Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 106: Not For Long ()

"Neveah, you should answer to Lord Everon in a proper manner." Davina whispered to Neveah as though Lord Everon would not catch her words when he stood merely two steps ahead of them.

"And I have done so." Neveah replied in a blank tone, she did not see anything wrong with what she had said,

Neveah was not certain what other special manner was considered the proper way of speaking other than plain honesty.

"I see you are unwilling to give a detailed reply." Lord Everon pointed out, not in an accusing manner but merely stating the obvious.

"If I did... I would speak untrue words." Neveah said, she did not intend to explain further and if she was forced to, she would not tell the truth as it had happened.

Revealing her true state and status in the Eclipse Palace did not appear beneficial to Neveah in anyway.

"Fair enough." Lord Everon said with a nod of understanding.

"Come then, I have your tonic ready for you. And I must speak some words to you in confidence. Dav, you wait here." Lord Everon said as he led Neveah even deeper into his study and through another door that led into a larger storage hall.

This time, there were no herb boxes in sight but dozens of strange rocks, horns and other even more weird items.

Lord Everon stopped and noticed Neveah’s look on the strange items, he chuckled quietly to himself.

"There are many lessons ancient texts and records of healers cannot teach you, there are also many items with medicinal properties other than herbs... whatever you see here is here for a reason." Lord Everon explained.

"I do not just keep horns lying around if they were of no significance." Lord Everon added and Neveah nodded slowly in understanding.

"You words are... comforting." Neveah murmured and Lord Everon laughed quietly.

"You are quite the child aren’t you?" Lord Everon said with a smile on his lips as he picked up a bowl left simmering over a rock.

The rock was shaped into a slab and the bowl had just been left on it, the top covered with a lid.

"It is dragon’s rock...rock dug out from their lair which have been refined into heating rocks over the centuries." Lord Everon said, once again noticing Neveah’s intrigued gaze. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Dragon’s rock?" Neveah murmured as she reached a hand out to touch the rock but hissed quietly when it burned her skin immediately.

"This very rock was dug out of Xenon’s cave, it’s fire energy is unmatched." Lord Everon said with a chuckle as he watched Neveah cradle her burnt hand while her cross glare was fixed on him.

"I did not say you could touch it." Lord Everon defended with a casual shrug as he handed the bowl over to Neveah.

Neveah reluctantly took the bowl, lifting it up to her lips and gulping down the bitter tasting liquid.

"Do you not fear that I might poison you?" Lord Everon asked, watching Neveah simply finish up the tonic he prepared for her without much thought.

"If you want me dead... drinking this tonic or not would make no difference. It’s either I die from it or from something else entirely. Why bother?" Neveah asked as she placed the empty bowl down on the table.

"You do not mind dying then? Is that why you drank poisoned wine meant for Jian?" Lord Everon asked in an intrigued tone.

Neveah raised a brow, other than Xenon, Lord Everon was the second person she heard uttering King Jian’s name itself with no titles.

From that, Neveah could see this Lord Everon must truly hold a high status in the dragon’s keep, it was no wonder Davina kept calling him ’Your Eminence.’

"I do mind it. If you want me dead...you will still need my own consent." Neveah grumbled.

She already died once, it was not a very merry feeling and Neveah had no interests in falling to that state again for as long as she had a say in it.

Neveah did not fear death, all men were born to die, this was an indisputable fact...but she was unwilling to be killed by anyone’s design.

"Interesting...you should have thought deeply of this before playing the hero to Jian. The poison in your bloodstream was a dose meant for a dragon, it should have killed you instantly." Lord Everon said.

"And why am I still alive?" Neveah asked and Lord Everon shrugged.

"Because I saved you." He said with a pointed look.

"Thank you." Neveah murmured, regardless of everything, she knew to be grateful for a grace given.

"You need not express your gratitude, I will be unable to accept it. In actuality, you only lived long enough to reach me because the poison in your bloodstream spread at an extremely slow rate." Lord Everon explained.

"For some reason, your body seems attuned with poison... I presume you have been poisoned before... and not once." Lord Everon said in a knowing tone.

His words were not actually seeking a confirmation from Neveah, just making it clear to her that he already knew what she was trying to hide.

Neveah kept her expression blank and her gaze staring ahead, she neither refuted nor admitted to Lord Everon’s words.

She had no intentions of saying anything even.

"Whatever it is, that is your past now. I shall expect to see you every morning... your tonic will be heated and waiting. You may take your leave." Lord Everon changed the topic.

"Oh right!" Lord Everon stopped Neveah just as she headed away.

"I hear you are to be Xenon’s attendant. In that case, do me a favor? Send word to me when Xenon is away, I should like a new heating slab." Lord Everon said.

Neveah frowned slightly at Lord Everon’s odd request.

"You are a dragon too, are you not? Why not just make one yourself?" Neveah asked with a raised brow.

Lord Everon fixed a look on Neveah before glancing around his storage pointedly.

"I don’t live in a cave, Neveah... where do I get the heated rocks from?" Lord Everon deadpanned.

"Right." Neveah grumbled as she turned and took her leave.

Lord Everon stared after her for a long moment, a complicated look in his eyes before he was drawn out of his daze by a voice.

"You seem rather intrigued by her." Mernax pointed out as he stepped out from behind a shelf.

"And you seem to be hiding away from her." Lord Everon shot back at his younger cousin whose ever present scowl deepened.

"I am not." Menarx grumbled in a tone of indignation.

"Truly so? Then why lurk behind the shelves and eavesdrop on the conversation of others?" Lord Everon called out.

"I wasn’t eavesdropping, I just happened to be here and so I heard." Menarx defended with a grunt.

"Whatever helps flatten your scales." Lord Everon replied with a shrug.

"Everon..." Mernax said in a warning tone and Lord Everon rolled his eyes.

"You practically sent the poor child on her way to drink poison and now you want to see how she is faring and instead of going out to ask her, you are playing a game of hide and seek in my study." Lord Everon said after a moment.

"I have no cause to see her, neither do I owe her any apology. My Liege’s life is of priority...hers is insignificant." Menarx said in a blank tone.

"Right, why then were you looming over my shoulder while I prepared her tonic earlier today? You even ensured I prepared it myself." Lord Everon called out.

"I..." Menarx began but bit his lip and decided against speaking further.

"It is good to know gratitude, Mernax. Regardless of who or what the child is, it would have been trouble this time if she did not step up... for you and for Jian too."

"Our greatest warrior, Mernax of Ruby Scales dying at the hands of mere fairies would be the shame of our clan." Lord Everon said with a shake of his head.

"I underestimated them." Mernax said with a sigh as he recalled the cunning fairies paralyzing him with a sleep inducing herb.

"You underestimate everyone Mernax... that is your flaw. You rush headfirst into everything without first considering the consequences and that will get you in trouble one day or the next." Lord Everon lectured.

"I guess that is the disadvantage of being strong. You never consider you might find your defeat or salvation at the hands of weaker races." Lord Everon continued.

"Are you done rubbing it in?" Mernax asked and Lord Everon shrugged.

"Whatever it is, that gratitude you feel for the child...do not hide it away. I do not know why all of you on the King’s guard have begun adopting all of Jian’s bad habits." Lord Everon said with a shake of his head.

"It is only right we maintain our distance, she cannot be trusted. She is not one of us, she is merely an attendant brought here to tend to Xenon." Menarx reminded.

"Hmmm...not for long..." Lord Everon said, a small smirk settled on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes.