In the castle, Rav and Evenly were inford about the war, and imdiately Evenly’s plans to leave, and the hope of going away to protect her heart from falling too deeply into another love with a man, were shattered. anwhile, Rav was secretly relieved to know that she would be staying with them.
They began preparing the things that would be taken to the mountains. Since they planned to leave earlier before the war and Rohan wouldn’t be able to carry everyone and regain his strength quickly, they sat that night before the fireplace in the drawing room and made their decision and plan: Rav and Evenly would go ahead by ship, while Rohan would take Belle and Angel when the ti ca.
The ship would carry Rohan’s most important possessions along with their belongings. Though their departure wasn’t sothing that would happen tomorrow or the next day, it could take up to a month before they finally set sail. They were making plans early because Rohan would be busy starting next week and might not have the chance to prepare later.
"We’ve run out of supplies in the castle, and we need to buy more to take with us for the journey," Rav remarked from where he sat by the fireplace, cross-legged on the floor beside the two ladies and the little boy. Angel was poking at the fire with a stick, causing the coals to spark and hiss.
Only Rohan chose to sit on the wingback chair by the fire, his wife seated on the floor beside him with her hand casually draped over his lap. His hand rested gently on hers as they talked.
"That’s an easy thing. You can get everything tomorrow and stock the castle with the supplies you’ll need for the journey," Rohan mused. They continued discussing the list of things Rav would have to buy, but all the while, Rohan kept a watchful eye on his son, who was crouched by the fireplace poking at the flas with a stick. He knew how dangerously curious the boy could be, curiosity that could easily get him hurt.
When Rohan saw Angel drop the stick into the fire and lean forward as if to reach for it, he clicked his tongue sharply. "Max, just because you can make fire with your hands doesn’t an it won’t burn you when you touch it. Don’t put your hand in there." His gaze narrowed as he caught sight of sothing odd on his son. "What’s that on your hand?" he asked, his voice sharpening with concern.
Everyone’s attention shifted at once to the little boy who had been quietly playing by the hearth the entire ti. It was then they all noticed sothing was wrong with his hand, the very hand he was about to thrust into the flas.
Belle imdiately pulled her hand away from Rohan, rushing to snatch their son back. She cradled his small hand in hers, her eyes rounding in alarm as she examined it closely.
She gasped at what she saw, and in no ti Rohan was bending down beside them to look at Angel’s hand, which was turning bony and taking the shade of burnt wood, sothing eerily similar to what Belle had once seen on her hands in her nightmare of standing before Isabelle’s grave. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it began to disappear.
"Was that normal for a demon?" Belle asked as she cradled her son and held out his hand for the rest to see. Angel watched with curious, innocent eyes as his hand returned to normal.
Rohan shook his head. "I have never seen anything like that before. Does it hurt, Max?" he asked his son, who shook his head and began to scratch the hand with his other hand.
"Is it itchy?" Belle asked, and Angel nodded, grimacing as his small nose scrunched up to show his discomfort. Her face paled as she raised her eyes to Rohan and said, "Sothing similar happened to a few days ago when I was sitting before the fireplace in our room, but it was on my leg. I didn’t ntion it because I almost thought I imagined it. It was very itchy, but it was gone before I could see what it was." She muttered the words with a troubled look in her eyes. "Why did it happen to his hand?"
Belle had associated the strange mark that appeared on her leg with the unusual things happening because of Isabelle, but now that sothing similar had happened to their son, she couldn’t help but be alard and deeply concerned. Could it be that the strange things happening had nothing to do with Isabelle at all? Or was Isabelle’s presence sohow affecting their son too?
Rohan stroked his son’s small hand in his as his face turned thoughtful. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a single reason why what had just happened... happened. "Let’s wait for the day the witch will co. She might be able to explain further what it ans. Does it still itch?" he asked Angel.
Angel shook his head and said, "No ishy."
"Itchy, sweetheart," Belle corrected gently, stroking his hair lovingly, not wanting whatever was happening to her because of Isabelle to ever touch him in any way. For more than one reason, she couldn’t wait for the day the witch would co, to set her free, and for Rohan to turn her into a vampire.
When she’d told him earlier in the afternoon, he had looked at her with surprised eyes, as if he couldn’t believe she had said that, and asked if she was sure she wanted to be a vampire.
"I am more than sure. I want to live longer than a human lifespan."
Now she exchanged a look with her husband, and he gave her a small, reassuring smile. "Don’t worry too much about him. He’ll be fine. I’ll make certain of it."
Belle nodded, holding Angel close this ti as they resud the discussion they’d been having before they were interrupted by the strange change in Angel’s hand.
They made arrangents to visit the market the next day to buy everything they would need to stock the cottage once they arrived.
"I will go with him," Belle said when Rohan ntioned Rav would go to the market in the morning. "Evenly, you should co too."
Evenly, who had been sitting close to Belle and holding one of Angel’s little hands that rested on her leg, glanced toward Rav and noticed he was already watching her. She quickly looked away, then nodded. "I will," she murmured softly, trying not to let it show that every ti she looked into his eyes, her heart skipped a beat and she vividly rembered the way they had beco one last night.
With the arrangents made, after dinner everyone began to head to their rooms. But before Rav could leave, Rohan stopped him.
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