Chapter Leseldh
Leseldh
A week had passed since Ivy’s Ascension, and she was yet to agree to seal her Resonance. Each time Leseldh asked, she had an excuse. Tonight’s was that ‘she wanted to make the moment a special one’. A few nights prior ‘she was tired’. With each new way to evade it, Leseldh’s worry increased.
Leseldh thought back to his own Ascension.
Malia was waiting for him when he rose from his grave.
As their eyes met, he was swept away by the wave of love and affection he felt.
The next logical step was to confirm their Resonance, and it was completed almost immediately.
He tried to recreate that moment in reverse for Ivy’s Ascension, hoping that it would trigger the connection she shared with Malia.
But despite his plans, the perfect moment he’d crafted in his mind fell shockingly short.
Leseldh walked around the car to open Ivy’s door once they arrived at Veldmoor. They were returning from a trip to Sabor Sanguine, but Leseldh was eager to spend some more time with his Resonant. He extended a hand to her, and she took it as she climbed out of the car.
“Would you care to join me for a walk in the garden?” Leseldh offered with a smile on his lips.
“Finare and I have plans to go to Lunarian.” Ivy’s tone was apologetic, but the smile that she offered him didn’t quite meet her eyes.
Leseldh wasn’t willing to take no for an answer tonight. “In that case, we will keep it brief.”
While he almost expected a challenge, Ivy merely shrugged her shoulders.
With a satisfied smile, Leseldh pulled her close and walked down the pathway at the side of the house that led to the garden.
Leseldh steered Ivy towards the gravesite where she completed her Ascension, gripping her perhaps a little tighter than necessary.
A small tree was planted in the tilled soil, and it was already blooming with small white flowers. Ivy’s eyes shifted to Leseldh’s face upon discovering the plant, and this time the smile upon her lips was real.
“I thought it was important to mark the place where you became complete.”
Ivy’s smile flickered for the briefest of moments. “I didn’t think you were that sentimental.”
“Only with you.” And Malia.
Leseldh squeezed Ivy’s hand, and he started moving through the gardens at a leisurely pace.
They kept to the illuminated pathways. As they reached a junction point, Phaedra and Ozias flew past them in a streak of black and grey.
Ozias appeared as a plain black raven to Leseldh, but Ivy had described his plumage that resembled shimmering galaxies.
The two Erath flew around the garden, doing a sort of aerial dance. Ozias followed Phaedra, giving chase, while Phaedra deftly maneuvered in the air to evade him. Phaedra quickly soared upward, allowing Ozias to pass her, before she swooped down and took up the pursuit.
Leseldh stopped to watch the spectacle, his eyes alight with fascination. Ivy watched on with less interest. She hadn’t fully embraced her Erath Blood Gift. She’d confided in Leseldh about her difficulty with adjusting to the constant presence of her new, feathered companion.
“They are enamoured with each other.”
Leseldh’s eyes tracked the two birds as they landed on the branch of a nearby tree, nestling in against each other.
Phaedra and Ozias were inseparable. Where there used to be one Erath perched on the mantelpiece in the parlour, there was now always two.
Unless given instructions otherwise, one always followed the other.
“Has Phaedra ever met another Erath before?” Ivy asked. Leseldh glanced over at her, and he noticed she was still watching on in a detached way.
“There have been a few over the years. But none that she’s interacted with like this.”
“And Malia didn’t have an Erath?” Ivy’s question drew Leseldh’s eyes to hers. There was an implication in her question. It set him on edge.
“No. As you know, the Erath Blood Gift is exceptionally rare,” Leseldh responded tightly, before setting off once more.
He continued their circuit of the gardens and led them to the rear door of the house.
They approached the doorway, and he heard the flap of wings as the pair of Erath joined them in entering the house.
Leseldh took Ivy’s Blood Gift as another sign of their entwined destinies—it seemed serendipitous that they both shared the same rare gift, and even more so that their Erath were practically inseparable.
Once inside the house, Ivy headed upstairs to change. Shortly after, Finare’s car sped off down the private drive with his Resonant inside.
Leseldh moved through Veldmoor like a wraith, feeling empty without Ivy to keep him company.
Voresta was out, and the two Erath were nestled in their usual position on the mantelpiece.
Leseldh made his way to his study and closed the door behind him.
As he moved into the room, the lights came to life and illuminated Malia’s painting on the wall.
He stopped before the painting and gazed up at his first Resonant.
Upon her Creation, Ivy looked so much like Malia that it stole his breath.
Her emerald-green eyes were the only point of difference—but he was sure they were a message from his beloved.
And then a small blemish beneath her left eye appeared after her Ascension.
It was an insignificant thing, but it threw off her undeniable likeness to Malia just enough that the tiniest shred of doubt crawled in through the cracks of Leseldh’s mind.
He did his best to force that doubt out, since the other hallmarks were still there.
Leseldh stared up at the painting and allowed his mind to delve into the memories of centuries past. The flame of his longing flickered within him.
He sighed and lifted his hand to the bottom edge of the frame.
He pressed a button out of sight, releasing the painting.
It swung away from the wall to reveal a hidden chamber.
The room was half the size of his study.
Although small, it was Leseldh’s favourite place in the mansion.
Leseldh found himself in this room with increasing frequency.
It offered him comfort during the frenetic activity in the lead-up to Ivy’s Ascension.
As he was overwhelmed by the feeling that his plans were unravelling, he sought that comfort again.
Shelves along the left wall held books, trinkets, and possessions that belonged to Malia. On the right wall was a love-seat sofa, upholstered in a dark green velvet. Along the far wall stood a large armoire that was almost identical to the one that stood in Ivy’s bedroom.
Leseldh opened the doors of the armoire.
It held a variety of dresses, perfectly preserved from Malia’s lifetime.
He brushed his hand over the garments, allowing himself to drift back in time to remember when these articles of clothing hugged Malia’s body.
His hands rested on a gown in a dark pink colour.
It had a tight-fitting bodice with lacy, off-the-shoulder sleeves, and a tulle skirt that transitioned to black as it neared the ground.
The sweetheart neckline of the bodice would display the ugly scar that the Hunter had marred Ivy’s perfect flesh with, but the dress was too perfect to let that deter him.
He’d simply have to grit his teeth and try not to look at it.
Leseldh removed the dress from the armoire to hang it on the outside of the door until he could move it to Ivy’s bedroom. He’d write a note to advise her of when their next date would be.
From the moment of Ivy’s Creation, Leseldh swore to be patient with her.
His romance with Malia had a head start and he knew he had to allow time for Ivy to catch up.
He’d waited over a century for Ivy, but he was growing tired of waiting.
He needed to intensify his efforts to get her to see that they were meant for one another.
To make her understand that they belonged together.
It was time to up the ante. The opening night of the theatre’s new season was next week. Leseldh would remind her how much she loved the theatre.