Chapter 67

Elara pulled her hair from his mouth, utterly bewildered. "Why are you so scared all of a sudden?" No.17, now deprived of her hair, pressed his lips into a thin line. His damp eyelashes clung together and quivered, making him look utterly shaken. Elara couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt under his gaze. With a helpless sigh, she patted his head. "Alright, it's okay. Don't be afraid, there's nothing to fear. Let me down first, alright?" But as soon as she said that, his expression turned even more pitiful, as if letting go of her would be unbearable. "No," he murmured. Then, he buried his face against her neck, his cheek pressing against her collarbone through the thin fabric. The warmth from her body made him tense up and tremble again. "Don't go. Don't leave." His gaze was hazy, yet fixated unblinkingly on the faint blue veins beneath her skin, tracking the steady pulse of her blood. His eyes flashed with a predatory glint, the kind that made prey tremble. The water r