Ashes and Bloodlines のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

“Jul?”Julianne blinked and pulled her brows in confusion. That voice…it felt strangely familiar. There was only one person that has ever called her like that, but she doubted she would find them in a place like this. She must have heard wrong, she thought, but just right then, she heard it again, this time more clearly and closely.“Jul.”Cassian’s eyes travelled past her and Julianne turned around in one heartbeat. A slight sigh escaped her lips when she saw who it was and her eyes widened.Her lips moved, trembled, to get that one word out, “D…d…dad?”Cassian caught the word and he blinked his eyes as he readjusted his expression. He watched as Julianne moved her feet towards the man and then embraced him with tears pouring down her eyes.Julianne couldn’t hold her emotions. She let it out and held her father in a tight embrace, fearing that one slip would make him go away again.“Why did you leave just like that? Why wouldn’t you contact me for once? Did you know how hard it was f

Julianne went in and closed the door before walking to the bathtub. She dipped her hand in and felt the warm water. It would really get cold if she didn’t use it immediately, and the weather was a bit cold.After two minutes in the bath, she kept thinking about what could have made him change towards her. It was as if he were keeping something from her. She tried to understand the circumstances surrounding it, then she remembered what the lady at the bar had said to her. Was he being too cautious in front of her? Did he not like that she had seen him in such a state? She wondered. Still, she didn’t want him to feel that way because of her. She wanted to know how he really felt and what was going on with him.She let her thoughts quieten and listened attentively for any slight movement, but there was only silence. Afraid she was all alone, she called, “Cassian?”Her heart thumped when he didn’t answer immediately, and she gripped the side of the bath, about to stand, when she heard a

“We need to leave.” That was the first thing she heard him say to her, and after that, they left the inn. Before leaving, Julianne saw the woman by the counter having her eyes down, like she was avoiding to look at them. Her reaction was the total opposite of when they first came in.They got on the bike and rode off, back to school. On the way, Julianne felt uncertain about a lot of things. Two of them include her relationship with Marianne and what she would be going back to meet. For some reason, she wished she doesn’t have to return, because she feared that her presence would only cause something bad to happen to the people close to her. That was the feeling she was having throughout the ride back to school.On riding into the gates of the school, Julianne remembered the first time she came in by the bus. Things were different back then, as it is now. Then, she was running away from something, from her real self, and trying to live differently, but now, she is going back to the pe

Headmistress Eldryn was caught in surprise and it says it all in her expression, still she tried to compose herself. She didn’t think that Cassian would know things like that. Velvet would never tell anyone either, because if they knew, she knows where that would end her. No wonder Cassian came prepared, because he knew she would have caught onto his thoughts, but one of the benefits of being a vampire had worked for him. He hid his thoughts well and layered it with anger.“H—” she scoffed and asked, “How did you know Velvet is a hunter? Did she tell you that?”“Isn’t it obvious? No matter how hard you try to keep the truth, it will always surface somehow. You must already know that people like us hardly sleep at night. That is when activities go on most times, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Velvet sneaking out. What would you have done if you were the one and you suspected her of killing someone close to you?”“So, did you follow her?” the headmistress asked.“Of cou

“You choose to be with a murderer rather than be with me.”Julianne frowned at the seventh word in his statement. She didn’t like how he talked about Cassian. It made her realize, that ever since she has been going out with him, he always has something to say about Cassian to make her feel like he is someone she shouldn’t associate with. Talk about gaslighting. But now…now she knows everything, and she won’t hesitate to prove to him that she can’t be deceived.“That murderer saved me more than once. That murderer cares a lot about me. And that murderer…became like that because he chose his friends over the people who wished him dead and wanted to have his friends killed. Would you have done the same if I were the one?” she asked and paused. “I didn’t think so, because you would rather not be known as a murderer who killed someone to save the one you claim to love.”The air thickened around them and Julianne felt a burning sensation in her to just release everything she has been keepin