Inferno Royale

34 | to hell with secrets

"I'll leave you to it then," Micah muttered reluctantly and saluted before walking out of the room, leaving a gaping Lysandra behind.

Lysandra's grey eyes averted towards Seraphine. "I have come to detest this certain secrecy of yours, Sera. I'm rightfully supposed to be let in on everything in the plan, no?"
A disappointed scowl tainted her pale features.

"It's not like you don't hold secrets, Lysandra," Seraphine observed, her voice turning defensive. "If you get to do that, I do too. Quit behaving like a child."

"Child? I'm the one behaving like a child, huh?" Lysandra snapped, tears filling the corners of her eyes. She bit her lower lip and fiddled with her thumbs before bracing herself to put an end to a part of the torment eating her brain away. "What do you want to know about me? The oh-so-scandalous secret that the Princess holds? Well here it is - I am a murderer. There you have it."

Lysandra's whole frame shook with sobs as she fell into a heap on the carpeted floor. Tears began flowing down her cheeks but all she could feel was numbness. An agonizing apathy thawed her heart and she wanted out of everything at once. But, she would be a fool to leave things be when she felt like she had a chance to redeem herself even a bit.

Seraphine was gaping at her, her arms frozen mid-air, not knowing what to do. Her lips were parted and utter shock was written all over her features. After what it had seemed like hours, she finally paid attention to her cousin who was staring into nothingness, furiously wiping the tears rushing down her flaming cheeks. She had wondered if it was all a pathetic joke, a cinematic spur of the moment thing but her surroundings told her the situation was quite opposite.

Seraphine's voice seemed to be stuck in her throat but a shaky whisper slipped past her mouth. "Who did you kill?"

Lysandra made no attempt to move or answer her cousin and instead settled to ignoring her. The rapidness with which her heart was thudding scared her but, in a strange way she felt a bit free. She had never shared it with anyone about that traumatic incident and bottling up everything was always her good forte. She had accused her cousins of keeping secrets but her own secrets stained her thoughts, sucking life out of her every chance they got.

She was done with it all and after admitting that fact she knew that she could push herself further and tell Seraphine everything. It was very difficult, trusting a stranger that way but for then, she decided to grab all comfort and support she was gonna get. She was done fighting with herself. It was time for her to do the world some good.

By the time her mind was whirring with an impending decision between to contradicting choices, Seraphine had approached her with controlled steps. "Who, Lee?"

Her voice was still a mere whisper. Lysandra shut her eyes closed and with a stony determination, she spoke the next few words. "My parents."

"Holy Zeus, you scared me! Don't be silly now. I agree, they are a bit over the top but— "

"Harris and Brianna." Lysandra felt tears push past her closed eyelids as she took their names. Though her memories were tampered with, the earthen couple had given her a rather memorable childhood until everything fell apart like dominoes, thanks to her. Their serene forest was set ablaze. The fire had left nothing but the ashy proof of their existence.

"Lee, what are you talking about? They died in a house fire— " Seraphine's voice died down as realization coloured her features. "My God, it was your magus, wasn't it? How could I possibly have been so dumb? It was perfectly blatant, the way you shut yourself away from everyone the day your magus showed itself in the dungeons and the way you unknowingly locked it away after the tragedy."