Chapter 53:
Traitor
“What-” Silas stumbled over his wording, his mind begging his mouth to make a proper sound, “What do you mean?” Silas’s shaky breath spread out in the cold fall air, as he and Adora walked down a quiet alley. Adora glanced down at the cobbled alley and rubbed her arms, her face scrunching up as she breathed in the chilly city air. She breathed out with a heavy sigh.
“I said I’m working with Eva.” Adora said with a shake of her head, the puffs of air she breathed out circling her head, like a dragon blowing smoke. Her nose reddened as the cold air swirled around her like stars, making her appear cold.
“When? Why?” Silas asked, no more than a mumble as his shock twisted his tongue.
“It was right before you left the first time. To help Eva.” Adora began, thinking back to that time so many months ago. That smooth voice that grated her ears as she had said goodbye to Silas, unsure if she would ever see him alive again. As the front door of the bar closed behind Silas, Adora heard it.
“Poor thing, it’s hard to say goodbye.” A smooth voice said before her. That is when Adora turned to see the familiar woman standing behind her.
“What do you want?” Adora hissed out from clenched teeth, hostility hanging on her words.
“Come now, anger doesn’t suit you.” Eva said dismissively as she walked up to Adora’s table and slid into a seat, folding her legs and crossing her arms with a slow, natural elegance to her movements, “But I may have something that does, if you’re willing to hear me out.”
“Oh, there is nothing you can say to me that would make me want to listen to you.” Adora spat, turning her back to Eva as she prepared to stand up from her chair to leave. Eva’s voice, however, stopped her from leaving.
“I didn’t think you’d agree.” Eva responded with a smile on her rouged lips, “Especially since it pertains to your dear departing friend.”
“My what?” Adora quickly questioned. She found herself swinging around to face Eva before she could control herself. Knowing whatever Eva was about to say had something to do with Silas, Adora looked to Eva and said, narrowing her eyes, “What are you talking about?”
“Take a seat,” Eva chuckled, gesturing to the seat across from her with a gentle motion of her arm, “And I’ll tell you.”
Adora continued to glare at Eva, who seemed completely unfazed by Adora’s piercing stare, but Adora moved towards the seat and begrudgingly sat down, interested in what Eva had to say. She found herself curious, even if it were all nonsense as Adora first believed.
“Talk.” Adora said shortly, her hand inching near her sword on her hip.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Carefully, Eva looked at Adora’s hand and continued to smile, much to Adora’s anger, “I’m sure Silas has told you about the deal between him and myself.”
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“How am I supposed to trust what you’re saying?” Adora asked, watching Eva’s reaction, which was solely a deeper smile. The woman’s infallible smile ground on Adora’s nerves, but she clutched her hands at her side, keeping her rambunctious temper in check to hear more from Eva.
“I don’t care if you believe me.” Adora was not able to control her surprise, shocked by Eva’s admission as the other woman continued, “What I care about is if you are willing to help me. And I will reward you if you do.” Eva drummed her fingers against the table, the sound muffled with the fabric of her gloves, “I will tell you this though. My hatred of the humans of the Yursear kingdom runs deep. Much deeper than you could imagine or understand. I would in no way help any of those scum with any of their goals. For that alone, you can trust me enough to listen to what I am asking.”
“So what do you want?” Adora said, still very observant of Eva, but relaxing slightly. Her shoulders drooped a little as she released a short sigh, calming her heart as she continued to listen.
“I want allies.” Eva said, leaning heavily against the table excitedly. Her heated breath tickled Adora’s chin, which caused Adora to reflexively move back. Eva stayed leaning forward in her spot, her eyes twinkling like drops of dew under the morning sun, “And I want someone to lead these new allies. I’ve watched you for a while now, Colonel Adora, and I have seen your skills. Not only as a soldier, but as a leader. Your people respect you, and they listen to you.”
“So what?” Adora interrupted, a deep grimace growing on her face, “What does this have to do with Silas?”
“Poor thing, you really don’t get it, do you?” Eva said with a heavy laugh that immediately reignited Adora’s anger, “Why do you think Silas hasn’t been able to find his family? It’s not safe anymore for elves. Anywhere. Even if he does find them, how is he supposed to safely get them here?” Eva smiled at Adora’s angry, red face, “But I can help him, and all the elves on this continent. I,” Eva leaned forward again, her voice barely above a whisper, “am planning something very big, and I need help. If you help me, I will guarantee that Silas’s family, and all the other elves on this continent, will no longer have to live in fear. Help me, Adora, and you can make Silas’s dreams come true.” Eva reached out and grabbed Adora’s hand, clutching it tightly as Adora tried to pull her hand back with a forceful tug with no avail, “I was in love once, just like you are now, and the one thing I always wanted was to make my husband’s dreams come true. I would have done anything to do it. Don’t you want to make the man you love happy? To make his dreams come true?”
