Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 128: No One Will Hurt You

Chapter 128: No One Will Hurt You

Ivan’s oddly calm presence had gained the attention of everyone present in the orb room, and unlike them whose expressions were morphed into one of disbelief and shock, Ivan’s laid-back demeanor remained unfaltering as he stepped inside. A look of relief washed over Claire’s face to see Ivan coming to her aid, and in order to gain his attention, she let out a shrill cry, loud enough for him to hear so he could take note of the life threatening predicament she unprecedentedly found herself in.

"Ivan!"

"Hold on, going anywhere near her will trigger the vines." Tobias immediately warned his cousin who stopped in his gait, but he neither retreated nor approached. The last thing everyone needed to witness presently was a situation that could not be explained...and this? If everyone of them is finding it difficult to understand why Samantha was being embraced by the same vines that is threatening to kill Claire, then the least they could do was stay patient and calm, but then, that rule didn’t apply to Ivan who had stayed still in an attempt to ponder more on his pensive thoughts.

His crimson eyes looked up to stare at his little lamb whose subconscious feelings were automatically controlling the actions of the vines... her heart was in terrible pain, and her pain had triggered the Orb room into seeking vengeance on her behalf. Ivan didn’t want to show any form of reaction since there were times he found his little lamb distinct from normal humans, but was he surprised that his little orb possessed the powers of the orb, very likely yes!

It was a dangerously beautiful sight!

Eamon’s lips set into a thin line as he watched Ivan move forward, deliberately ignoring the advice of Tobias, but as the vampire Lord approached the servant who hovered mid-air, the vines, which had stopped everyone else from going near Samantha, didn’t come in his path, to their bewilderment. When a guard tried to seize the opportunity to finally get closer and free the vampiress, it wasn’t the vines who stopped him this time, but it was Ivan himself, as merely darting a glance at the guard had him flung to the side by a strong invisible force that sent him breaking through the glass window and down to his doom. The guards who pointed weapons at his little lamb were being compelled to drop them, and the minute the weapons were discarded, Ivan’s fist clenched hard, and the glass shards from the broken windows moved in lightning speed to slit the throat of all the guards who made attempts to go near his little lamb, whilst ending their mysery with a quick death that left everyone, especially Carina and son in a state of mental shock.

"I dare any single person in this room to try and harm her, your heads will be flying off the window next!" He warned, and there was nothing that hinted his malevolent statement as a joke.

"Ivan?" Carina, who seemed a little relieved at first that Ivan was going to stop this strange phenomenon, was left staring aghast as he came to stand at the spot where Samantha’s body remained afloat. Turning around to look at his family, a disdainful smirk curved his sinful lips, and before everyone else knew what was happening, Eamon, including Carina and the guards who had whipped his little lamb earlier, were instantly wrapped by the vines, and in one swift motion, they were hoisted aloft with Claire, ready to be devoured by hungry plants that uprooted from the ground below, breaking through the cemented floor.

"Get away from me! What is this madness?!" Eamon tried to claw his way through using his vampiric nails, but when he eventually succeeded in freeing himself, another vine was prepared to catch him before he could drop to the ground. He was hoisted up once more, and he could feel his powers weaken with each squeeze of the vines as they continued to drain his energy. The screams of his Mother and his sister filled the air as they tried to avoid the cannibalistic plants that were ready to feast on their flesh.

"What are you doing?! What sort of trap are you getting us into?" Demanded Eamon who felt more infuriated by the smirk plastered on Ivan’s face. "Care to explain what this is about? I deserve to know!"

"It’s called reaping what you sow." Ivan quipped in a matter-of-fact tone before he deadpanned. "Humiliating my little lamb in front of everyone, calling her names, whipping her for the people of EmptyHollow to see and witness.. did you really think you’d get away with it?" A derisive scoff escaped his lips, and he clicked his tongue.

"I told you didn’t I? You have way too much to lose here and I... I am going to see to it that you become ruined, Eamon, same way you made me feel ruined all those years ago. Being generous, let’s say you eventually get the crown and become King, it will be useless since a stone statue cannot rule in your absence." He hinted, and Eamon’s expression paled drastically at the meaning behind his phrase.

"You wouldn’t dare! Drop me this instant!" Eamon challenged as he still struggled with the vines, but each struggle led to the vines hold tightening around him. He had to stop before his bones eventually get crushed from excess squeezing.

Claire and her Mother were both mortified, they exchanged glances that told them of their incoming doom if no one does anything to save them.

Lady Agathe, who was quite frightened by the sight had to stay behind Tobias who took a careful step forward, posing no harm or threat, and his eyes moved to Ivan who had stretched his hand forth, as if compelling the mystical vines to hand his little lamb to him since she would be safe from now on. With a vampiric force he had learned to control, Ivan gently pulled Samantha’s body down until she dropped perfectly into his outstretched arms, and only then did a flicker of warmth reach his cold eyes as he crouched on one knee so he could hold her protectively, whilst taking note of her wounded back.

He brushed aside her hair from her face, and despite what was happening within the premises, he proceeded to plant a lingering kiss on her forehead. "You’re safe now." He whispered as he rested his forehead against her own, his heart yearning to see her regain consciousness again.

At that moment, Samantha’s lashes fluttered frantically, and it didn’t miss Ivan’s notice as a glint of hope reached his eyes. When her lashes slowly fluttered open to reveal a pair of emerald green eyes staring right back at him, he noticed the way her gentle eyebrows creased in slight confusion, as if she didn’t understand what was happening, and then all of a sudden, her body jerked up as she threw her arms around Ivan’s neck, automatically pulling him into a hug he hadn’t expected as she clutched tight against him in fear, refusing to let go, and when Ivan made an attempt to gently pull her back, she shook her head vigorously, refusing to let go.

"I... I don’t know what they’re talking about!" He heard her sob in a voice that broke his heart, to his bewilderment. "I don’t know anything, I don’t want to get hit! Why won’t they believe me?!! Why won’t they.... it hurts!"

"Little Lamb." Ivan’s soothing voice that sounded like silk against her ears, had Samantha snapping out of the trance that made her illusion herself still being humiliated in front of the capital’s Town square. "I believe you, okay? I’ll always believe you, no matter what. No one will hurt you."

He promised with a depth in his voice, one he was sure he would never break, whilst his hand moved up to the back of her neck as he embraced her in return. Samantha, who had to pull back from the hug to look at Ivan in order to confirm she hadn’t imagined his presence, or his word, her eyes searched his for some unblinking seconds before they turned watery, and he shook his head slowly as if persuading her not to cry anymore.

"Lord Ivan?" So many emotions stirred within her at that moment, seeing him in front of her, comforting her. "Thank you." She hugged him yet again as tears slipped from her eyes, and since she refused to let go, Ivan had to pick her up that way, and there was absolutely nothing that could express how he felt to know she could still hold onto him even during her hard times.

She was still under her emotional trauma that she failed to see exactly what she had done. The only thing her disoriented senses were aware of currently was Ivan’s comforting hold and the biting ache in her back. Ivan strode towards where Tobias stood and said.

"I need you to lock the doors for me when you leave. Don’t try to fight them, or you’ll end up there with the rest of them." He advised Tobias before exiting the orb room with his little lamb, but even after she awoke, the vines still held on to Claire and the rest of them. Knowing the three of them deserved the treatment, Tobias simply turned around to leave with Alistair and his Mother who were now the ones to shake their heads in pity.

"No! Wai–" before Claire could beg them not to leave, one of the vines wrapped her mouth, keeping her shut including the rest of them. Slowly, they were being buried under the thick vegetations, the cannibalistic plants returning underground as well.