Chapter 202: Everything Will Be Fine
Special Thanks To Jennifer_Goliah For The Gift {≥≈≤}
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Viktor returned shortly after to inform Charlotte that he was done freshening up. Dressed in her night robe, she grabbed her blanket and pillow before following him back into his chamber.
Without delay, she began spreading the blanket on the floor, preparing a space to sleep for the night.
"What are you doing?" Viktor asked, arching a brow as he watched her.
"Getting ready to sleep. It’s late," Charlotte replied, placing the pillow on the ground.
"You can take the bed. There’s no need to sleep on the floor."
"Please, I’m already inconveniencing you by asking to spend the night in your chamber. I don’t want to trouble you any further. I’ll stay on the..."
"Sleep on the bed, Lucy." Viktor cut her off, his hands resting on his waist. "I’m pretty exhausted, so can we not argue about this now? Just sleep on the bed."
She pressed her lips together. He really did look tired, so she decided not to push it further. "Where are you going to sleep, then?" Charlotte asked.
"On the couch," Viktor replied, already reaching for his pillow and blanket from the bed.
"That couch?" Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the small and visibly uncomfortable piece of furniture. "You are going to have a sore neck if you sleep on that all night."
"Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine," Viktor said as he moved to arrange the couch, trying to make it somewhat bearable.
Charlotte watched him for a moment, then swallowed. "The bed is big enough for the both of us. We can share it for the night."
Viktor turned to her, amusement flickering in his eyes. "You want us to sleep on the same bed?"
Charlotte could feel her face flush. "I just don’t want you to have a sore neck, that’s all," she muttered.
He smiled faintly before turning back to the couch. "I told you not to worry about me. Just go to sleep, Lucy."
Charlotte sighed. "If you say so. Good night." She mumbled before climbing onto the bed and pulling the covers over herself, her back turned to the couch.
She heard the soft thump as Viktor settled onto the couch, followed by silence.
The silence thickened, stretching across the room and beyond. Charlotte tucked her hair behind her ear, her heart pounding in her chest as she lay still, tempted to glance back at Viktor.
In her head, she counted up to one hundred before slowly and quietly turning around to look at Viktor, who lay on his back with one hand tucked under his head and one knee propped up while the other leg stretched out across the length of the couch.
"Why aren’t you sleeping yet?" Viktor asked, opening his eyes and turning his head slightly to look at her.
The question caught Charlotte by surprise. She almost turned back to her previous position but stopped, knowing it would be awkward since Viktor already knew she was awake. "Can’t sleep yet," she replied, quickly recovering from her shock.
"Do you want me to sing you a lullaby to help you fall asleep?" Viktor teased.
She chuckled. "No, thank you. Nobody wants to hear your awful singing voice."
Viktor laughed at her response. "Awful voice? I think I have a pretty nice singing voice."
"I highly doubt that. You could wake the dead with your singing," Charlotte replied with a smirk.
"Damn, that’s harsh. But then again, maybe it’s a good thing. No one would die around me, I would just sing them out of the afterlife," he said, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Charlotte scoffed. "You’re so full of yourself."
"I sure am."
Another moment of silence passed.
"What do you think is going to happen now with everything going on with the prince and the demon?" Charlotte asked in a serious tone, now lying on her back with her eyes on the ceiling. "Will we be able to stop it?"
"I believe we can," Viktor said firmly. "We have to, for the survival of everyone in Valyron. By morning, I’ll begin making plans with Lucian and Lilith. There must be a way to undo the control the demon has on the prince."
"Alright. I cannot wait for the nightmare to finally be over."
"It will be, very soon. You should try to get some sleep," he said.
"Alright. Good night," Charlotte replied, pulling the covers up to her shoulders as she turned her back to him.
"Good night, Lucy," Viktor said softly, his eyes lingering on her back for a moment before he closed them, letting sleep take over.
~~~
Meanwhile, Lilith sat by her window, watching the rain roll down the glass as she wiped tears from her face. Hours had passed, and she hadn’t moved from that spot, lost in thought, consumed by everything that was happening by the pain of losing the prince, her dear Hades.
She had heard Charlotte knock on her door earlier but couldn’t bring herself to respond or open it. All she wanted was to be left alone to cry and think in peace and silence. Everything had been going perfectly between her and the prince... and now, it felt as though her world was crumbling around her.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted a coat that belonged to Hades. Dragging herself to her feet, she walked over to it slowly, her shaky fingers brushing against the fabric. His voice echoed in her mind, whispering how beautiful and perfect she was.
Her heart shattered all over again.
Clutching the coat to her chest, she hugged it tightly as more tears poured down her cheeks. It still smelled like him. Everything in the room smelled like him, even her damn bed. It was getting...
"Why are you sulking like a loser?"
Lilith froze, her grief stricken thoughts cut short by a sudden, familiar voice. Still holding the coat, she slowly turned around to find a figure sitting at the edge of her bed, arms crossed over their chest, an unimpressed look on their face.
"You?" Lilith whispered, her voice hoarse from hours of crying.