Chapter 346: The Child In The Starlit Abyss

[Music recommendation: Narrow Skies ~ Among the Stars]

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Turning towards her husband in the darkness, she said, "You know, when I brought up thriller movies... I wasn’t expecting you to actually follow the script."

Gavriel unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned across the space between them. Aliana’s throat went dry beneath the intensity of his icy blue eyes as his long fingers clicked open her seatbelt.

Wordlessly, he stepped out of the car, walked around to her side and pulled the door open, extending a hand towards her.

Aliana stared at his outstretched palm before meeting his gaze, her voice dropping to a suspicious whisper. "If there’s an empty grave behind those pine trees, Gav, I swear I’ll haunt you forever."

"Do you trust me?" he asked softly, completely ignoring her threat.

The teasing words died on her lips as she gazed into his eyes. Her expression softened, and she placed her hand in his as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Do you even need to ask?"

Gavriel pulled her close, cupping her cheek as his thumb traced a tender path along her cheekbone before he leaned down to whisper against her ear.

"Close your eyes, Aliana."

As though her body had fallen under the spell of his command, her eyes fluttered shut. The moment they did, she instinctively gripped the front of his coat, anchoring herself to him as her other senses sharpened.

She could hear the soft brush of his breath against her ear, while his familiar scent mingled with the earthy fragrance of the forest, filling her senses. His warmth enveloped her as he held her close, and then she felt it, the unmistakable pulse of his power radiating from him and surrounding her like a warm blanket.

The air seemed to shift around them.

A second later, a sudden gust of wind brushed against them, and in that instant, Aliana knew they were definitely no longer inside that dense forest.

Her heart pounded wildly against her ribs, but she remained perfectly still within his embrace until he whispered, "Open your eyes, baby."

Driven by sheer anticipation, Aliana slowly raised her eyelids, only for a gasp of utter shock to escape her lips. "Oh my goodness, Gav!"

She clung to him in sudden terror and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Gavriel let out a soft, velvety chuckle, his arms tightening around her waist to keep her completely secure against him.

Wind whipped around them wildly, but Gavriel coaxed her gently, "Nothing will happen to you, baby. I am right here. Open your eyes, Ana. Open them and see with your own eyes the limitless possibilities of this world."

He pressed a tender kiss against the top of her head, and Aliana finally gathered enough courage to turn her face outward while keeping her cheek glued to his chest, refusing to loosen her grip on his suit jacket.

When she opened her eyes again, they sparkled like galaxies as she silently absorbed the breathtaking scene.

Directly before her, a tall waterfall tumbled down from the mountain peaks, forming a gentle white curtain framed by towering red rocks that fed into a glowing river lit by the soft moonlight.

Looking down, she realized they were standing in the middle of a massive natural stone bridge suspended high above a cavernous canyon, where two colossal cliffs leaned together to form the solid arch beneath their feet. Above them, the night sky opened up in a sea of stars and the glowing band of the Milky Way, alongside a clear crescent moon.

"This... this is unreal," she murmured softly in utter awe, as if she couldn’t believe she was still on the same planet.

Slowly, she lifted her head to look at Gavriel, whose eyes had been fixed on her the entire time.

Reaching out, his fingers caught a stray strand of her windblown hair and smoothed it gently behind her ear.

"I wasn’t sure if I would ever share this place with anyone," he said softly, looking out toward the mist dancing over the canyon. "This was the exact spot where I woke up when I first entered the mortal realm."

Aliana’s eyes widened at the revelation, and she looked out over the desolate landscape before turning back to him.

"This place?" she whispered in shock. "But... there is nothing here. And... didn’t you revert back to a five-year-old child?"

When Gavriel offered a small, quiet nod, a pang of raw heartache pierced Aliana’s chest as she envisioned a young Gavriel waking up alone in this wild expanse, forced to navigate his way back to civilisation.

"Could you... teleport yourself back then?" she asked softly.

"No. Even a demon child needs time to hone his skills. Spatial magic like teleportation requires immense power to control, and a child’s body isn’t equipped to handle that strain."

A tight lump formed in her throat as she imagined the sheer endurance it must have taken for a small child to wander out of this wilderness.

Noticing the sudden pain in her eyes, Gavriel’s brows pulled together slightly. He gently caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "What is it, Ana? Does this place upset you?"

Aliana shook her head lightly, leaning into his touch. "No... I just wish... I was there with you."

Gavriel’s brows rose in surprise at her unexpected answer, and confusion clouded his eyes. "Why would you want to be with me in a situation like that?"

His limited emotional capacity couldn’t comprehend why she would wish to be trapped in such hardship alongside him.

He still remembered the agony of his small, frail body climbing the jagged rocks and slipping repeatedly against their sharp edges, taking two agonising days just to find level ground. After that came months without proper food or water, forcing him to survive on wild animals until he finally stumbled upon a distant village.

By the time he reached civilisation, he was covered in dried blood and shallow cuts that healed slowly due to prolonged malnutrition.

He refused to share any of those details with Aliana. It was not the best time of his life. Aware of how emotional she could get, he had no intention of distressing her with details.

Instead, he simply stated, "It wasn’t pleasant, Ana. Why would you wish for something like that?"

Tenderness flooded Aliana’s eyes as she lifted her hand and placed her warm palm against his cool cheek before trailing down to his neck.

"Because I..." Her lips quivered as she fought the urge to utter the words sitting on the tip of her tongue, straight from her heart.

Instead, she let out a soft chuckle and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as though she were embracing the five-year-old Gavriel she had never known.

"Because you must have been quite lovable even as a child."

And Gavriel froze at her words.