Chapter 299: In Trouble
Riela’s recovery went smoothly, and as soon as she was well enough, Gavriel asked Prophet Elior to explain everything that had happened to her.
Today, Althea visited Riela for tea on the palace balcony on the palace’s second floor that faced the forest on the west side. One of the reasons she had come was because she still occasionally noticed foul spirits lingering outside Riela’s bedchamber.
Fortunately, none of them could get near her anymore because Riela had been assigned a guardian angel of her own.
“How are you feeling?” Althea asked.
Riela had remained weak for three days after waking up. During that time, Lord Arturo had barely left her side, personally taking care of her.
“I’m feeling much better now. It’s just that...” Riela hesitated as her gaze drifted toward the far side of the balcony.
Althea followed her line of sight and immediately frowned.
Standing in that exact spot was the guardian angel who had been watching over Riela.
‘Could it be that she can see him?’ Althea wondered in surprise.
She met the angel’s gaze and asked quietly, “She can see you?”
The angel smiled and nodded.
“You can see him too?!” Riela suddenly burst out.
When Althea turned back, Riela was staring at her with wide eyes and parted lips.
Althea gave her an awkward smile before nodding.
“I thought I was hallucinating!” Riela exclaimed, still unable to believe it. “But how can you
talk to him? I tried speaking to him, but he never responds.”
“Hm, it seems you’ve become more sensitive to the spiritual realm, much like Kael,” Althea explained. “But not everyone who has been delivered from demonic spirits receives the same gift.”
She glanced toward the angel before continuing.
“Kael can sense and see dark spirits after a few days of his recovery, but he cannot see angelic beings like you can. As for your own spiritual gift, I’m not entirely sure of exact scope of it is yet. But you don’t need to be afraid. I’ll help guide you through it.”
Riela nodded slowly.
“Prophet Elior explained everything to me,” she admitted. “But I’m still confused by it all. I thought it would be best to keep it to myself for now and observe things first.”
Althea nodded in understanding.
“That angel is protecting you from evil spirits,” she said gently. “But you also have to do your part. You need to guard your heart and mind, make sure you don’t become vulnerable to them again.”
Her tone grew more serious.
“You must make sure there are no open doors left for dark spirits to linger around you. Darkness is drawn to sin and to negative emotions when we allow them to rule our lives.”
Riela lowered her gaze thoughtfully before nodding once more. “I understand.”
“Also, I want to congratulate you,” Althea said with a wide smile. “I heard we’ll be having more weddings soon. The Queen Mother has been so busy preparing for a double wedding. Honestly, I’ve been encouraging her to hold her own wedding ceremony on the same day.”
The thought of witnessing a triple wedding at the palace was simply too exciting.
Uriel and Beatrice. Riela and Lord Arturo. And of course, the Queen Mother and Minister Marius.
“Don’t worry,” Riela said with an amused smile. “I’ll help convince Mother. Her wedding is long overdue.”
Then her expression became more serious.
“Honestly, I can hear voices sometimes. Most of them aren’t clear enough to understand, but I believe they belong to those bad spirits trying to get near me.”
She glanced toward where her guardian angel had been standing moments ago.
“The voices are faint, probably because my angel deals with them before they can come close. I just wish I could communicate with him. He isn’t always visible either. Sometimes he appears blurry, and then he suddenly disappears.”
Althea nodded in understanding.
“Don’t worry. Gavriel and I created a special group to help people strengthen and better understand their spiritual gifts. The goal is to help them grow in their abilities and learn how to use them against evil forces.”
She smiled reassuringly. “You won’t have to figure everything out on your own, Riela. We’ll help you every step of the way.”
Riela reached for Althea’s hands and gently squeezed them.
“I’m really glad you became part of our family, Althea,” she said sincerely. “Gavriel isn’t the only fortunate one. We are too. Thank you for always having our backs.”
The heartfelt words filled Althea with warmth.
“We’re family, Riela,” she replied with a smile. “And I’m grateful that all of you accepted me as well.”
Just then, Beatrice approached with Ash in her arms.
The moment the little wolf saw Althea, he immediately wriggled free and bounded toward her.
“Ash!” Beatrice exclaimed.
The wolf quickly jumped onto Althea’s lap, making himself comfortable.
Althea laughed softly and began stroking his fur.
“Hey, you!” Beatrice scolded. “Be careful when you pounce like that. Our Queen is pregnant!”
Ash merely barked at her in response. That only made Riela laugh.
“Ash just missed me,” Althea said fondly as she continued petting him. “He hasn’t been able to get close to me these past few weeks.”
She buried her fingers into his soft fur and smiled.
Fortunately, she was no longer as sensitive as she had been during the early months of her pregnancy. Having already passed her first trimester, she was feeling much stronger now.
Not even a second later, Gavriel arrived.
“There you are!” he exclaimed as he strode toward her.
Then he turned to Beatrice and Riela.
“I need to borrow my wife for a while.”
Before either of them could respond, he was already helping Althea to her feet and taking her hand.
“What is it?” Althea asked curiously as he led her away.
But Gavriel merely smiled and refused to answer.
The moment they reached the bottom of the stairs, he suddenly stopped.
Then, to her surprise, he gently covered her eyes with a blindfold.
“What are you doing?” she asked, laughing.
“It’s supposed to be a surprise,” Gavriel replied. “So no peeking.”
Althea shook her head in amusement. “You’re being mysterious today.”
“I have to be,” he said proudly. “Otherwise, it won’t be a proper surprise.”
Before she could say anything else, Gavriel carefully lifted her into his arms. “Gavriel!”
“Relax,” he chuckled. “I’ll carry you there. Just stay in my arms and trust me.”
“Fine,” Althea said with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “But if I don’t like your surprise, you’ll be in trouble.”
Gavriel chuckled. “Then I suppose I’d better make sure you love it.”