Adora finally managed to get her hand out of Eva’s with a firm shake, and Adora immediately recoiled her hand back, unable to stop Eva’s words from sinking into her mind as she rubbed her reddened hand absently.
All Silas wants is to be reunited with his family. Could I… help him do that? Would he…
Stopping her frenzied thoughts, Adora firmly shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts from her head, “You’re crazy.” Adora stood up, smacking the table with her palms as she stared at Eva with a fiery glare, “I won’t listen to this anymore!” She growled.
“If you leave, you’re making a mistake.” Eva responded, watching as Adora stepped out of the chair and began briskly walking towards the door, stopping just before the wooden door as Eva continued, “He will fail this mission, and when he does, I will make sure he never finds his family.”
Adora froze in her spot before she slowly turned her body to look at Eva. Eva smiled again.
“You can stop this though, Adora. Help me, and even if he fails, I will help him.”
“By the gods,” Adora said, stepping towards Eva, shaking her head, “You were never really after Silas, were you?” Eva’s smile sat unwavering as she leaned back in her seat, watching as she adjusted her skirt, “You used Silas, and his family, to get to me, didn’t you? You know who my father is, and what power he has, and you know how much I care about Silas. Silas is just a pawn for you, isn’t he? You don’t give a damn if he succeeds or fails, because your end goal was me, wasn’t it?”
Eva laughed again, her high-pitched laughter ringing in Adora’s ears as she raised her gloved hand to her lips, “My goodness, what a smart girl you are. You figured me out so quickly.” Eva wiped a tear that formed at her eye from her laughter, her gloved finger becoming damp, “Yes, I need you, Adora, not Silas. Though he is a helpful pawn, it’s you I want.” Eva finally stood up, dropping a small sheet of paper off on the table as she did, “But don’t make a decision today. Give it some time, think it over. When you’ve made a decision, follow the instructions on the paper, and I’ll find you.”
Adora’s eyes followed the piece of paper, staring at it intensely until she returned her gaze to Eva, “What if I tell Silas? About all of this? What if we both refuse?”
Without missing a beat, Eva retorted, “Do it.” Eva stepped up to Adora, moving around the table with deft movements like a snake charmer. Her tall heels clicked on the wood flooring, “Do you think he’ll believe you? Or even care, for that matter? If anything,” Eva whispered, placing a gloved hand on Adora’s shoulder, who was frozen in shock, “He’ll most likely hate you for it. For ruining this fantasy he has built in his mind of being the hero. He couldn’t save his village, he couldn’t save his wife, but just maybe he can save his family.” Eva mockingly whined in Adora’s ear, her warm breath spraying against Adora’s pointed ears.
“You evil bitch!” Adora said, slapping Eva’s hand off her shoulder. Adora immediately grabbed Eva by her shirt collar and slammed her back against a nearby table as she shook Eva by the fabric of her silk blouse. Looking into Eva’s eyes, Adora could only see a mocking darkness in her eyes, filled only with the desire to achieve her goals at whatever cost, even if that meant using Silas as a bargaining chip. Shaking Eva, someone suddenly approached the two from behind and Adora felt a large hand gripping her shoulders with a death grip. The hand was holding tight enough to make Adora grimace and weaken her hold.
“Don’t. I’m fine.” Eva said, her tone calm, but her eyes in annoyed slits. The hands on Adora’s shoulders let go, and the figure slipped back into the darkness. Eva immediately broke Adora’s tight grip and stepped around her with a flick of her leg, her skirt flicking behind her, “You know the rules now. I’ll be waiting for your response.”
Without another word, Eva slipped out of the bar, leaving Adora to crumple to the ground, trying to control the panic that was seizing her. Her breathing was heavy, and she hugged her arms at her side.
Returning to the present in her thoughts, Adora continued her words, “I left the bar that night with that slip of paper in my hands. So many nights, I waited to see Eva again, waiting for her to pop out of the shadows, demanding an answer. I never saw her again though. And I never contacted her.” Adora sighed and shook her head, “I’m not sure why either. I guess I just didn’t trust her, and I hoped that one day you would come back with your family…”
“By the gods.” Silas whispered as Adora finished retelling what happened. Her hands shakily slipped to her shoulders as she remembered the intense grip on them when she had threatened Eva. To this day, she found herself shocked that the figure’s iron-like grip had not broken her shoulder. The bruise that formed on her arm the next day highlighted that fact painfully. Hugging her shoulder, Adora shook her head, looking down wordlessly as they both comprehended what had been shared between them.
