Starborne

Chapter 17

I went straight to Akara’s room, and knocked on the door until she answered. Looking grumpy and disheveled, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she did not seem particularly enthused to see me. 

“Can I come in? We need to talk.”

“We could have talked later in the day, what time is it even?”

I shrugged apologetically, and Akara sighed before pulling back the door to let me inside. 

“Before you start, I want to make something clear. You lied to me and the Queen. I backed you up, Holly, but if you lie to me now I won’t do it again.”

Ah, so she was still mad at me. That was fair, to be expected, and I owed Akara the truth. I sat tentatively at the edge of her bed as she towered over me, hands on her hips and head cocked to the side.

“I did lie, yes. Stefin locked me up because someone was feeding him false information about me. I knew he wouldn’t believe that, so I needed his parent’s sympathy, so they could release me from his hold. I orchestrated my freedom to prove my innocence, and the only way I could think of achieving that was… some creative truth manipulation.” I really was sorry, and hoped my friend would forgive me for the role I forced her to play in my deceit. 

Akara stared silently for a few moments, before relaxing her stance and breaking out into a large smile. 

“It worked, I assume?” 

“Well, kind of. Stefin can’t lock me up anymore, and he is going to look into the things he heard about me.”

“How could I be mad then? I was annoyed, for sure, but this is great news. I assume the fake heartbreak was part of it? I knew you were better than that, to actually fall for him…” Akara trailed off, noticing the emotions on my face that I had been trying my best to hide. 

“Or was it not?” 

I sighed, suddenly rethinking my decision to pay Akara a visit. She was remarkably intuitive, at least when it came to me.

“After I talked to the King, he told Stefin that we had to continue with the bonding sequence as normal. We went to the Temple, talked to the Priestess, and she gave us some sort of drink.”

“Oh, no. Please tell me you didn’t, Holly.” Akara seemed worried, and more than a little peeved. 

“I mean, I had to. I promised I would, and didn’t see the harm-”

“Listen, I respect the Royals. I understand our culture, worship our Gods, but sometimes the traditions go too far. I’ve heard of certain… supplements. Herbs and potions used to stimulate difficult matches. I don’t agree with it, I think it’s manipulative, and the stories I’ve heard make it sound extraordinarily overwhelming.”

“You heard right.” I sighed deeply and glanced away, not able to stomach the pity I noticed in Akara’s eyes.

I thought about how to phrase my next confession, to maintain my integrity while still conveying the depth of my internal struggle. 

“It worked on me, whatever it was. I’m physically bonded to Stefin now, it’s intense and awful.” I looked up at Akara, and her face was sad. 

“The worst part - well, one of the most embarrassing - is that it didn’t work on him.” I was mortified to feel some tears brewing in my eyes. Stronger than the night before, baring my worries to Akara still made me feel vulnerable. 

“He must really love her, Akara. To fight whatever that potion did to us - he loves her a lot.”

Akara looked ready to interrupt, but I shook my head pleadingly.