Chapter 155 - Welcome home, Princess Emma
EMMA
The tunnels are dark and cold. The darkness closes me off from everything around. The cold invades me as it threatens to take over. The only thing that keeps me grounded and sane after hours in the dark is the warm body I have myself wrapped around.
Hadrian has been carrying me for most of the way. I tried to walk on my own, but the combination of the darkness and the cold quickly got the better of me.
“I’m sorry you have to carry me.” I say again. I whisper it against his skin. His scent is hot and heavy around me and gives me an euphoric high.
“You don’t have to apologize.” Hadrian says again.
I listen to his voice as it resonates beside my ear. The low rasp is comforting as it travels over my skin. I move my head and kiss him on the jaw. The shadow of hair tickles against my lips. Hadrian has a stubble that I find immensely sexy. It makes him look rugged and wild. It gives that edge to his dangerous nature.
“Emma.” He warns when I continue to place soft kisses along his jaw.
Hadrian is still here even in the darkness deep beneath the ground. While so many around me have fallen away, he has not. Hadrian holds me when I threaten to fall, he carries me when I cannot go further.
I move my lips to hover over his. “I love you.” My words are loud In the silence of the tunnels.
I can feel his lips stretch against mine. Hadrian stops walking and cups the side of my head. “Is something wrong?”
I shake my head in the dark and lean closer to him. “No, I just wanted to say that.” I deeply breathe in his manly scent and bask in the hints of cedar, sandalwood and bergamot.
“I love you too, little mate.” Hadrian whispers in my ear and presses a kiss against my temple.
“Why did you stop?” I ask him when he doesn’t make a move.
"Because we're here.” He says.
I look around me in an automatic response, but our surroundings are as dark as ever. “Here?”
“Sanguinem.” Hadrian clarifies and lowers me to the ground. His warm hands slide from my backside over my spine. “Are you okay waiting here for a few seconds?”
I swallow at the idea of being alone and only surrounded by darkness.
“Okay.” I say, but my voice comes out smaller than I would like. I never particularly enjoyed the dark.
A slight tremble starts in my hands when Hadrian moves away from me. The darkness is all consuming. The cold quickly finds a way into my body and a chill runs over my spine.
I listen to the sounds around me and hear only groaning metal. Hadrian is very stealthy for someone of his stature. The sound of groaning metal fades slowly and after a while light appears from above me. I lift my head only to be blinded by the light.
The light shows the metal rung ladder against the wall. I reach for it and roam my eyes over the hundred or so metal bars. The metal is cold beneath my palms. I stay rooted to the ground as fear grips around my throat. I try to swallow and find the courage within me.
I can do this. I’ve done this many times.
The light is obscured for a moment as Hadrian climbs back down. He skips the last ten rungs and lets himself fall to the ground. His landing is precise and it bounces off the walls in the tunnel.
Hadrian wraps his arms around my waist and huddles around me. “Don’t worry, little mate. I won’t let you fall.”
His heat immediately dispels the cold. His presence around me melts away the fears. It’s like with him, I can take on the whole world. Hadrian nuzzles my neck and the action reminds me of Nero. The gesture is comforting and I sigh in contentment.
I grip my fingers tight around the metal bars and pull my weight up. I have learned not to look down and keep going one rung at the time. I can feel the warmth emanating from Hadrian and I know that he’s not far behind.
I climb through the opening of light and breathe in the open air. I can taste the night on my tongue. The light is coming from the street lantern overhead. The sky is dark and littered with stars. There is not a soul on the street and I wonder how late it is.
I scan my surroundings for familiarity and recognize the small square in the third ring. I turn around and my eyes fall on the little restaurant with the faded letters of *’The Golden Dawn’*. An older man with gray hair, kind eyes and a soft smile is standing in the doorway.
“Welcome home, Princess Emma.” Gaius says.
Tears well up in an instant when I hear his soothing voice saying those words. For the past months, I didn’t allow myself to think much about Sanguinem. I couldn’t take that grief together with everything else.
But Sanguinem is my home too. Aldea used to be it and I always wondered what it would be like if we were able to go back home. But it wasn’t the same. The people who live there now are kind and welcoming, but the citizens of Sanguinem nourished my heart when I thought it had been broken. They mended my soul in order for me to find love.
I’m quick to close the distance and give Gaius a hug. Gaius chuckles, but is careful to return the gesture.
He eventually pats me on the back. “This is somewhat inappropriate, princess—“
“You’re family, Gaius.” I argue as I keep him in a hug a little longer.
“Let go, Emma.” Hadrian says behind me. His voice is stern and I expect a reprimand. I already know he’s going to get one back double if he even tries.
I pull back and I’m surprised that Hadrian moves past me.
“It’s good to see you, uncle.” Hadrian says and pulls Gaius in a short, but genuine hug.
I notice how shock overcomes Gaius and I can’t say that I don’t feel the same. I’ve only ever seen Hadrian hug *me*.
“Come inside, please.” Gaius says in delight when he schools his shock.
Hadrian goes into the restaurant first and I watch how he ducks his broad frame under the doorpost. Gaius hangs back and leans in when I move towards the restaurant. “What did you do to him?” He asks with gleaming eyes and a teasing tone.
“Uhm.” I blush for no particular reason. I don’t think I have much to do with this.
Maybe my brother somehow has left a trace of his influence. I chuckle at the idea and feel warmth blooming in my heart. Or maybe a bit of Aldea has affected Hadrian like Sanguinem has left an imprint on me.
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