“Adora, I’m so sorry. I had no idea I was putting you in such a situation.” Silas shook his head, stopping and turning towards Adora. As Silas stared at Adora, he noticed she was trembling slightly and, with a sorrowful frown, he lifted his hands and grabbed Adora, pulling her into a tight hug, “I’m sorry, Adora. I’m so sorry. I’ve been so selfish. I even got annoyed when you tried to stop me from recontacting Eva. I’m so sorry.” He squeezed the shaking Adora a little tighter, remembering when his mother used to do this when Silas was afraid as a child.
I’ll squeeze all the fear away! Maeir used to happily say as she would hug Silas tightly, which always caused a shaking, terrified Silas to laugh. Rather than squeezing her arms tightly like Maeir, Silas began to pat her back lightly in a soothing fashion.
Adora squeezed back, her face pressed against Silas’s chest. She blinked rapidly as she tried to control her crazed emotions, holding back tears.
“Do you feel better?” Silas asked, looking down at the black hair resting on his chest. The black-haired head nodded a little before pushing Silas back gently, which Silas immediately responded to by releasing his grip. Adora turned her body away from Silas, trying to hide her blushing face as she pulled at her hair. Silas was confused by Adora’s actions at first, but soon he blushed in understanding and quickly said,
“I’m sorry, Adora!” Silas’s face scrunched in embarrassment, “You just seemed kind of scared by remembering it, and my mother used to do the same thing to me when I was scared! Please don’t be mad at me! I promise I wasn’t trying to do anything!” He lifted his hands innocently, feeling as though he were soothing a child rather than his colonel.
“You’re an idiot.” Adora mumbled as she pushed her hair behind her ear, her face returning to its normal shade, “What if someone saw us? What would they think?” She admonished, hiding her embarrassment by yelling at Silas.
“I’m sorry, Adora.” Silas said, blushing harder at the idea of embarrassing Adora or making her look bad in front of her men, “I would take fault and explain. I wouldn’t let people think we were in a relationship or anything of the sort!”
Adora grimaced and had to stop herself from punching Silas, “Never mind. You’re such an idiot. I don’t know why I’m helping you.” Adora quickly began walking through the alley, putting distance between herself and Silas.
“Adora, wait!” Silas said, running after her. This caused Adora to begin running, faster than Silas, “I’m sorry!”
“Go away, you idiot!” Adora said, running through the alley, as she tried to control a laugh that was building in her chest, “Keep it up, and I’ll tell my father what you did.” At this point, Adora could not control her laugh, and she howled as she tried to continue running. Silas stopped in his tracks as he deeply frowned.
“Please don’t tell him. He would want us to get engaged.” Silas responded seriously, his brows scrunching up in worry.
Adora laughed harder, which caused her to stop running altogether. Silas finally walked towards and caught up to Adora. As he heard her laugh echo out into the alley, he couldn’t help but laugh too. All that could be heard around them was the cold air blowing and the sound of their warm laughter.
“By the gods, could you imagine that?” Adora said between her laughter, attempting to catch her breath, “We would be a silly-looking couple.”
“Yeah,” Silas said, as he chuckled and shook his head, “It’s that or your dad would make me clean the soldiers’ chamber pots for a week.”
Adora howled even harder, and this caused Silas to laugh again too. Their laughter echoed throughout the long alley, causing people to peek their heads out their shuttered windows to find the source of the sound. Their curious stares quickly stopped Adora and Silas’s laughter, and the two quickly ran out of the alley in embarrassment. They had spent too long playing around between their training sessions. It seemed they would have to spend extra time tonight working.
…
For those wondering when Adora and Eva met, that was in chapter 20 ♥ Here we are, back to it, learning more and more about Eva and her intentions. Clarence will be back next chapter, so don’t worry! 😀 Adora has yet to accept Eva’s offer, but we’ll see what’ll happen with Silas and future missions as we keep going. Has this chapter changed how you view Eva at all? >u<
Hunny and I are finally able to invest in a side project we’ve been looking at for a while now too. If I get that job, things will be in a much better place for us too ;u; Interview is set, and fingers are crossed. Once my confidence returns, webtoon work will resume as well. Writing and drawing at the same time is hard, but with the looming side project in mind, I’ll keep moving forward! Hunny’s been busting her buns for me on that, so a huge thank you to her for all the shit she does for me ;;
Thank you guys for reading, as always ♥ Hopefully things are going well for you all. Another huge thanks to my friends Neko, JinJin, and Coco for listening to my tangents. Looking forward to a round of Jackbox with you all soon!
well I never really liked Eva so.. xD now I like her less.
I hope everything goes well with the job, good luck and thanks for the chapter!
Metros estoy preguntando si este es un fic bl?