Empire of Eternals (Book 1 of The Eternal Series) ✔️

Chapter 31 | Once Upon A Goodbye

The next day, Anderson Manor, outskirts of Naarden

***Adriana Anderson POV***

I leaned against the banister of the sunroom, my arms crossed as my weight pushed against the open door frame, my eyes intently scanning Aiden's every movement as he flicked through his book that he had been reading since morning.

Ever since the Amulet was stolen, there was nothing we could do to help The Director or assist him in any way possible. Because I failed to get the Amulet, Aiden wasn't going to be publicly pardoned for the crimes he never committed. And ever since then, we had a lot of free time on our hands.

"Aiden?" I called out, our gaze meeting as I stepped forward on my feet

"Can we talk?"

He blinked, flipping his book shut before throwing it onto the spare couch. He sat up straight, our eyes looking over at each other as I stood in front of him. I was tempted to tell him the truth, to explain where I had been yesterday afternoon. But, I knew I couldn't. I had to do this on my own.

"What is it?" He asked, his head tilted back slightly as he looked up at me

I smiled in response, slowly moving my arms as I slid them around his back, the palm of my hands resting on the black fabric of his shirt as my knee pushed against the soft material of the couch in between his open legs.

His fingers instinctively slid around to the side of my waist, digging them into my flesh as the pad of his thumb caressed against my exposed skin from my short shirt. His breath was warm and sweet, his eyes glimmering like the meteor shower last night. I was having second thoughts on whether I should leave or not.

"The day I graduated, The Director offered for me to be a director for the second boarding school." I informed, looking down at him

"Since there's nothing we can do about Kristopher, I've decided that I'm going to be a director."

"So, does that mean you're leaving?" He spoke, his voice full of worry as his brows knitted

"For a while. But you can always visit me. While I'm there, I can take care of some family business." I confessed, resting my hands on the nape of his neck

I forced a small smile on my face, a smile full of reassurance, though it didn't provide Aiden with any. The distress of me leaving was visible on his face as he averted his gaze from, his eyes peeled to the carpet underneath the glass table as I intently looked at him.

"What?" I asked

"Aren't you excited that your girlfriend's going to be a director?"

"I am." He answered, looking back at me

"Just processing the fact that I'm going to end up being lonely for a while."

I let out a deep sigh, clicking my tongue in annoyance as I pursed my lips inwards. As horrible as it felt for me to lie to him, I knew I had to do it, to spare the burden of the truth. I couldn't tell Aiden about this trip Alex and I were going on, especially if it meant that he and I wouldn't return alive.

"Well, you could always end up going back to the bureau and have that spell taken out of your mind." I informed, speaking lowly

"And after you've done that, you can visit me at the facility in Austria where I'm going to be training."

He looked up at me, his eyes narrowed as his brows furrowed. His soft lips turned into a small smile, though my constant persistence annoyed him when I told him to get that spell out of his mind. But if the person who mind-controlled Aiden was the same person who told The karlsten's to bring Kristopher back to life, what were the chances they weren't going to come back for him again?