CHAPTER 487: NO MORE CHANCES

Silas returned to the manor somewhat earlier than he usually did. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, but the image of his wife confined in the map room ate at him.

Upon arrival however, Carlton greeted him with a little more urgency in his tone than what was natural.

"What is it, Carlton? You seem burdened?"

"The messages went out around thirty minutes ago. Haven’t you received word of it?"

"What message do you speak of?" Silas’ brows furrowed, "Did something happen to my wife?" his feet had already begun to step past Carlton, with the map room in mind.

"No, but the message stems from Lady Arabella herself," the butler bowed, "She’s come across some sort of underground imprisonment camps spread out strategically all over the kingdom,"

A glint flashed in his diamonds, his eyes widening very momentarily as memory served him his history classes on the matter, "The nightwalker’s holding camps," he mumbled.

"Yes, she said they were erased from contemporary maps,"

Silas cleared his throat, "I was separate from the nearest search group, I headed towards the northern coasts. That might explain the fact that I haven’t received the message before making my way back," after another second of silence he turned around, "I do remember the location of the camps, I’ll start scouring them right this second,"

"Right," the butler bowed again as the vampire walked back towards the exit.

"Lord Silas!" Ada’s voice came clear from the stairs she nearly tumbled over while descending.

"Calm yourself. You are going to get injured, girl!" it was Carlton that advised her.

"Please wait, my Lord! I have something very important to share!" she squeaked.

"If it is about the encasement then-"

"No! It isn’t!" once in front of him, she bent over and held her knees while huffing and puffing to catch her breath.

"Can’t this wait?" he asked.

"It absolutely cannot or it’ll be too late," she shook her head, her breath still heavy, "It is about Lady Arabella,"

"You have all of my attention," he straightened up.

"May we speak privately?" her eyes darted towards Carlton who still stood a few feet away.

Silas granted her that wish and led her outside, further from the guards for privacy.

"Go on," he said, "Speak your mind then,"

"You have to stop her! I believe she’s gone to surrender herself to the prince?"

The wind escaped his lungs, leaving him with no words to utter. His features began to contort, darkening his glare, "Do you hear yourself?"

Ada shut her eyes and took a deeper inhale, "The gift, the last one that she’s gotten from the prince, there was more than the brooch in that box," when he said nothing, she continued, "There was a second compartment beneath it. One that harbored a human ear, her brother’s ear," she did her very best to speak as clearly as it was possible.

"Her... Brother who disappeared years ago," he half asked.

"The same one!" she nodded profusely, "The prince of Lustris found and arrested him. According to him, Arthur is currently rotting in a dungeon cell of his own. The prince wished to strike a deal with Arabella,"

"Her life in exchange for her brother,’s" he whispered.

Before he flashed away to find his wife, Ada screamed, "She is not in the manor! She took a horse and claimed she needed fresh air, but I believe she’s considering his bargain,"

The veins on his forehead protruded so harshly as he contracted his jaws that the sound of his own heartbeat blared in his head.

The vampire immediately shut his eyes before taking the deepest of breaths and kept at it until a familiar perfume caressed his nostrils.

Thankfully, Arabella still hadn’t left the property and pulled Charlie to a sudden halt when Silas flashed in front of her.

At first, a bright smile adorned her face. One that faded the more she looked at him.

His fury must have been apparent since the first thing out of her mouth was, "Did something happen?"

"You tell me," he practically growled.

"What?" very carefully she stepped away from the horse and towards him.

"You have learned nothing, haven’t you?" he grunted, his jaws so tight, his teeth threatened to pop.

"I do not understand. Learn what exactly?" she shook her head.

Silas no longer fought the urge and sped forward before grabbing her by the arms and bringing his face inches from hers, "You know what you did! Why didn’t you tell me the truth? I asked you multiple times! Why do you still do this?" the thin, red bloodstreams in his eyes earned him a crazed look.

One that got her shaking in her boots already, "I am sorry," tears were on the verge of spilling, "I just needed some time to think,"

It seemed she had caught on to what he meant by the truth.

"Think about what, huh?" he shook her a little in his hands, "A way to slip away and join the prince! Are you so gullible as to believe that the ear was truly your brother’s?"

"I had it tested!" she yelled and pulled with all of her might until Silas let go of her, "And no! I wasn’t planning on surrendering myself if that is what you’re thinking!"

"Why should I believe you?" he took another step towards her, "This is the third time you’ve kept something with this level of importance from me, and you always end up regretting it so what made you think anything would change now?"

First, Arabella had kept the harassment and bullying Edna had put her through and then there was her theory about Allegra, and she decided to do it again by keeping yet another secret from him.

"I wasn’t planning on going back to Lustris! I am not stupid! I know that monster would never keep his word. I merely needed time to think of a plan to end it all," she cried.

Silas shut his eyes again and inhaled, "You’ve had chances before but now it’s too late. I am no longer taking your word for it,"