Chapter 167: The Summon
Annalise remained standing there outside the library for the next couple of moments as she couldn’t decide if she should enter or not considering Valerius especially told his brothers not to disturb him.
She turned her attention away from the library’s door to look around and found pure darkness and eerie silence of the night surrounding her, not a single lantern was lit across the entire hallway.
She took in a deep breath before returning her attention to the door in front of her as she continued to contemplate her next move. It took another couple of long moments but she eventually made her decision.
Mustering up the courage, she creaked open the door enough to slip inside while clutching the robe tightly around her frame as this particular floor of the castle was filled with chilly air that had nothing to do with the absence of light. She wondered if it was related to her husband who was somewhere between the long shelves of books that greeted her enhanced eyesight upon entering the library.
She followed her bond with Valerius which led her to the very farthest corner of the library and she found the first dark lord sitting on a big couch with dozens of scrolls, old bindings, and parchments scattered all over the wooden table in front of him.
Unlike the rest of the library or the entire floor, this particular area was filled with warmth and brightness as dozens of candles were lit around the place, and even a group of moonstones were floating in the air, providing further warmth and brightness.
"Why are you not sleeping at this hour of the night?"
The sudden question from the lord surprised Annalise who was peeking from behind a shelf while making sure that her presence won’t disturb him. Yet, he seemed to have noticed her which did make sense considering he was an immortal with keen senses and also the bond that she shared with him, it was impossible for him not to feel her presence in the library.
"I..." She slowly stepped out of the shadows and moved a couple of steps toward him but stopped soon as she wasn’t sure if her presence there was actually invited or not. "... I woke up and decided to get some air... and came here to check on you... I... I will leave now..."
She didn’t even wait for a single second before turning around as she was ready to flee from there but was stopped before she could have taken even a single step away.
"If you don’t mind, can you accompany me for a while?" His voice was just as soft as the warmth that was filling the air and it made all her worries and anxiety disappear.