TORTURED SOUL, general kirigan ✔

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"No. I made sure he was unscathed. Only a few bruises, nothing unusual for a child of his age," Liliya said, smiling a little before she let her body relaxing. Her limbs had been so tense all day and she wasn't quite aware. Her feet throbbed at the new sensation, burning pleasantly now that she let herself completely relax.

"He is not Ravkan, is he?" Polina asked. Liliya shook her head and then adjusted in her seat. Her back slouched slightly, a sign of her true exhaustion.

"Shu but he is under my protection and I'm an Inferni so please don't say anything that will make me hurt you. I will be gone by tomorrow," Liliya said quickly. A warning and a threat but it wasn't entirely convincing to anyone. Polina nodded her head anyway and continued to apply the paste before letting it rest against her wound.

"I don't intend to harm him. He looked terrified when he arrived," She explained. Liliya nodded and lifted her head to her face, pushing her red hair out of her face. It was a tangled mess but she knew that it would be fixed. She just needed Genya. Genya, a healer and Aleksander. They would make everything better.

"It's not every day that an eight-year-old gets threatened to be killed," Liliya mumbled more to herself than anyone but Polina heard. Her eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Liliya let out a soft sigh, realising her mistake, "We are on the run from the Shu. Some people want him dead. I'm trying my best to protect him from someone who should be dead," Liliya explained. Her attempt to keep it brief was successful but she knew that she could keep going if she wanted to. Being able to talk to anyone about it would be nice. Better than the silence and the nightmares.

"Is that a Grisha ability? Bringing back the dead?" Polina asked. Liliya snorted at even the idea. The Grisha could do many things but defying death was one of the few exceptions to their power. At least as far as she was aware.

"No. He just never seemed to die. He was taken by the Fjerdans. At least, thats what I believed. It turns out he is alive and walking around Shu Han as if nothing happened," Liliya muttered. Polina nodded and then grabbed the cloth and wiped away the paste. It had dried up to some extent but was gone with a few swipes. The wound already looked better.

"And then he tried to kill you?" Polina asked, amusement in her tone. Liliya nodded, chuckling softly. This whole situation felt absurd but she was a Shadow Summoner who had fallen in love with the General of the Second Army. They had confessed that they loved each other. Was there anything more absurd than winning the heart of a man deemed heartless?

"And I'm his daughter but that only makes it worse doesn't it?" Liliya chuckled, trying to keep the conversation light. If she laughed at the situation, she might just avoid breaking down in front of this random woman.

"I think so," Polina nodded. She then grabbed a hold of a new set of bandages and Liliya spotted something. Something she wished she hadn't. Something she really wished she hadn't seen. Zlatan. The mark of Zlatan. The emblem of the people who agreed with him. It was written on a note, obscured by the fabric of the bag but Liliya would recognise the mark anywhere. The mark that signified the death of her kind, her people.

Polina then finished wrapping the bandage and smiled widely at Liliya. Liliya then looked back at her and let a frown spread across her face. Her gut twisting in anxiety before realising there was nothing else she could do.

"I'm really sorry that I'm going to do this, Polina, but I can't let you leave," Liliya said softly as she moved to stand up. Her hand moving quickly, the shadows wrapping around the woman. Keeping her in place.

"It won't matter if I'm dead. You'll be gone in a day. Dead like all Grisha scum deserve to be," Polina's attitude changed quickly. It gave Liliya whiplash, not expecting such an abrupt change in tone. Though she didn't know what she had expected. Liliya then reached forward and wrapped her hand around the throat of the woman.

"I would apologise but I don't care anymore," Liliya admitted softly as she squeezed Polina's throat tighter. Her fingers digging into the windpipe, cutting off Polina's air completely. The woman fell limp, unconscious and Liliya used the shadows to finish her off, snapping her neck. Now, she was stuck with a body that she had to get rid of. Bury it before Daish saw. Before anyone saw.

Her heart felt heavy as she glanced over at the window. It opened and led to the forest behind the town. At least she wouldn't be seen. Once she had tucked Daish in, she grabbed a hold of the body of the woman and dragged it to the window. The two of them slipped out and Liliya had the body over her shoulder.

Her whole being felt heavy as she trudged through the mud. It was either because she knew the poison was there or maybe it was just the effect of it but she felt exhausted. Her whole body ready to collapse under the weight of herself and Polina's body but she knew what she had to do. Dumping the body, she trudged into the village in search of a spade which she managed to steal without anyone seeing. It would be back by the morning and it would be like it was never gone at all.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she grabbed a hold of Polina's hand and dragged both herself and the body into the woods. Getting as deep as she could before she began to dig the grave. Her shovel pushing into the mud. It wasn't long until a hole was dug and Liliya dropped the body inside. She didn't know she had started crying but as she filled the grave in, the tears blurred her vision. It felt impossible to see and she collapsed into the dirt pile. The body half-covered and the shovel clattering to the floor.

"Milaya."

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author's note! why hello there, i didn't update yesterday but I HAVE THIS NOW! so... yeah... i don't entirely know what to say here bUT i'm close to the end of the first 'book'/act/arc for liliya, literally two scenes left and if i finish writing the second bit, then i will be double updating once again to make up for my lack of update yesterday but ya know, here we are! i don't know yet but i hope you enjyoed this chapter and thank you for all the support, it honestly means everything