Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Radiant

"You bicker like an old married couple." Thorn rumbled as I realized that the sound had come from the young dragon. Murtagh shot his dragon a look as I slipped out of his grasp. It was late, and the more time I spent with Murtagh, the more I got sucked into a relationship that could end with broken hearts and bodies.

"Where do you think you're sneaking off to?"

"My room," I tossed over my shoulder. "This dress is killing me, and I'm tired."

Exiting the nest, I double-timed it back to the castle. I hadn't been lying, while the dress was beautiful, the corset was digging into my ribs, and the skirt felt like it weighed a hundred horses.

Entering the wing of the castle that my room resided, I scurried into my room and shut the door behind me before letting out a deep breath.

"Is everything alright, your highness?" Frida asked as she and Lydia hurried up to me.

"I officially want to suffocate most of the court with their own dresses," I responded tiredly as Lydia started to work on the laces of the corset.

"Well, I can't blame you," Lydia muttered behind me. The corset was released, allowing me to suck in a deep breath as the dress went slack. Frida held my hand as I stepped out of my shoes before hustling over to Lydia to help remove the enormous dress.

Once the gown was removed from my frame, Frida helped me into a thin-strapped nightgown before directing me to sit at my vanity. Lydia started to work on removing the kohl and lip paint, while Frida removed the jewelry.

My lips returned to their natural color while the brightness of my eyes dimmed. Frida removed the pins from my hair, causing it to fall against my bare back. Frida gave my hair a short brushing before moving to put the crown and jewelry away.

"Will that be all for tonight?" Lydia asked. I nodded at her.

"Yes, thank you," I replied before watching the two disappear through my bedroom door. I drummed my fingers on my vanity. It was late, I was tired, but the possibility of phantom pain occurring shrouded my room in a heavy fog. Maybe tonight will be different.

I am sincerely regretting my last statement. Maybe that statement is the reason I am in so much pain right now. I can barely think it hurt so much. I was curled up on my left side in a fetal position gripping my right shoulder. I had been sleeping peacefully when it had decided to act up.

I clenched my teeth together as another bolt of pain went down my arm and into my fingers. I bit back another shriek and squeezed my eyes together. Life hates me; it's official. I curled myself tighter and tried to take deep breaths like Master Oromis had taught me. A few stray tears leaked from my scrunched up eyes. Traitors.

"Mal?" My eyes shot open with panic.

"What are you doing here!?! Get out!" I squeaked out. I was in too much pain to do anything other than spit out a few words. "Get out! Just get out."

"Mal," Murtagh said, walking into my field of vision. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You idiot." I moaned out before tucking my chin into my chest and feeling my whole body shudder again.

"I can sense your pain from my room, what's going on? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"You can't help me; no one can," I whispered.

"You're being negative." I fixed my eyes on Murtagh with an unwavering gaze.

"You want to know why I haven't been sleeping? This is why." I hissed out before another wave of pain had me whimpering. "I've been trying to get rid of it since Tronjheim, well nothing has worked!"