The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 45

Vena stirred in her bed as she was awoken by the creaking of her door opening and closing softly, her simply assuming it was Aether coming back in to check on her.

After all, she'd noticed once he'd left earlier that they were safe inside Xiao's tea pot realm, knowing only the three of them had the power to be there, assuming that Xiao had let Aether stay temporarily to keep an eye on the girl in case he had to leave to fight demons.

Speaking of Xiao...

The thought caused the girl to jolt into a sitting position, her eyes wide now as they settled on the familiar form standing a few feet from her bed, his head hanging down toward the floor, his hair effectively covering his face as he stood silently.

Vena assumed he could easily hear the thud of her pounding heart from where he was stood, especially with the deafening silence now between them.

Her entire body was lit up in a nervous fire, blatantly ignoring the throbbing ache of her injuries, now completely overshadowed by her surprise.

Even so, her heart swelled at just the sight of him, causing a tear to quickly slip its way down her cheek as she tried her best to wipe it away before he could see, even though more swiftly followed.

"Xiao," She weakly whimpered out, causing the man's body to visibly twitch at the call of his name, although he refused to lift his head.

For some reason, her bravado crumbled as soon as she'd laid eyes on him. It had been easy to keep up a strong face and brush it all off in front of Aether even despite his frustration, but she couldn't when it came to Xiao. The entire time, every time she'd felt as if she was going to break, she thought of him, and it kept her from sinking. It kept her from giving up. He was her strength, and now that she didn't need to be strong anymore, she broke.

Glossy blue eyes drifted down to his clenched hands, finally noticing his body shaking gently.

The sun outside had set, the window casting a subtle orange glow into the room, leading her to assume she'd fallen asleep again for at least a few hours after Aether had left.

Oh god, is he angry? He's mad at me, isn't he-

Panic stricken, the feeble girl wobbly got to her feet in a hurry, only to once again have her legs give out on her just like the time before.

Once more, strong arms firmly held her up, wrapped securely around her waist, being sure to always be there to catch her if she falls, and she had a tendency to do so.

"I'm sorry-" She choked out a sob, burying her face into his chest as she relished in his embrace, too happy for words to explain how content she was just to be in his arms again.

"I told you to stop apologizing so much." His voice came out hoarse and raspy, causing Vena to look up just to get a glimpse of his face, only to feel her stomach practically drop to her feet at his expression.

It almost looked as if he hadn't slept in days- which sure, he loved to say that Adepti didn't require sleep- but this was drastic.

He looked beyond stressed, worried, and tired, and seeing him in such a state yanked heavily at her heart strings.

Especially because she assumed it might have been because of her kidnapping...