When Drayce and Seren entered the ice cave, only Evanthe was present inside, waiting for them. She welcomed the two with a light smile and Seren could not help but observe her with a keen gaze.
This woman in front of her who introduced herself as her protector was the mother of her husband, her mother-in-law, Esther Ivanov. The woman greatly cherished by Great Lady Theodora and the disreputed queen who had sacrificed herself in the dark for Megaris.
Aside from admiration, Seren suddenly found herself growing cautious like any young wife would when facing her in-laws. She recalled their first meeting, how bold and careless she acted earlier, even raising her voice and questioning her mother-in-law blatantly.
'Did I make her unhappy? I did sound rude...'
"Please have a seat," Evanthe gestured to the two.
Seren sat on one of the ice chairs, but Drayce remained standing while looking around the place. He could feel that the temperature had dropped by several levels from earlier. Every breath he took would emit fog in front of him.
Evanthe looked at him and answered his doubts. "We did some calculations after seeing Seren earlier and adjusted the strength of the spells. Everything is in order and there won't be any leak of her powers with the current state of the barrier."
Drayce nodded and simply made sure that the thick coat Seren was wearing was fastened properly. Even with his sturdy body, he was somewhat uncomfortable with the bone-chilling coldness inside the cave, what more his fragile wife.
Evanthe went to him. "Martha found you earlier, didn't she? As she must have explained to you, you will have to rely on Erebus when the time comes."
Drayce agreed. "I know."
"Darkness is the strongest attribute when it comes to stealth. It can hide the presence of other elemental attributes. This is what kept Seren safe so far, because your magic has been inevitably shielding her till date.
"Tonight, the two powers inside her will produce a phenomena ordinary darkness could not cover up so your power has to be at its peak to avoid accidents."
"I understand...Lady Evanthe."
Though he replied in a calm manner, their strained interaction made his mood low. He had almost instinctively called her mother, just like the obedient little Dray would in the past.
Evanthe could see that little conflict on his face but she pretended otherwise.
As the mother and son were conversing, Seren could not help but compare their looks.
'He doesn't look like his mother. His eye color, the shape of his eyes, even his hair--his features are nothing like her...um,? His nose maybe? It's a little sharper than hers but kind of similar.
'Oh, I see... his worried expression resembles hers. They both like to pretend that nothing is wrong, that everything is fine, but their fake calmness looks so unnatural, people simply agree even though they are not convinced.'
Then she realized something.
'If Dray doesn't look like his mother then...his father? Does the Devil look like this?'
Her eyes widened a little as she entertained herself, imagining meeting her father-in-law who no one dares talk about. She wondered if he looked like her husband.
The Devil ought to be immortal and never aging like Evanthe. Would he look like a young man too?
'Father and son must look alike then, maybe like twin brothers if placed side by side?'
"Seren, what are you thinking about? Are you uncomfortable? Are you feeling cold?" Evanthe asked, her voice gentle and caring which reminded Seren of the way Drayce always spoke to her.
"No, no, I am fine," Seren replied, startled to be suddenly spoken to. She then looked around and wondered where the other white-robed woman was.
"Are you looking for Sierra? She has other things to do, so she won't be with us tonight," Evanthe answered Seren's unspoken question.
Seren stopped looking around and nodded. For some unknown reason, she felt disappointed. Wasn't Sierra her protector too? Why would she leave on the night they said she would be in great danger?
"Lady Evanthe?" Seren asked, her tone polite. "Can I ask what I am going to do? You have been arranging things with Dray, but never mentioned what I need to do. I mean, do I just wait here the entire night?"
"Indeed," the woman replied. "Your body is a vessel, and we have made ample arrangements to make sure nothing will go wrong tonight. All we need to do is wait.
"The moment your mortal body turns eighteen years of age, the seal on your innate power will temporarily unravel. Think of it as a sign of your magic maturing along with you becoming an adult.
"However, since your attribute is earth, then it will also strengthen the fire inside you. After suppressing them for long, their eruption will be strong. The problem is that you cannot control it, and chances are high they will collide with each other. The King of Megaris and I are here to control them in your stead."
Seren stayed quiet. After a while, she asked, "Umm, when exactly was I born? At the strike of midnight?"
"An hour after midnight to be precise," Evanthe replied. "It is just that we plan to begin casting spells on you starting from midnight as an act of caution. Better to be overly careful than regret it later."
Seren nodded, thinking these protectors of hers had been truly working hard for her sake. She wanted to ask more, but she pressed her lips into a thin line.
Would it be fine for her to keep asking questions?
Though Seren's expression was hidden under the veil, Evanthe could guess her thoughts from those beautiful eyes of hers.
Evanthe sat in the chair opposite to her. "If you have anything else to ask, I will do my best to answer them. We have time to spare until we begin anyway."
It was Evanthe's effort to make Seren feel at ease. If they were to stay inside the cave without doing anything, she might end up more and more anxious, which would be detrimental to their mission of protecting her.
Seren looked at Evanthe with a hesitant gaze. "Can I? Earlier..."
"As long as it's something I can answer," Evanthe continued with a light smile.