CHAPTER 61: MELTS INTO THE NIGHT

"Aldriana?" Liam calls softly, half believing she’s really there and half believing he’s dreaming.

Aldriana slowly lifts her head to look at him.

The gaze strikes Liam deep. He can feel her power in that look, radiating off her like heat.

"I heard you’re looking for me."

Liam swallows. "Yes, I am."

Her dark eyes fix on him. "Why?" Her voice is low but clear. It isn’t overly feminine, yet not masculine either. Liam struggles to describe it.

"Because you cleared the dungeon, which makes you the holder of the majority of the mining rights. By law, no one else can mine the Heartstones if you haven’t claimed them."

She blinks slowly. "By my absence, I’m sure you know I don’t want the Heartstones."

Liam nods. "Yes, I guessed that. But without the rightful owner, others will fight for them. The city isn’t strong enough to fend off every faction. And I’ve already told the public it wasn’t me who cleared the dungeon, so I can’t claim it."

"Then let her claim it." Aldriana nudges her chin toward Theo, still sleeping like a baby, unaware of anything.

Liam follows her gaze. "Thea? Will the public believe it?"

Aldriana smirks. "I’m sure you can think of something to make them believe her." She turns, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Liam calls out.

"Anything else?" Without turning, she tilts her head slightly.

"Yes! Please teach me how to wield Heartstone energy."

She smirks again. "What makes you think I will?"

Liam sucks in a breath. She doesn’t deny it. That means she really can do it!

"Help me lower the mortality rate of explorers. You know how dangerous dungeons can be. The last one was a mutated dungeon, it was two separate ones merging into one. The double-headed serpent you killed didn’t have two heads. I was fighting it in a different dungeon, it was a one-headed water serpent, the Dungeon King."

"We humans can’t fight mutated haelions or anything stronger than a regular Dungeon King. But with your help, we have a chance." Liam speaks passionately, half pleading.

She turns to face him. "By just you alone?"

Liam meets her eyes, full of determination. "Yes. For a start. With your permission, I’ll train others too."

"You’re not stupid. You know I dislike publicity. I don’t want to come forward for anything."

Liam’s breath hitches. She hasn’t rejected me outright. She must want something.

"Thank you for not rejecting me right away. I’m sure there’s something I can help you with."

Aldriana smiles faintly. "As I said, you’re not stupid. We’ll talk later. Take her home first. I’ll find you."

"May I choose the place, so you don’t waste energy searching for me? I’m sure you have your ways, but I’d like to make it easier."

Aldriana smiles sincerely this time. "Fine."

"I have a place not far from here, closer to Arvion. It’s an empty building. I just bought it yesterday." Liam gives her the address.

"Fine. We’ll meet there in two hours."

Aldriana turns away, walks off, and slowly disappears.

The surroundings return to normal. The sun has just set, and the traffic resumes. Liam finds himself standing safely on the side of the road, his car parked nearby, Theo still asleep inside. He gets back in, checks on Theo, buckles his seat belt, and exhales slowly to calm his nerves.

His heart is pounding hard in his chest. Both hands rest on the steering wheel, his forehead pressed against it as he regulates his breathing.

Liam has faced many dangerous situations, many strong haelions, but none compare to what he just experienced. He can’t believe how nervous he was—and part of him is thrilled that he now has an appointment with Aldriana.

Calm down, Liam. At least you’ve found her, and she’s willing to talk. That’s a very good sign.

His phone vibrates. He glances at the screen and taps the green button.

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"Liam! Finally! Are you okay?" Arthur exhales in relief as the call connects.

"Yes, I am." Liam’s voice sounds a little breathless.

"You really okay? Where were you?"

"You’re tracking me?"

"No, don’t be stupid. I’m tracking Thea," Arthur scoffs.

"Oh. Okay. I was... with Aldriana."

"What?"

"Yeah. I was heading toward the Estate when suddenly... Look, I’m about twenty minutes away. Thea’s sleeping. It’s better if she rests in her own bed, right? I’ll meet you at the Estate, and we’ll talk there."

Arthur sighs. "Okay. Be careful."

He hangs up and immediately calls Julian. Before he can say anything, Julian says, "Yeah, I know. Her signal’s back."

"Turn around. I just talked to Liam, he’s heading toward the Estate. We’ll meet him there. You can talk to him first."

"Got it." Julian ends the call, makes a U-turn, and drives back toward the Estate, anxious and alert.

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The front gate to the Estate opens.

