Seal

A rare hint of uncertainty appeared on Adrian's face.

Looking at him like this, even Arella became alert. Did he find out something about the Lady or the eclipse?

Adrian walked toward her and kept the letter on the bedside table. The letter, surprisingly, was still a blank sheet of paper without any traces of either words or blood.

None of them had noticed how the letter reacted when it came in contact with Arella's blood. By the time he remembered the letter, there was no blood on it, as if the paper had absorbed it fully.

Adrian did find the loss of splotch of blood strange, but at that time, his mind was filled with another concern.

Once Arella left his office, he realized that till now, Arella had shared everything with him. Even though she waited before sharing, she did share everything in the end. But what did he do?

Remembering her trusting eyes, made him feel uncomfortable. Because he had hidden something from her, it was the findings behind the ruby! At first, he wanted to find out more about it, but later, he simply put it at the back of his mind.

But today, when Arella pried open herself in front of him, he felt ashamed. She never hesitated in revealing her past. She shared her past and present. And he wanted to do the same.

He wanted to tell her about the ruby. Though his information was lacking, he still wanted to share it with her. So today, he decided to tell her whatever he knew.

He walked toward Arella and touched the ruby lightly. His fingers traced the necklace and the ruby hanging on her neck. He realized the ruby had more cracks on its smooth surface. But these cracks were small and shallow. It did not hamper its beauty at all.

Arella noticed his expression and decided to let him speak first. She had already heard a lot today. She was quite confident that whatever he would tell her, she could listen to calmly.

"I had it evaluated once." Adrian began speaking as he caressed the ruby.

Arella frowned a little. She knew that he had taken it with him as a token once, but she did not know that he had got it evaluated.

"This ruby is not a spiritual or natural gem, but it's a crystal." Adrian looked at Arella and saw confusion floating in her eyes.

"It's a crystallization of your powers, Ella." He spoke with certainty.

"The evaluator claimed that somebody had sealed your powers, and this ruby is the embodiment of the seal. It resonates with your powers." Adrian took a deep breath and began telling whatever he was aware of.

Listening to him, Arella remembered that on a number of occasions, she had felt the ruby glowing and becoming hot. But to think that it was the physical manifestation of her powers? She was not so sure of it.

Why would anyone seal her powers? This was unprecedented. In a place, where power reigned supreme, nobody would dare tamper with the powers. Also, nobody knew that such a seal existed! Who could do that? Was it an enemy? If so, should not that enemy be too powerful?

Or was it that Lady? Did the Lady seal her powers before leaving her with the Williams? The possibility was quite high. But why would she do that?

"Are you sure?" Arella still doubted the existence of a seal. So far, she has always believed that the reason she could not upgrade was that she was not good enough. But now, another line of thought appeared in front of her. Could the seal be real?

"I tried getting it re-evaluated. But only one evaluator could vouch for it, to others, it was something they had never come across in their lives. The ruby has a strong aura, but there is no spiritual energy in it. The evaluator claimed, that it was a seal and nobody else knew anything else." Adrian explained.

"Is there any other method to check the presence of the seal?" Arella still found it hard to believe, but if such a thing existed, then there must be ways to check it.

"None. I looked into the archives, and ancient documents and even spoke to a few elderly powerful clansmen. None of them had heard of it. I went to the Royals, but they refused to share anything." Adrian dejectedly mentioned.

It was not that he did not try to look for more information. But everywhere he went, he was met with a dead end. Other than the words of the evaluator, they had no other information. He had an inkling that the Royals knew something.

But their lineage had taken an oath of not revealing the secrets of the Heavens to others. So, it was useless to pry open their mouths even if they knew something.

"If there really is a seal, then how should we break it?" Arella took it better than Adrian had expected. She was logical in her approach, without being swayed by the emotions.

"The evaluator said that only you can break it. It is meaningless to break it from the outside. Such a seal can only be broken by becoming powerful enough to overcome it." Adrian spoke without hiding anything at all.

"So, you are saying that I have a seal on my powers, and the only way to break the seal is to become more powerful? But how is that even possible?"Arella felt frustrated! When one thing clears, another starts disturbing her peace of mind!

She thought that she had finally solved the mystery of Williams and their attitude toward her, but now she was met with another mystery.

Adrian too, pursed his lips. This was exactly the question that had troubled him since the beginning. It looked paradoxical in nature! And he had no answer to it!

"Is there anything else?" Arella tried to be as calm as possible.

"No." Adrian really did not have anything else to add.

"Good. I am going to take a bath." Arella dashed toward the bathroom without giving him another glance.

She went in and started the shower straightaway without taking off her clothes. She needed time to calm down!