"W-what?" Islinda croaked.
Islinda’s head swarm with confusion. What the hell was going on? What did Elena say to Aldric? Aldric was not one to easily believe the words of others; he made his own decisions and followed his own instincts. So why would he suddenly start listening to Elena?
Aldric sneered, his frustration evident in his tone. "Even now, you still act like you don’t know what I’m talking about?" He saw through Islinda’s pretense; there was no fooling him.
"Aldric..." Islinda’s voice wavered as she looked at him, her eyes filled with concern and confusion. "What has Elena done to you..." She reached out as if to touch his face, but Aldric caught her hand, halting the gesture mid-way..
He smiled unkindly, his gaze roving over Islinda’s form in a way that made her skin crawl. "I have to admit, it’s no wonder I fell for it," he said with a hint of mockery. "You are quite a sight....." His leering gaze lingered on her ample bosom before trailing down to their intimate position.
Islinda flushed red with embarrassnt, her anger simring beneath the surface. She tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go.
"Let go." She warned him, her eyes flashing.
"Why? What would you do?" He taunted her, arrogance in his gaze, "You are the one who threw yourself on and now you are playing hard to get."
Islinda’s anger further increased with Aldric’s attitude. She could no see any form of recognition in his eyes and could swear this version of Aldric was unfamiliar to her.
"I said let go! " She demanded.
"Or what?" His eyes shone with that familiar gleam and for a mont, Islinda thought he was back to himself except the disgust on his face remained.
It was hopeless trying to get through this version of Aldric and Islinda was beyond pissed. She struggled with him, her supernatural strength choosing that mont to desert her. Islinda honestly wanted to punch Aldric in the face and maybe knock out a tooth or not. Perhaps she will lose her appeal for him if he had gaping holes in his beautiful teeth arrangent.
It was obvious Aldric was taunting her with the way he callously gripped her and It wasn’t until Islinda cried out in pain that he finally let go. However, as soon as she was free, Islinda let her hand fly free and slapped Aldric hard across the face.
"I don’t know what Elena has done to you but you need to snap out of it!" Islinda shouted in his face, her chest heaving up and down with efforts.
Aldric said nothing, his expression frozen in the aftermath of Islinda’s slap. Slowly, he turned to face her, his dark, fierce eyes drilling into hers with chilling intensity.
Islinda swallowed, her nerves on edge as she wished she were anywhere but here in this mont. Despite her unease, she summoned her courage and t his intimidating gaze head-on.
"You accuse of intending to seduce and betray you," she began, her voice steady despite the tension in the air. "But aren’t you greatly mistaken? Isn’t that your own intention all this while?"
The sudden furrow of the brow and silence from Aldric empowered her and Islinda continued, "You stole from the human realm in order to use to destroy Valerie knowing my worth to him. I never wanted the death duel, you did. Now you dare accuse of trying to betray you?"
Islinda said with equal part frustration and desperation, "What the hell is going on with you, Aldric?! What has Elena done to you? Did she place a charm on you? I should have told you earlier but there’s sothing weird about her. Call it instinct, but she has an ulterior motive for approaching you. You are usually careful and untrusting, yet you are suddenly taking Elena’s words seriously. Co on, Aldric.... "
She shook him vigorously, as if hoping to snap him out of whatever trance he was in. "You’ve known far longer than you’ve known Elena, so why are you suddenly acting this way? You said you’d never let go, so why are you behaving like this, Aldric?! Co on, please tell that whatever this is, it’s so sort of trick...." Her eyes lit up with hope. "Perhaps for my birthday. Is this a prank? Please tell ."
But even with the desperation in her voice, Aldric remained unmoved. He tilted his head and spoke coldly, "Are you done yapping?"
Islinda recoiled as if she had been struck physically even though she wasn’t. She looked at Aldric with wide, unbelieving eyes, an ache forming in her chest. Aldric was exhibiting behaviors that wasn’t like him.
Aldric remained unaffected by her words. If anything, the temperature in the hall fall, engulfing the place in coldness.
He clapped dramatically, "That was an exceptional performance, except did you think I would fall for that —" He mocked her.
"A-Aldric....." Her lips trembled.
"Elena told all that it is to you."
"Aldric, you shouldn’t trust —!"
"Stop trying to fool , you lying, conniving human!" He commanded her with reverberating intensity and she froze on his lap.
Aldric said with disgust, "Unlike my kind unable to spin untrue tales from their lies, you are good at it. From your excuses so far, you forget that you have the incentive to betray you. I tore apart your relationship with my brother and now you intend to do what? Have your revenge? " Aldric laughed mirthlessly. "Do you take for a fool?"
For a while, Islinda froze from shock. This right now felt like a dream to her. When it dawned on her that this was a reality, Islinda felt her heart break into a million pieces. His words strangely hurt her more than she thought it would.
It beca clear to Islinda that she could not fight her battles here. Whatever charm Elena placed Aldric under, she had to figure it out and break him out of it before it was too late. Then, she would kill Elena with her own hands afterwards. It was a promise.
Having given up, Islinda was about to get off Aldric’s lap only for him to wrap his hand around her.
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