She felt blessed, like the Stars themselves had granted her this. There was no limit, no rules or constraints. She was boundless; she was home, safe and secure in his unbreakable embrace.
~
Shackled in an abrupt and demanding upbringing, Althera is...
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Althera hadn't been feeling any better the next day. That storm of unconsciousness and then consciousness raged around her, and all she could remember were figments of what actually happened, some less clear than others.
There had been no apology on her tongue when she gave Zephyra those cuts that day, or a day back when she ran her fingernails straight down Rhaye's neck, inches away from his throat, the blood riling her up even more. It had been a warning for him to stay away – one: so that she didn't physically hurt him any more, and two: so that he didn't have to see her in this monstrous, unrestricted state.
She was still that same minacious creature, even now: an empty ghost of herself, incomplete and swarming with turmoil. The body – her body – responded to only the voice that rang inside her head, not hers. She hadn't given those commands out, but every word it spoke sounded extraordinarily identical to when she spoke it to herself in her bed, when she sat by the window, clueless as it snowed and the grounds were carpeted in a thick sheet of white and silver that sparkled whenever it was inlaid with gold by the sunlight. It had always been a beautiful view, but she hadn't been in the mood and hadn't had the strength to think so.
She held back a snarl of pain when the pad of her fingers struck against the rough surfaces of the timber stacked inside the fireplace, the splinters rooting themselves inside flesh. She would worry about them later. As the last of the timber had been cleared away, a belt of fighting knives revealed itself to her. A slow grin came upon her face.
It had been fun, slightly, nicking this collection of treasures from the training hall where all the guards practiced. Though it would have been much simpler if she had just entered during the night before the doors were locked and taken as many of those weapons as she wanted, there would be not as much excitement as slipping through the doors, pretending she was lost, taking her time with flirting with the younger males as she grabbed for a strap of knives, and then acting scared and pleading them to escort her back, her smile enchanting all the while. And all three of them had been too absorbed by her to notice the belt that she had hastily buckled around her thigh.
But it hadn't been her who had done it. It hadn't been her when she brought the hoard of knives to Zephyra's cell and didn't say a word as they trained. And it still wasn't her right at this moment as she flung the logs back into the fireplace and wrapped the leather around her legs, making sure they were well hidden under her cloak. She had asked for a new one after burning the one Rhaye had given her, not wanting anything to do with him anymore. She tried not to circle around what broke between them and was for once grateful to the heartless being that seemed in full possession of her.
Her body edged for the door and entered the foyer, which was empty. She had sent Kartella on her way after convincing her she was doing fine and was going for a stroll around the gardens. The maid was a hard one to sway, and she only succeeded after stuffing herself with her afternoon meal.
