Chapter 40 – Love Potion (2)

His palms came up to her cheeks, rubbing the tears away as she gasped out in a breath. When she finally calmed down enough, she looked up at him, and he stared right back at her in silence.

“Leah! Oh Leah!” Byun Gyongbaek’s voice rang throughout the dead of the night. He called her name out in a sing-song voice, and shivers ran up her spine as she heard it. He cackled loudly as he slowly inched towards their location.

Ishakan felt the way she began to tremble once more, and that alone was enough to give him an idea on what had transpired. He clenched his jaw, and gritted his teeth. Gently, he unwrapped his arms around her, unclasping his cloak and wrapped it around her small frame.

Leah’s fingers immediately grabbed the purple silk, hugged it tightly around herself.

“Tell me,” he said softly, but sternly as he met her gaze, “Should I dispose of him?” he asked coolly, telling her silently he would happily do so too.

Her sight was still hazed, but she could see the golden glint of his eye rather clearly. He was still waiting for her to answer. As much as she wanted to say yes…

Leah shook her head in negation. At her answer, Ishakan closed his eyes, and breathed deeply before he opened them and looked at her, his golden eyes glinting dangerously. His lips were pressed to a thin line before placing her gently behind him as he turned to where Byun Gyongbaek was going to enter from.

“Stay here,” he told her in a low voice and moved, but something held him back. It was Leah. Despite her difficulty to speak, Leah continued despite her dry throat and quiet voice…

“You…” she gulped to wet her throat, “You can’t…”

He can’t kill Byun Gyongbaek, he mustn’t. Ishakan’s face morphed into a scowl the more she tried to dissuade him from doing so.

And for the first time since they’ve met, he found himself raising his voice at her.

“Even at this moment, you’re still concerned about the royal family?!” he exclaimed at her in a fury. His pupils narrowed at her, making Leah feel his genuine anger at her decision. “Even kindness has its limits, my lady.” He seethed at her, but Leah would not be intimidated. She mustn’t back down from this.

“Not… the royal family,” She answered as she tried to find her voice, “But of Estia. I can’t let… the innocents suffer…” She finished softly.

Despite his horrendous personality, Byun Gyongbaek had helped Estia in great significance when he not only blocked the Kurkans, but also kept them in check on the western borders. His life was tied to many innocents.

Unlike hers, where none would be affected. Her death wouldn’t bring about a change.

“I just… want to get away from here.” She continued, as Ishakan watched her in silence, telling her he was listening. “Please, I beg of you…” Her grip tightened on his arm.

Ishakan was breathing deeply. His chest heaved up and down in thought, before his breathing returned to normal. He cursed silently under his breath in Kurkan language, brought a hand up and rubbed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke…

“You’re testing the patience of a Kurkan,” he warned her. She wanted to apologize to him, for all her troubles. But as soon as she opened her mouth, no voice had come, only a puff of breath. Her body seized up, her grip loosened as she hunched over with a light groan.

All strength had gone from her body as she fell.

Something was strange. The heat began to grow. She felt hotter by the second, as she began to heave for air. Her initial thought was that the adrenaline died down from all the running, and her fatigue had returned with full force…

But it kept getting worse…

“You!” Ishakan lightly cursed as he crouched down. He felt her body temperature rise and admonished himself for not realizing something was wrong with her.

At his cool touch, Leah let out a groan. Despite his normal body temperature running higher than hers, this was no normal situation, and his body was now cooler compared to hers.

“What did you eat?” She heard him ask, and the wine glass flashed to her mind…

She remembered how clean the glass was after she drank from it. How smoothly it had gone down her throat than what she had been expecting. She remembered her fiancé’s words as he told her he’d keep her company until the drug wore off…

“Byun… the wine…” She whispered, she was beginning to see black spots…

“Come here.” Ishakan’s voice whispered back in concern as he grabbed her by the waist, positioning his arm so that she rested against his chest. He grabbed her chin with his other hand, and tilted it up until she met his lips.

He prodded her mouth open, before she felt something slide from his mouth to hers.

It was as if she was shocked by something electric. She clung onto him, not even able to think about pushing him away as her mind grew hazy.

As his tongue darted inside, he tasted the remains of the wine in her mouth and frowned. Slowly he broke away from her and looked at her complexion.

“He met with Dormaris the other day, you remember?” he asked her, and Leah nodded as she remembered him mingling with the gypsies. Ishakan let out a sigh. “He bought some love potion from them,” he told her, and Leah’s heart sank…

Did this mean she’d fall in love with him?! With Byun Gyongbaek?

“He, it’s okay, it’s alright.” Ishakan comforted her, as he took note of her quickening breath, “It’s only a name. It’s actually a cheap aphrodisiac. Love potions, the real ones are few and far in between…” he continued…

But Leah could hardly hear him properly, smacking her lips absentmindedly, before her body shook violently.

Hot. Everything turned hotter, like a fireball was churning her stomach. She felt as though she was boiling. Her vision started to blurry the more she tried to keep awake and blinked her eyes to keep her head on straight. But it only got worse.

Above her, Leah could see Ishakan as he stared at her with a bemused expression.

“Antidote… we need the antidote…” She mumbled at him, and Ishakan chuckled softly, smirking as he pulled her closer in a hug…

“Don’t worry…” She heard him whisper, “The antidote’s right here.”

And her vision went black.