Beauty and the Immortal: It started with a dig - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Truth that sinks in
The soul’s essence filled Mallory, pulsing through her veins with electric fervour, a pressure building in her chest as her vision swam with flashes of light and shadow. She felt a sudden wave of suffocation.

“It’s too much,” Mallory whispered, gripping Hadeon’s hand as he sat beside her.

“If anyone can handle it, it’s you. Breathe, doll face,” Hadeon said, his hand holding hers firmly.

Taking a deep breath, she felt the tension ease, and a cough escaped her as tears welled up. The soul had become part of her.

“It’s a success!” Lady Rose clapped her hands. “Congratulations, Mallory and Hadeon.”

Mallory leaned into Hadeon’s steadying hold, her body heavy with exhaustion. She looked down at her hands, surprised by their unchanged appearance. Taking a moment, she closed her eyes, feeling the soul within her, its quiet, comforting magic humming like a gentle breeze.

Lady Rose stepped closer, studying her. “It’s curious this witch’s soul couldn’t be reborn. Now you carry her essence, Mallory. That could be a blessing or a curse, depending on what remains of her past life.”

“Could it cause corruption?” Mallory asked.

Hadeon’s lips pressed against each other before he said, “If you weren’t bound to turn to your humanself, it wouldn’t be trouble. Even if you do turn into a human, you are still safe from corruption. The problem is that… your body can’t go through another transition.”

“Because I would be highly susceptible…” Mallory murmured to herself.

But that only meant her time with Hadeon was limited. He being an original pureblooded vampire, he would stay the same while she would grow old. And he would continue to live.

She felt Hadeon place his hand on her shoulder and ask, “Shall we return to the house?” and she gave him a nod.

Once Mallory and Hadeon returned to the Perone estate, they went to the room.

Mallory saw Hadeon squatted before the fireplace, while he broke the logs and made fire now. His face glowed as the fire increased to produce heat. The realisation that their time together was fleeting, gnawed at the edges of her heart. Her gaze dropped, and she grew quiet, her earlier relief at the soul’s successful merging fading into a melancholy silence.

“Why so glum, doll face?” Hadeon asked, his voice as smooth and teasing as ever. He stood up and made his way to where she stood staring at him.

“I just…” Mallory’s lips pursed. “I was thinking about what comes later, about us…”

The annoying man had grown on her and she had come to fall in love with him over the period of time. It wasn’t a sudden feeling, but something that had developed gradually between them. And now to think that things weren’t unlimited…

Hadeon came to sit next to her on the bed. His leg pulled up before he faced her. He leaned in, his hand moving to tilt her chin up so she was forced to meet his gaze.

“Look at me,” he said, his voice low and tender. “I’ve lived longer than most humans can imagine. I’ve watched centuries pass, seen empires rise and fall. Yet here you are, the one thing in all these years that makes me want to stop time and live in the moment.”

He reached out to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering.

“It’s not about how long we have, but what we make of the time given to us. And besides,” he added, his smile growing more teasing, “why worry about the future when we have the present?”

Mallory slightly frowned before she said, “You shouldn’t place the bond on me.”

“I am hurt, monkey. Don’t tell me the Bonelake changed your feelings for me,” Hadeon teased her in mischief, and Mallory smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Mallory looked down, her voice barely a whisper. “It just isn’t fair that you’d die for me when you could live on.”

“Love rarely plays fair, and neither do I,” he replied, both affectionate and stubborn. “If I get another chance at love in another life, then I’ll take it. What’s the point of immortality without you?”

A tear slipped down her cheek as she laughed softly. “You’re impossible.”

“Impossible and in love with you,” he corrected, his forehead pressing against hers. “And maybe after this life, I’ll find you again, just like I did in this one.”

A silence settled over them, heavy with the weight of their unspoken promises. Finally, Hadeon pulled back, his gaze darkening with intent. “Since we have the house to ourselves… what do you say we make the most of it?”

Mallory’s cheeks flushed bright red.

His lips curled into a smile. “I want to seal our bond. Because if I’m going to be tied to anyone for eternity, it’s you.”

The room was cloaked in soft shadows, only the fire casting warmth across the walls. Hadeon reached for her hands, tracing her skin with his fingers. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, his hand lingering at her cheek.

As he leaned in, she closed her eyes. But instead of the bite she expected, he pressed his forehead to hers.

“This may hurt a little,” he whispered.

“Okay,” she replied, her voice filled with quiet strength.

Mallory felt him gently tilting her chin, which exposed the delicate curve of her neck. She felt his warm breath against her skin, and when he pressed his lips on her neck, a soft sigh escaped from her lips. She shivered as his lips brushed along her skin.

And then, with a tenderness that spoke of his love, Hadeon let his fangs graze her skin, before sinking into the delicate flesh.

Mallory gasped, feeling the sudden pain enter her body.

A surge of energy pulsed between them as he bit down, before a warmth spread through her neck and down to her heart, filling her with an overwhelming connection, something ancient and unbreakable. It was as though their souls had finally found one another, intertwining, locking together.

Hadeon finally pulled away his fangs from her skin, and licked the blood that had seeped out. A faint, intricate mark began to form on her neck, a symbol of the bond they now shared. The mark glowed softly in the firelight.

“You are mine, Mallory,” Hadeon murmured, his voice thick with emotion. His thumb brushed over the bond mark with a tenderness that melted her heart. “Now and forever. I will be with you through every life, every breath.”

As the pain disappeared from her neck, Mallory looked up at him and said with a smile, “And you are mine. Forever.”

Rain pattered against the windows, creating a soothing backdrop that matched the gentleness between them. Mallory, feeling a tinge of nervousness, stood up from the bed and murmured,

“I should change my clothes.”

But before she could leave, Hadeon caught her wrist, preventing her from leaving his side. He said, “Stay, Mallory. Let me love you tonight.”