The moment Drayce saw those panicking purple eyes, he immediately pulled her out of the water.
With a heavy gasp, she coughed violently, fighting for breath to make up for the lack of oxygen.
Cough! Cough!
"Seren?" Drayce gently called her name as he scooped her in his embrace. He immediately got her out of the bathtub, not minding that his clothes too were drenched with water.
The veiled woman didn't know what was going on as she continued to cough violently, and Drayce simply waited till she calmed herself, affectionately rubbing her back to help her ease down. The two elderly ladies felt relieved to see Seren finally awake. Though what Drayce did was unconventional, it worked to wake her up without hurting her.
Drayce carried Seren out of the side chamber and took her back to the bed when he realized her body was no longer hot; instead, she was now shivering. He carried her delicate body in his arms and joined her in bed, at the same time, wrapping the blanket around her dripping wet body.
In her husband's warm embrace, Seren felt better and slowly got back to her senses.
Drayce looked down at her face which was buried at the top of his chest. "Are you feeling better, Seren?"
She didn't reply and instead looked around to see where she was. From what she last remembered, she was being abducted by a mysterious group of people and a winged man came to her rescue.
"You are safe and back to the Crystal Palace, Seren," he answered her unspoken question.
She looked up at Drayce. "I am not dreaming, am I?"
"You are not," he replied.
Getting assurance from him, tears rolled down her already moist eyes. "They...they tried to take me away..." She started to cry.
"I know, I know... Sshh... there's no need to cry. Soon, I will punish them. But now just know that you are with me. You are safe here with me."
She hugged him back and continued to cry, the sounds of her sobbing getting louder with each passing second. "I...was scared...I was so scared. I didn't want to go...I thought I won't be able to see you again..."
"You are not going anywhere. I won't let anyone take you away," he guaranteed, sounding as gentle as he could be and wrapped his hands around her cold and wet body tightly, assuring her he was there to protect her.
Lady Tyra and Great Lady Theodora looked at each other with a smile and decided to leave. They could ask about her situation later. For now, they knew it was for the best to leave her alone with Drayce.
After the two old women left, the black-haired man continued to comfort his crying wife until her sobs turned into sniffles.
"Do you feel better?" he asked.
Her response was a small nod.
"You need to change out of your wet clothes. After that, we can talk," he suggested and she nodded once again like a kid. She had so many things going in her mind and didn't put a finger on what she should first think about. She decided to listen to what Drayce said.
Once she was changed into new clothes, Drayce covered her in another set of fresh blankets, keeping her comfortably warm. The servants had also brought freshly brewed tea for her. While she was having tea, Drayce sat next to her on the bed.
"Are you feeling warm now?"
She nodded and wondered if Drayce was aware of what exactly happened to her.
"I want to hear what happened. Tell me everything you can remember," he said since she was finally sober and finally able to talk.
Seren narrated to him the entire incident from the previous night, about how she followed an illusion in the form of Drayce that she later learned was created by that mysterious woman, how she ended up meeting them in the forest and how she tried to escape till she exhausted all her energy.
"...and then someone appeared out of nowhere but I don't know what happened after that. All I remember is that he had a pair of golden wings and I was lifted up in the air by that person."
"Hmm..."
Drayce could see Seren's side of the story related to what Aureus told him. Now that he no longer suspected Aureus, it was easier to link the clues of the incident based on the details of their narrations. After hearing everything she had to say, Drayce felt that the one who might hold the greatest clue was the one that helped Aureus and Seren escape from there.
"Do you remember someone else helping you?" he asked.
The young woman looked puzzled. Seren was unconscious by then so she had nothing to share about him.
She shook her head. "No, I passed out after being saved by the winged man. I don't even know how I am back here. Did you come to rescue me, Dray?" she asked.
He had a bitter expression on his face as he caressed her head. "I am sorry that you had to suffer all these in my absence and I didn't even come to help you. I failed to protect you."
She could see he was feeling guilty. "Please don't say that. I am glad that you are safe, that you didn't need to get involved. I am glad that I returned and I can finally see you...I..." She inhaled deeply to calm herself as she felt a wave of emotions she didn't understand. It felt like any moment now, she was going to cry. "I was scared I won't be able to see you again after they took me...I didn't want to go away from you...I want to be with you...I don't..."
Tears rolled down her eyes once again. He hugged her gently. "I will never leave you alone and unprotected like this again. This is my mistake. I underestimated the situation and failed to understand how seriously endangered you are," he said and then thought about his promise to Seren's father.
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Note-
Dear readers, In the month of September we are participating in winwin. If we make it to #3 rank in winwin, we will get a BADGE for the novel and you all will get it as well. We are at #4 rank right now. If you all wish to get a badge, then I wish you all to unlock as much as privileged chapter possible to get to #3. I hope we can do it this month.