NOVPUB
Chapter 112: The Valcrest Family
"Ah — !" he grunted as the two of them tumbled onto the mattress, with Elisse landing on top of him, her hair falling like a curtain around their faces.
She finally pulled back, just barely, her lips hovering a whisper away from his.
Her cheeks were flushed a soft pink, her eyes wide and glassy, and her voice was nearly breathless.
"It’s been a while... since we kissed."
Zayn blinked. "I mean... I guess? It hasn’t been up to a week though."
"Days is still a long time." she pouted.
If there was one thing he noticed, it was that with the time she spent with him, she was becoming bolder and bolder by the minute.
He didn’t know if that was a bad thing or a good thing, but hey, he liked it.
"You kissed me before I could!"
"I was building momentum!" Elisse huffed, lightly thudding her forehead against his. "You’re the worst."
Zayn snorted. "You snuck into my room to call me the worst?"
"No." Her voice softened. "I came because... you nearly died. Again. We all almost died."
Zayn went quiet.
His hands, unsure of where to rest, settled on her lower back.
Elisse continued, "I just — " She looked like she was searching for the right words.
"I just don’t want to waste time pretending like... like I don’t want to kiss you every time you walk into the room smelling like shampoo and bad decisions."
Zayn stared at her.
Then laughed.
"Seriously? Shampoo and bad decisions?"
Elisse giggled, her forehead resting on his shoulder now. "It’s a very accurate description of your energy."
"Well then," Zayn murmured, tilting his head so he could whisper near her ear, "do you wanna stay for some more bad decisions tonight?"
Elisse didn’t respond for a second.
Then she smacked his chest lightly. "That was cheesy as hell."
"But you’re still lying on top of me."
"Shut up."
Zayn’s hand stayed steady on Elisse’s waist as she breathed quietly against his chest, her body rising and falling in sync with his.
For a while, neither of them said anything — just the soft hum of the night outside the window, the occasional chirp of a distant cricket, and the feeling of her breath against his face.
Then, her voice broke the silence, almost too soft to catch.
"I want to tell you about my family."
Zayn didn’t say anything right away.
He just tightened his hold slightly, letting her know she had his full attention.
Her hand, which had been resting against his chest, slowly curled into the fabric of his shirt.
"You don’t have to if — "
"No," she interrupted gently. "I want to."
Her eyes flickered toward the ceiling, as if searching for the words there.
"My full name is Elisse Valcrest. It’s... not a name I use anymore. Haven’t used it in years. The Valcrest family is nobility. Not royalty, but close enough that we were always brushing shoulders with them."
Zayn kept quiet.
"Old blood, old money, old rules. I grew up in a house that looked like a castle and felt like a cage."
Zayn stayed quiet once again, not wanting to interrupt the rhythm she had found.
He could feel her pulse against him, rapid and steady like a drumline trying to keep pace with old memories.
"My father — Lord Valcrest — was obsessed with legacy. With our family name. He didn’t love his daughters. He raised investments. And I was his favorite stock option."
Zayn frowned.
"I was smart. Talented. Gifted in healing magic by the time I was nine. Tutors, etiquette lessons, soul energy conditioning. I was never allowed to just be... a person. I was supposed to be the perfect daughter, marry some noble idiot, and keep the Valcrest name pristine."
She laughed, a bitter, breathy sound.
"I ran away when I was sixteen. Disguised myself as a servant and fled during a ball. You’d be amazed how easy it is to disappear in a house full of people too busy trying to impress each other to notice one of their own slipping out the back."
Zayn’s hand shifted, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek.
"That’s badass," he said, trying to inject a little levity, but Elisse didn’t laugh.
Not yet.
"I thought they’d come after me. I waited, hiding in a village not too far from the capital, thinking I’d see guards or bounty hunters or something. But no one came. Not even my mother."
She exhaled deeply.
"I stayed on the run for a while. Eventually ended up at a healer’s guild, offered my skills in exchange for food and a place to sleep. That’s how I ended up taking the adventurer path. It was the first time I felt like I had a say in anything. Like I could choose where to go, who to be."
Zayn brushed her back with his thumb. "So Elisse isn’t your real name?"
"It is," she said. "It’s mine. Just not the one they use anymore. Not the one in the noble registries or the gossip circles. I left that name behind because it didn’t feel like me."
"Valcrest..." Zayn repeated softly. "That sounds like some ancient vampire clan name."
That made her snort. "Close. We do have a crypt."
Zayn raised an eyebrow. "...Wait, seriously?"
She grinned and nodded.
"It’s huge. My uncle once got lost in it and didn’t come out for two days. They say it’s haunted, but I think that was just to keep kids out."
"Well, good to know if I ever meet your dad, I should bring garlic and a mirror."
Elisse laughed for real this time, the tension in her shoulders melting slightly. "If you ever meet my father, bring a bigger sword."
Zayn shifted slightly under her, adjusting so he could look at her face more clearly. "Are you afraid they’ll come looking for you someday?"
She paused.
"Not anymore," she said quietly. "They probably wrote me off as a disgrace. Maybe even faked my death to avoid the shame of me deserting the family. It’s easier for them that way. But... sometimes I wonder if my younger sister ever missed me."
"You never tried to contact her?"
"I thought about it," Elisse murmured. "But what would I even say? ’Hey, it’s your runaway disgrace of a sister. Want to grab tea and talk about how dad sucks?’"
"I mean... I’d go to that tea party."
