Chapter 383: Unspoken Destinations

"Oh fuck! You saw!" Jade gasped, her face flushing as red as a tomato.

Aliana burst into laughter. "I have to admit... of all the things I expected to encounter during a late-night stroll in this house, that was certainly not on the list."

Jade covered her burning face with both hands. "I am so embarrassed, Ali. I just..."

"It is completely fine, Jade. As long as the two of you are happy, who am I to judge?" Aliana reassured her gently.

Jade slowly lowered her hands. "You... you are not upset with me?"

Aliana frowned in genuine confusion. "Why on earth would I be upset?"

"Because... he is so close to you and Gavriel."

"And? What does that have to do with anything?" Aliana asked.

"Well... what if it complicates things in the future if we-"

"Jade, as long as he treats you well and makes you happy, I do not care who you choose to date. You are both adults, and I know you made this choice together. Neither Gavriel nor I will ever step in or make things difficult for you."

Jade let out a long breath, her eyes shining with affection. "Thank you, Ali. That means the world to me."

.

As her best friend, Aliana worried about everything Jade was going through, but just as she had promised, she respected Jade’s choices.

Yet what Jade had said about becoming an aunt... only Aliana knew how deeply her heart bled at that thought.

A soft breath escaped her lips before she turned her gaze toward her husband.

For once, Gavriel was looking out the window himself rather than keeping his eyes trained on her as he usually did. Something about the sight affected her, and her eyes softened as she gazed at his beautiful face.

They had not spoken much beyond necessary conversations regarding the investigation and business matters over the past week. She was well aware that this was Gavriel respecting her space and offering silent support. Now that they were alone and away from the chaos, she craved the sound of his voice. She wanted to talk to him normally, the way she always had.

She reflected back to when she had first met him, when her only real problem was convincing this man to stay around her so another ghost would not pop up in her bathroom. Those days had certainly been a struggle, but they seemed so much lighter compared to the mountain of things she had been through since then.

Yet this was who they were, and Aliana had never been one to hesitate when reaching out to her husband.

But this was still them in the end, and Aliana had never been one to shy away from speaking to her husband.

Wanting to restore that same sense of normality between them, she spoke softly, "Gav?"

The moment his magnetic eyes turned back towards her, her heart gave a quick flip.

She frowned inwardly at the thought that even after all this time as his wife, her heart still reacted to something as simple as his gaze like a giddy teenager, and she had absolutely no defence against it.

When she didn’t say anything else, he raised an elegant brow at her.

Realising she needed to say something, she quickly gathered her thoughts and asked, "Did... Reve find anything regarding the attack?"

His sharp gaze studied her for a moment before he replied, "He confirmed that the attack was carried out by a supernatural entity. Possibly a demon, one of the creatures, or a dark witch. But our suspicion is that it was the same creature we encountered in Aria."

The familiar, uncomfortable dread settled over Aliana at the mention of the creature, but a new term caught her attention. "What is a dark witch?" she asked curiously, as this was the first time she had heard the term.

"Witches generally fall into two categories... light and dark," Gavriel explained. "While light witches practice natural magic by drawing energy from the earth, dark witches delve into black magic. Depending on their motives, they harvest power through blood sacrifices and various other nefarious means."

"Is that so..." Aliana murmured in awe. "I didn’t know we had witches living among us as well."

"They prefer to remain hidden," Gavriel said. "Because humans have slaughtered them throughout history, they generally avoid staying within society."

Aliana nodded as she processed the information before asking, "So... do they have a longer lifespan?"

"A witch’s lifespan depends entirely on their power," Gavriel replied. "However, despite their magic, they are physically vulnerable. They can die just as easily as humans if inflicted with fatal wounds."

"How fascinating," Aliana mused. "Can you tell if someone is a witch just by looking at them?"

"I can... the ones who don’t conceal their true nature," Gavriel replied.

Seeing the questions in her eyes, he continued, "Since they do not like being exposed, they usually use powerful spells to conceal their true nature. Some even go as far as sealing their magic within their bloodline so that their children are born without any trace of being witches and can live normal lives. But by doing so, they also lose the longevity that comes with their magic and die much earlier, just like humans." ℴ

"Even if they come from a line of powerful witches?" Aliana asked, surprised.

"Even then. Once their magic is sealed away, they are essentially no different from humans. The magic that grants them longevity is no longer accessible to them, so they lose that benefit as well."

"But why... would they go so far?" Aliana asked, genuinely confused. "Wouldn’t having magic and being able to defend themselves be better than having no powers at all?"

"They were treated horribly in the past, Ana. Whether by humans or demons, they were hunted down and killed. Those with the rare gift of seeing the future were exploited and tortured. That is why many of them began to see their magic as a curse and chose to seal it away completely rather than spend their entire lives hiding and living like fugitives."

"That is... terrible," Aliana murmured softly.

Gavriel nodded in agreement. "Remember when we were going to meet someone in Aria for answers?"

"Yes," Aliana replied, her interest piqued. "What about it?"

"We were supposed to meet a dark witch named Sofia," Gavriel revealed.

As Aliana’s eyes widened, he added, "I was reluctant to bring you on that trip because she harboured a deep hatred for humans, for the very reasons I just explained. She was an extraordinary witch who possessed the rare gift to see both the past and the future."

"Oh..." Aliana murmured, absorbing the information. She studied her husband thoughtfully before asking, "I remember asking you about her later, and you told me you could not locate her. What actually happened?"

"I wasn’t able to speak to her because I found her dead in the cave where she lived," Gavriel answered.

"How..." Aliana whispered, a chill running through her.

"Mord was behind her murder," Gavriel stated flatly.

Before they could speak further, the chime sounded, and the captain announced their final descent.

Aliana peered through the cabin window, her eyes lighting up with curiosity as she took in the lush, tropical greenery below. A vast body of water glimmered under the faint sunlight peeking through heavy rain clouds.

"Are you truly not going to tell me where we are?" Aliana asked, turning back to face Gavriel, who was now watching her intently.

"No," he offered his signature one-word reply.

"So secretive," she teasingly remarked, narrowing her eyes slightly at him before turning back towards the window.

A ghost of a smile touched Gavriel’s lips as he watched the genuine excitement return to her eyes after so long. He could only hope this journey would be good for her... for them.