Liam is surprised to see Julian standing outside his car, waiting for them at the gate. He stops the car and lowers the window.

"What’s going on? Why are you waiting here instead of at the house?" Liam asks, baffled.

"And risk Thea losing her freedom?" Julian shoots back.

"I don’t see the connec—ah! Today’s her first day out alone, and if your mother figures out something happened, even if Thea comes back unscathed, she’d still make a fuss, and Thea might lose her hard-earned freedom?"

"Bingo! I’m glad to see you’re not stupid." Julian grins.

"You’re not the first to say that to me today. Why does everyone think I’m stupid?" Liam mutters.

"What?" Julian tilts his head. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing. Why don’t we move our cars further in? They won’t be seen from outside, but still far enough to avoid your mother’s view."

"Good idea. I know just the spot. Follow me."

Julian gets into his car and drives slowly ahead. When he reaches the spot, he parks and steps out. Liam does the same.

"Look, I’m kind of in a hurry to get back. I’ll tell you everything so you can explain it to your big brother. If he has more questions, he can call me himself. Okay?"

"Okay." Julian nods.

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"So... after this, you’re going to meet her?" Julian asks, eyes wide.

"Yes. I need to reach the place in two hours—well, now it’s ninety minutes. That’s why I can’t really stay and talk to you guys. I’m sure you understand." Liam replies.

"I do. It’s really good if this Aldriana is actually real," Julian says just as Arthur pulls in and parks beside them.

Arthur gets out of his car, and the first thing he does is check on Theo, still asleep in the passenger seat. He sighs in relief, then turns his attention to Liam.

"So, you told Julian about your meeting with Aldriana?" Arthur gets straight to the point.

"Yes, I told him everything. Arthur, he can fill you in later, and if you still have more questions, you can call me. But right now, I really need to get back," Liam says hurriedly.

Arthur looks at Julian, sees him nod, then turns back to Liam. "Okay. But you need to take Thea home yourself—and show yourself to my mother." Arthur holds his gaze.

Liam chuckles. "Yeah, I completely understand. And she’ll want me to stay for dinner since it’s almost dinner time, but I can’t stay. You two will help me escape, yes?"

Both Montroses nod. "Understood."

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Theo was obviously faking his sleep so Aldriana could "come out," but maintaining an illusion as real as that had exhausted him completely. He hadn’t expected it to be that draining. It seemed I have overestimated myself.

He had truly fallen asleep after Aldriana disappeared.

He stirs awake to find three men conversing outside the car. Looking around, he notices they are already within the Montrose Estate grounds. He smiles lightly and gets out of the car.

All three turn their heads toward him, wearing equally relieved expressions.

"Hey, you’re awake!" Liam says.

"I’m glad you’re okay, Thea." Arthur smiles.

"Welcome back, Azure Princess." Julian grins.

"Hi, guys. Why are we here and not at the house?" Theo asks sleepily.

The three exchange glances, and Arthur says, "It’s kind of a long story." Then he turns to the others. "Let’s do it. Julian, you go first. Liam will follow after five minutes, and I’ll come about five minutes behind him."

Liam nods and turns to Theo. "Come on. Let’s get you home so you can rest."

Theo puts on a puzzled face but goes along with Liam.

About twenty minutes later, Liam is on his way to his new building. His heart pounds hard in his chest again.

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Everything goes as predicted.

The moment Leila saw Liam arriving with Theo, she was all smiles and welcoming. She was a little surprised to see them back earlier than expected, but she quickly invited Liam to dinner, an invitation both her sons firmly blocked.

She had frowned but dismissed it as two older brothers who simply didn’t want to see their little sister dating.

Theo had also refused dinner, using exhaustion as an excuse, which worried Leila a great deal. But he assured her he only wanted to sleep early since he was tired.

Now, standing in front of his window, Theo glances at the bed. He has created an illusion of Thea sleeping deeply. He has no choice but to absorb mana from the Azure Heartstone to replenish his depleted reserves.

Urgh. It feels awful. Theo almost gags. But I won’t have enough mana to fly and meet Liam while maintaining my shield if I don’t absorb it.

He glances at the Heartstone, now clear like an ordinary, worthless crystal.

He’s dressed entirely in black—shirt, pants, baseball cap—and his jet-black hair is tied into a high ponytail. I’m ready.

He feels a flicker of excitement at his first sneaking-out mission. I just hope no one comes in and disturbs me.

Theo locks his door and prays the family respects his privacy.

He slips out the window and melts into the night.