Heiress Of His Abyss: Unmasking The Beast

"My Lady, please contain yourself." Philip pleaded as he carefully set the tome on the wooden table.

"I am..." Sylteena bit her lips.

"Then why do you keep switching weights between your feet like a child excited for a treat."

"I'm not..." She switched weights between her feet, jittering in the position she stood as her lips twitched into a smile.

Philip then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please, My Lady... Take this seriously."

Sylteena finally stopped her fidgeting as she lowered her head to nod. "Fine..."

Placing a small hide bag next to the ancient text, Philip then said. "Make sure to hide these books somewhere secure in the library."

"Wouldn't the bedroom be safer?"

"It is not your bedroom, My Lady. It is you and the prince's bedroom. If it is discovered, it will be obvious that it belongs to you. But keeping it here in the library will keep a broad suspect list."

"Ah, I see. Wise."

Philip nodded. "I also inquired from the maids that the prince is currently out of town. So before he returns, it will be late, giving you more than enough time to start studying it. Most of the writings are in ancient texts, but your Father has started some basic translations. The documents are in the bag."

Sylteena's face morphed into a warm expression as she stepped closer, stretching out to take his hands in hers. "Thank you so very much, Philip."

He exhaled softly, offering her a weak smile. "Thank me after you are done with this little adventure research of yours."

She chuckled.

"I could not bring the other documents your father filed from studying the Chronicle. But before then, make do with these."

"I understand, Philip. Thank you so much."

He only smiled, his eyes slightly squinted in worry and subtle distortion to the whole situation; he could only hope he wasn't making a mistake by partaking in this request of hers.

• • •

Not too long after, Philip bid farewell to his lady to return to Elfedon and back to the retched Duke's mansion, leaving Sylteena alone and engrossed within the candle-lit walls of the library.

Seated on the floor of a far corner of the room, a pair of shelves guarded Slyteena's sides as she kept her focus locked on the open book on her lap and the surrounding research papers displayed around her.

Sylteena's brows furrowed even deeper as she read.

From the various portions of the texts she had managed to decipher with the help of her father's translation reference, she came to the understanding that the Forest Feeder, Sliqruki, was still a creature shrouded in mystery and assumptions as little information was gathered on it, but the only known thing was its attractant.

Certain ingredients of a certain mixture could be concocted with the aid of black magic, which, when smeared on prey, would attract the forest hounds to retrieve the prey and submit to the Sliqruki.

That must have been the liquid her kidnappers had drenched her in.

It was said victims persecuted this way in the early decades, would only later be found as a pile of emulsified flesh and bones mixed with the Sliqruki cocoon musk.

Sylteena's skin crawled in irk, recalling her escape from the cocoon and how close she was to being disgusted like an insect. She gulped, trying to shake off the horrifying memory of that night and morning.

Other than that, the other portions of the text were difficult to translate as the writing became inconsistent, with some parts of the text faded or torn from age.

Sylteena then proceeded to scrutinize the sketches of the Sliqruki as well as other creatures of the forest. Most especially the hairless black-skinned hounds that bore no eyes but just hollow sockets. The males of the hounds bore horns behind their ears like those of a reindeer, not to mention their emaciated appearance.

Going further to studying the other patches of information on various mystical creatures, Sylteena felt a skin crawl to an uneasy sensation.

She raised her gaze from the book.

Taking a moment to glance around the library, Sylteena could dampen the feeling of being watched as the hair on her neck stood erect.

Her eyes continued to roam.

THUD!

Sylteena flinched at the distant sound, instinctively slamming the book shut as she shoved it back into the hide bag alongside the rest of the research papers she'd spread out.

Carefully hiding the bag underneath one of the shelves, she slowly pushed up on her feet to tiptoe forward. She crunched slightly as she peeked behind the shelf closest to where the noise came from.

Her brows quirked. "Huh?"

By the open window, the curtains fluttered lightly to the breeze, parting to display a small statue set on the window frame.

Sylteena blinked twice. She didn't remember seeing the window open moments ago, not to mention a statue on it.

She treaded nearer.

Seated on the window frame was a black stoned monkey statue, seemingly a foot tall. Sylteena finally halted before it.

Gazing out into the night garden below and back at the sitting monkey statue, she tilted her head as she continued to silently scrutinize the object with a weary expression.

"What... Is this?" She leaned closer to study the face of the statue that had closed eyes. She then poked it with a finger out of caution before grasping it with both hands to bring it closer to her face.

"... I wonder where it came from?..."

She brought it closer to her face — the eyes snapped open, revealing amber-green orbs.

Just before the statue could slip from her grip in fright, a bust of shining green light illuminated from the status, spreading through the space around, enveloping Sylteena's being.

The light shrunk in an instant, vanishing alongside Sylteena and the statue into specs of light.

Sylteena felt a strange sensation as the green light enveloped her. The world around her dissolved into a swirling vortex of colors. The statue, still clutched in her hands, glowed with an ethereal light.

Time lost all meaning as she tumbled through the void. Suddenly, the vortex dissipated, and Sylteena found herself plummeting toward the ground.

She landed with a thud on a soft, moss-covered surface. Dazed, Sylteena sat up, looking around at the dense forest surrounding her.

The statue's amber-green eyes seemed to gaze up at her, filled with otherworldly intelligence.

The eerie timber surrounding tall trees and bushes was illuminated by the gleaming moonlight from above.

Sylteena's wide eyes blinked twice, staring deep into its gleaming orbs that shone within the darkness around her.

The stoney texture of the monkey statue began to soften into flesh, its stiffened posture slowly loosening.

Sylteena tossed it away from her in fright, pulling back as she watched the statue slowly thaw and move in a live-like manner. Her brows arched higher.

The now living monkey of the same pitch black pigment and bony appearance, leaped off the ground to latch onto a tree trunk, crawling upward.

Her eyes followed the little primate as she felt her skin crawl at the realization that it wasn't a tree before her.

A chill speared down her spine.

The monkey finally perched on the shoulder of the supposed 'tree' that stood with a slightly hunched posture and drooped head shrouded with moss-fleshy hair.

A low gnawing growl escaped the being.