The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 73

"Why are you here? Where is Aether?" Xiao came over to meet his significant other after taking a quick few moments to check and be sure the Harbinger really was gone.

A gentle furrow of his brows and look of concern was all it took to make the girl shy away with guilt, feeling her stomach churn with anxiety.

Where should she begin? With her lies and deception, or just start with the good part about her possible occurring death soon?

Xiao decided to give her a little more time to calm down from her hysteria while he took the chance to come over and sit down on a rock beside her, taking hold of her wrist gently as he began looking her over, most likely for any possible injuries.

Bile threatened to rise in the girl's throat, the guilt of it all nearly eating her alive as she watched him continue to be a kind and devoting lover, all while staying respectful of her mental state and giving her whatever time she needed to gather her thoughts.

After a few more minutes of silence, Xiao had finished his examination, his look of confusion only deepening once he realized there wasn't even a singular scratch on her.

No bruises, no cuts, no nothing, and that was a first of her run ins with the Harbinger that had ended so cleanly.

Exhaling, the man raised a gloved hand to catch another tear that had been drifting its way down her cheek before it turned into a gentle caress, his thumb rubbing softly against her reddened cheekbone as she sniffled, unable to meet his gaze.

"I-I'm sorry-" Vena finally choked out, her voice instantly breaking as another tear fell, only to be caught and wiped away by Xiao's finger again.

"I'm so sor-ry," Slowly, she was brought into the man's loving arms, quickly burying her face in his chest in an attempt to hide away from her shame.

There was no reason for her to ever lie to Xiao. In all her years, he'd been one of the most truthful and trustworthy people she'd ever encountered, in this world and the next, yet she'd lied directly to his face.

"I'm here now, everything is okay. shhhhh..." The Adeptus gently spoke, his voice barely audible above the howling of the wind, not the least bit bothered by the soft raindrops now wetting both his hair and clothes as he held her tightly to his chest.

"It's no-t okay, I lied to you!" Vena finally broke away, feeling now as though she was undeserving of his comfort, her hands shaking as she weakly stood to her feet.

Again, Xiao's frown deepened, yet still remained soft as he also stood to his feet, his hand again half-reaching out to her until she took another step back away from him.

Was this another mental break? What had Scaramouche said to her to make her like this?

Slowly, Xiao's concerned eyebrows lowered, the realization setting in as he began to piece together what she was trying to admit.

Hand dropping to rest in his lap, he adverted his gaze, expression now blank as he stared off into the forest in deep thought.

"Aether wasn't ever going to meet you in the city, was he?" The tone in his voice made it more of a statement than an actual question, the bitterness almost physically paining the girl as she shook again with a cry.

"I'm so sorry-" She choked again, swiveling around and away, her throat feeling as if it was coated by thorns, unable to say anything more than a few words at a time.

Xiao gave a few curt nods despite the fact that she wasn't looking, his lips pressed together in a flat line as the unsettling sting swelled in his chest.

She lied to me.

"Why?"

There was no reason to ever lie to him.