of a beginning.
She wept harder, and laughed harder for her husband.
...
Simultaneously, Kaden was sitting atop the roof of the Red House, shaped like the tip of a claymore, his feet dangling carelessly in the air.
He watched the world beneath him, the folks enjoying the night, unaware of the danger crawling just outside their doors.
It was something only they could enjoy.
His father, his mother, and even Lady Heavens, Ouroboros, and Lord Duty did not have that luxury.
Each one was either wondering what to do or training in order to grow stronger for what was to come.
Even Dain and Daela had retreated back to their training grounds after the parade in the morning.
It was not because they did not wish to enjoy this day, but simply because, just like the old man had said, they were aware.
Aware of the danger looming over them like thick clouds of atrocious omens.
Even Kaden could scent it.
The air tasted of death, and this one threatened to be bloodier than even the purge of the Cerveau.
He exhaled, passed a hand over his face, then lifted his head upward, looking at how the moon was slowly disappearing, while stars now gathered around it.
A clacking sound echoed. Kaden lowered his head again, twisting his neck to see the origin of the sound.
He didn’t even need to. His perception had already told him who the presence was. Or rather, what it was.
A purple cat with silver eyes, beautiful beyond words.
The cat walked soundlessly across the tiles of the rooftop, approached Kaden, and jumped onto his lap.
Next, it nestled deep against his chest, purring contently while sniffing his scent.
Kaden allowed a smile to bloom on his face, raising his hand to rest it softly atop the cat before caressing its fur gently and lovingly.
"Now you are making me wish I had a transformation skill, Meris," he said with a chuckle.
Meris, in her feline form, stared up at him with an unmistakable smirk. "You wish, darling."
Kaden mirrored her expression. "If my Origin doesn’t give me one, I can create it with enough effort."
"Are you showing off your talent?"
"I’m being humble, actually. I could do it effortlessly."
"Tell me why I believe you?" Meris replied. "You’re unfair, darling."
Kaden shrugged with a smirk. "Life is unfair. And you have no right to say that to me. You, too, are not quite fair."
"My power came with too many drawbacks, darling," she said softly. "Strong, but dangerous."
"Like most of us," Kaden answered. "So, have you decided what you’ll do? The Seed of Frost? Or when you’ll go back?"
"Yes. I’ll take the risk," Meris said, her voice low, almost a purr. "And I’ll go back when you do. I want to enjoy as much time with you as possible."
She snuggled deeper into his chest, as if trying to engrave his scent into herself. Which, in truth, she was.
She was simply greedy.
And Kaden loved that about her.
"Fine then," he laughed, pulling Meris closer and holding her tightly against his chest, letting out a loud bark of laughter. "The festival will soon end. So why not create a memory together, darling?"
Meris cackled, excitement surging through her veins. "Tell me! Tell me!"
Kaden’s grin widened. "Shall we dance?"
Overhead, the stars adorning the sky began to turn crimson, raining down stardust.
"We’re not strong enough to dance among true stars," Kaden whispered, "but this is a good enough start, isn’t it?"
Meris watched the crimson stardust descend, soft and gentle, lifting them high into the sky.
She shifted back into her human form, her face split by a wide, radiant smile.
"Are you actually promising me a dance among the stars one day?" Meris asked, gripping Kaden’s hands and holding them close to her chest.
"I am," Kaden replied. "Or is the idea not to your liking?"
"You jest!" she laughed merrily. "I’m waiting for that day!"
Slowly, their bodies began to glide together as they danced in the air, stardust swirling beneath their feet before surging upward like water, then raining down again in mesmerizing waves.
On the ground, the people began to notice them.
They watched the beautiful sight of a couple dancing with the heavens as witnesses.
They heard Meris’s joyful laughter.
And they laughed with her, dancing with their own partners more fervently.
That day, the legend of the couple who danced under the moon with stardust raining down was born.
And with that, the Sul Lotus Blood festival ended.
—End of Chapter 389—