A lot of things happened in just one day. First, the things inside the womb of Mother Tree, then Nicholas' arrival. As if that wasn't enough, Brian's report, and now this, the seal! It was too much to process!
Arella needed to calm down and understand things slowly. But her body was making her a little uncomfortable. It was burning up! Though she liked the heat, today, she felt that the temperature was trying to burn her.
Unknown to her, the static figure embedded in the ice, in her internal space, was now stirring. The fiery red wings, that looked down on her, were flapping continuously.
Something inside her was revolting. It wanted to break out. It saw her body as a hindrance and tried to burn it to ashes. That is why, Arella made a dash to the bathroom to douse herself with cold water.
Despite the cold water, her body was consistently burning up. Her temperature was so high that a suffocating steam appeared in the bathroom.
No, the cold water wasn't enough to calm her down! Her skin felt like melting. She could not feel her limbs. She did not know what to do. Her mind crashed, unable to think straight. She felt as if she was standing in front of a furnace. It wasn't painful, but it made her extremely uncomfortable.
She shut her eyes and her senses became more active. Her every pore was ready to spit fire. But her body wasn't capable of handling the heat. Both her instinct and body were engaged in a tussle. It made her feel more uncomfortable.
Unconsciously, she crouched down in a fetal position, trying to minimize her presence. But the heat won't go away at all. The cold water, when fell on her body, made a sizzling sound and evaporated into thin air.
Too hot. It was too hot. She felt like she was about to turn into a flame herself. But the next moment, a chilling ice cold aura engulfed her. Cold hands embraced her fiery form.
Arella heaved heavily, clutching to the coldness with urgency.
When Adrian found that she was taking longer than usual, he became concerned. He wanted to check on her. He only intended to knock on the door and ask a few questions, but when he touched the door, he found that the door was hot!
Surprised, he turned the knob. The door opened and he found heat escaping through the gap. He opened the door wide, only to find sweltering heat, wisps of steam, and a crouched girl on the floor.
Shocked to the bone, he went in and took her in his arms. Her body was burning but she wasn't sweating. The water that touched her would turn into wisps. Her eyes were shut tightly.
He, without any second thoughts, scooped her up in his arms and took her out of the stuffy bathroom. He put her on the bed and touched her body to channel some coldness. The clothes were a hindrance. He took off her clothes without any hesitation.
She lay bare in front of him as his hands touched her every part to combat the heat. But that wasn't enough. He immediately took off his wet clothes and joined her on the bed.
He covered her entire frame with his body. His legs wrapped around hers, as he brought her burning forehead in his arms. His hands incessantly rubbed her back and hands. He did not have to lower his temperature at all.
Finding Ella in such a state had already sent a chill down his bones. He did not know what was happening to her, but she looked in pain. He tried his utmost to bring down her temperature.
It wasn't enough. He was at his wit's end. He took her head out of his arms. She was gasping and her eyes were half open. He kissed her devoutly and found that her mouth and its inside were still very hot. His cold tongue delved deeper into her mouth to provide some respite.
She responded actively, clinging to him as if he were her last hope. Her hands traced his coldness. He earnestly catered to her till he felt that her temperature was within the range of normal.
Once satisfied, he shoved his head in her hair and breathed deeply. Arella was deep in sleep by now and her body temperature was back to normal. But Adrian was extremely uncomfortable.
He had been touching her incessantly and she too responded so enthusiastically. But the thing was, they were both naked!
Adrian, at first was only concerned about her temperature, but later his thoughts deviated to an obvious direction. He was stiff and uncomfortable, but he was glad she was fine. This little inconvenience was nothing to him, as long as she was safe.
After a few deep breaths, he gently slipped out of her embrace without disturbing her. He put some clothes on and started thinking about the events. What happened to her? Was she stimulated by Brian's findings? But she looked okay, much like she had expected the result.
Even when he told her about the seal, she looked fine. Was it because of Nicholas? As Adrian explored deeper, his eyes widened with a realization! Was it Mother Tree?
He knew that Andrew had taken her to the Mother Tree. The Holy Tree had the power akin to a Dragon's leadership. But it was restricted to the Birds. It could call out to the Bird Beasts.
He had hoped that the Mother Tree could call out to Ella's beast, shaking it a bit. But he forgot about one thing, the seal!
What if Mother Tree did its job? Maybe it did shake Ella's Beast. However, according to the evaluator, it was only Arella that could break the seal. If an external force helped her, it would result in a mishap!
Is that what happened today? His eyes became somber. This matter was extremely tricky. He thought a little push could help her in becoming stronger. But unfortunately, it was a push towards her demise.
He did not even want to think about what could have happened had he not been there in time. Could she explode? He found himself trembling even at the mere possibility of losing her.
He turned around to look at her. She was sleeping peacefully. He wanted to help her, but it was evident that he could not help her with the matters regarding her Beast. It appears that it was only she who could awaken her beast.
Adrian's eyes had a flash of understanding. So what if he could not help her with the beast, there were various ways he could help her. A glint of determination crossed his eyes.
A beep sounded, disturbing his thought process. In the quiet room, it sounded especially loud. Irritated, he glanced at the incoming text.
"I am waiting. When are you coming over? Anna."
Looking at the message, his lips twitched in annoyance. He forgot. It was the weekend.