Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Her throat was horribly parched, her fingers and toes numb. But none of that mattered. What mattered was that she was conscious again.
Again? Panic seized Arietta. The withdrawal symptoms had hit—sooner than expected, but manageable. In fact, the sooner, the better, in some ways. A few questions remained unanswered, but it was too late for answers now. She could let them go.
Could it be? Arietta remembered two pairs of eyes fixed on her as she collapsed. Had they taken me back to the Glass Dome mansion? If so, it was dreadful. In a way, it would mean Isaac was keeping his promise of making her suffer terribly. She didn’t want to open her eyes. She wanted to sink back into oblivion. If I open my eyes, I’ll see the familiar ceiling of my bedroom. I’ll hear Isaac’s voice beside me, mocking, sneering. Am I trapped in my annex bedroom, waiting for New Year’s Eve?
No, it couldn’t be. She had to die. For Isaac. She had to give him January 1st. And in doing so, she would hold his life hostage, and finally find eternal rest for herself… But if even this had failed, what else could she try?
Despair was consuming her when a voice, unfamiliar, broke through. “Are you awake?”
It was a man’s voice, gentle yet laced with an undercurrent of urgency and something almost combative. A soft, melodious voice that didn’t quite match the temperament it hinted at, piquing her curiosity.
Arietta’s senses slowly returned. The surface beneath her wasn’t the familiar bed in the annex. This one was harder, the sheets rougher. This isn’t the Glass Dome mansion, is it? Intuition struck. The air smelled different, too. The air in the Glass Dome mansion was purified, odorless no matter how deeply she inhaled. But here, the damp, bitter scent of Downstream hung heavy.
“Open your eyes.” The melodious voice urged her.
Arietta didn’t want to comply. Frankly, everyone besides Isaac and herself was irrelevant. The only exception was Seia, who was now dead. But curiosity gnawed at her. Whose was this voice, so insistent beside her?
Arietta opened her eyes. A sharp intake of breath sounded beside her. Silver-grey eyes looked towards the bedside. A young man, distinctly different from Isaac, was looking down at her. Isaac’s features were all sharp angles, from his forehead to his nose, cheeks, and jaw. Sharp enough to cut.
This young man was much more delicate. Clearly an adult, yet with a lingering boyish charm. But Arietta also detected arrogance and a certain haughtiness in the curve of his lips. Yet, his eyes held genuine admiration. Arietta felt as if he were being drawn into her.
Unlike Arietta’s rather detached observation, Benjamin was floundering in a wave of overwhelming sensation. Even with her eyes closed, she had been breathtakingly beautiful. But now, with her eyes open, her lips parting slightly, his toes curled and a shiver ran down his spine. Her long hair had a sheen even smoother than the ladies of the Sky City. Her translucent skin was almost pale, yet her lips were a vibrant red. Her grey eyes were slightly unfocused, their gaze hard to pinpoint, and yet it was this very quality that made Benjamin feel as if he were being pierced through. He unconsciously rubbed his chest.
“Do you remember collapsing?” Benjamin asked, using the tone he would reserve for a lady of the Sky City, not a woman of Downstream.
“I almost died,” Arietta murmured, a hint of regret in her voice.
But Benjamin seemed to have completely misunderstood. “Yes, you almost lost your life. But you were lucky. I found you.”
Arietta looked at him, bewildered. She frowned openly, and Benjamin closed his mouth, unsure what he had done wrong.
“…You picked me up?”
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