CHAPTER 455: SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG

Evaline:

One moment there was only pitch darkness - cold, endless, suffocating - and the next, I gasped, sitting up with a violent jolt.

Air rushed into my lungs as if I’d been drowning for hours. My hand flew to my chest, pressing over my heart, only to freeze when I felt it... an unbearable emptiness.

It wasn’t pain. It wasn’t even physical. It was worse.

It felt like something... or someone... had reached right through my chest and pulled my heart out, leaving behind a hole where it once beat. My pulse was there, my body alive, but the hollowness within me made no sense. My chest rose and fell too fast, my fingers trembling against my skin as I tried to understand what had happened.

And then...

"Evaline..."

The familiar voice snapped my head up. Kieran.

He was sitting beside me, his expression drawn and pale, eyes shadowed with exhaustion. He reached for my hand, his touch gentle but desperate. "Hey, easy... just breathe, alright?"

On my other side, Oscar was there too, holding my other hand firmly, his thumb stroking small circles against my skin. His eyes carried the same worry, the same tiredness that made my chest tighten further.

At the foot of the bed stood River, tall and tense, his gaze locked on me like I might vanish again if he looked away.

"Kieran... what-" My voice came out hoarse and broken. I swallowed hard, trying again. "What happened?"

They exchanged looks before Kieran spoke, his voice low, steady. "You fainted. At the entrance. We-" He cut himself off, his jaw tightening as if the memory hurt.

I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of it all. "I..." My fingers brushed against my chest again. "It felt like something was ripped out of me. I don’t-"

But my words faltered when my gaze swept across the room once more.

Draven wasn’t here.

Panic shot through me so fast I nearly doubled over. "Where’s Draven?"

No one answered.

"Where is he?" I repeated, this time my voice sharper, more frantic. The effort made me cough, and Kieran instantly lifted a glass of water to my lips. I took a small sip, my hands trembling too much to hold the glass.

Still... silence.

River looked away, Oscar dropped his gaze, and Kieran’s jaw worked as though he was physically holding something back.

The growing dread in my stomach turned to full-blown panic. I reached for the nightstand, finding my phone. "If you are not going to tell me, I’ll just call him myself."

But when I pressed the button... nothing. The screen stayed black.

"It’s off?" I frowned, pressing again. "Why is it off?"

Oscar sighed quietly. "We didn’t think to charge it. It must have run out of battery."

"That’s impossible," I snapped, my voice trembling. "It had thirty percent when I got home. It can’t-"

"Love," Kieran interrupted softly. His voice wasn’t calm this time. It was careful. Too careful. "It’s been four days."

I froze.

For a long moment, I could only stare at him. "What?"

He met my gaze, his eyes heavy with something I could only describe as guilt and pain. "You have been unconscious for four days, Evaline."

My mind went blank.

Four days.

That hollowness in my chest twisted violently as I tried to process his words. "No," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, that’s not possible. It was afternoon when we got home, I remember that. I-"

But then the fragments began to piece together - the last thing I remembered was walking into the mansion beside Kieran, trying to tell him about Draven’s black veins... and then... darkness.

My throat tightened. "You are saying I was unconscious for four entire days?"

"Yes." Kieran’s voice broke slightly.

My heart was pounding loudly, but not from fear of what had happened to me.

"Where’s Draven?" I demanded again, looking between them. "If it’s been four days, then he must have come home already, right?"

The silence that followed made my blood run cold.

My eyes darted between them, but all three kept avoiding my gaze. The air in the room suddenly felt too heavy, too still.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" My voice cracked. "Where is he?"

When none of them spoke, I did the only thing left... I reached for him through our bond.

Or at least, I tried.

The moment I did, a painful gasp escaped me. The bond... our bond... was barely there. What had always been an electric, bright, living thread pulsing between our souls was now... weak. Faint. So thin it almost hurt to touch it.

"Draven..." I whispered.

The silence in return was deafening.

Something inside me broke.

"Where is he?" I screamed this time, shoving the blanket aside. My body felt weak and dizzy from having just woken up, but none of that mattered. I stumbled across the bed, my knees hitting the floor as I tried to stand. The world tilted dangerously, but before I could fall, River’s arms were around me.

"Eva-"

"Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!" I cried, gripping his shirt in my fists. "Tell me where he is! What happened to him? Why can’t I feel him?"

Tears blurred my vision, hot and fast. My voice broke somewhere between anger and terror. "He left the Academy four days ago... he said he was on his way back! He said he would be fine! So why can’t I feel him anymore?!"

Oscar took a slow step forward, his usual composure fractured, his voice quieter than I had ever heard it. "You need to breathe, Eva. Please."

But I couldn’t.

How could I breathe when the world suddenly felt like it was missing its most vital piece?

The bond wasn’t gone, but it was fading... fading so fast it felt like sand slipping through my fingers.

River’s hands gripped my shoulders firmly, his tone low but steady as he finally spoke. "We’ll take you to him."

I froze, lifting my gaze to his. "W-what?"

He nodded once, his expression unreadable but eyes soft. "We’ll take you to Draven."

For a heartbeat, I couldn’t even react. The words hit me like a physical blow, stealing what little strength was left in my body.

He didn’t say we’ll call him, or he’ll be here soon.

He said - we’ll take you to him.

Which meant only one thing.

Something was terribly, horribly wrong.