Kyra
******
Drip, drip, drip.
I blinked myself awake. My nails scraped along the cold rock beneath me, trying to get a grasp of where I was, of how I got here.
Drip, drip, drip.
I squinted, trying to focus. I could see golden light flickering in the distance. It wasn't type of light that filters through tree canopies and glass windows. No, it was the angry orange light of a flame, sputtering as it struggled to stay alive within the oxygen-deprived halls.
Drip, drip, drip.
My blood ran cold, just like the tears down my cheeks. The cobblestone walls, the iron bars... I knew where I was. I'd know this place from any nightmare, from the darkest crevice of hell.
"Kyra?" a weak voice murmured.
Drip, drip, drip.
I saw them in the cells opposite me. Their skin was burned, marred with scar tissue from whatever hell they'd endured. Their eyes were dead, even if their bodies weren't. Zion's hair matched the shade of the blood leaking from his ears, and Alia's eyes had never looked so cold.
"Kyra," that voice came again, but their mouths didn't move. They just stared at me, silently, the accusation written on their faces. You did this, you did this, you did this.
I pushed the heel of my palm in my eyes. I wanted to push everything away, all of it, but that voice kept calling my name.
"Kyra..."
My body went rigid. Slowly, dreadfully, I raised my head. I could no longer see Zion or Alia. No, just a pair of glowing, azure eyes. Eyes of a lover. Eyes of a liar. Eyes of a betrayer. And they were looking at me, into my soul, decoding every little bit of me. I was falling apart under his gaze, bit by bit, so he could later piece me back together again. So he could piece me back in all the wrong places, as a Kyra that wasn't truly Kyra.
Me. Him. The lines were blurred.
"Kyra..." his voice came again. I pressed my hands over my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. Cold terror surged through me, freezing my blood and slowing my heart. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to hear him, his words. My words, I realised, as my mouth opened to speak.
"Kyra..." we said in unison.
I opened my mouth in a silent scream. His blue eyes were bright, amused, and I realised he had taken my voice again. He had stolen my words, my very breath. Three isolated thuds sounded somewhere in the distance, the marching drumbeat of my death. I could feel his hands squeezing my neck. I could see the bodies of my friends, decaying and dead. I couldn't breathe.
Thud! Thud! Thud! It came again, the beats of my dying heart. Azriel's grip tightened.
I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe--
A sharp gasp ripped from my throat, and suddenly I was alive again. I thrashed against the sheets that clung to me, bearing uncanny resemblance to blood after the battle, to the sticky-hot skin of a lover. My vision spun as I gasped and choked, trying to remember where I was, how I'd gotten here.
Panting, I sprung out of the bed into a room I didn't recognise. This was a dream, wasn't it? I'd wake up any moment now back in those cellars. I almost expected him to crawl out from under the mauve loveseat, or even jump out the closet on the far wall. I sobbed between breaths, my mind in utter disarray--
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Kyra?"
That voice... it wasn't Azriel's. I continued to pant, my heart thudding out of my chest. Not Azriel. Not Azriel. Not Azriel.
Another knock at my door. "Kyra?" came Azure's voice again. "Kyra, if you don't open this door, I'm going to have to break in there to check on you."
I calmed my racing heart, trying to rein in the thoughts that ran like spooked horses in a field. Concern... her voice was laced with concern. Azriel was never concerned. He never cared. This was Azure. This was real. This place was real.
Then I remembered -- Northern Court. I was at the Northern Court, safe from Azriel's cold grasp. I was in a velveted room with any comforts available to me. I was trapped no longer. I was safe. Safe.
Another knock had me running to the door, my hands still shaking as I twisted the knob. I threw it open harder than I intended, so much so that a gust of air whistled behind my sweat-soaked ears. Raina's wide eyes swam into view. Azure stood at her side, rock-solid and poised as ever, though her eyes looked slightly surprised, too.
"Gee, Kyra, you look like shit. Are you alright?" she asked.
I blinked. Once. Twice. Sweat trickled down my temples, and I found it hard to talk past the lump in my throat. "Yes, I'm okay. Just-- just a weird dream I had."
I swallowed, my throat parchment-dry. Raina looked a little relieved by my answer, but Azure's expression didn't change. Something told me she knew more. Fortunately, she didn't press on it. Instead, she said, "It's almost nine in the morning, and the breakfast is soon. I didn't think you would wake up."
I blinked. I must have been asleep for a long, long time then. I was about to shut my door and plead for a second to change out my sweat-soaked clothes, but then I noticed what they were wearing.
"You're wearing the cloaks?" I asked, pointing to the black material on their backs. Azure gave me an annoyed look, one that said, 'are we seriously wasting our time with these questions?'
Raina, as always, came to my aide. "Yes, didn't Luna Darla tell you? Everyone wears them. They basically allow us to not have to walk butt-naked after we shift from werewolf back into human form. See?"
She grabbed one corner of the thick material and lifted it. Sure enough, it looked huge, more than enough to cover her small frame if she wished.
I nodded again. I muttered something indiscernible and turned back inside, staring at the wardrobe I was now a bit nervous to open.
*****
Azure led the way. Somehow, it seemed she had managed to memorize the route to our rooms, because we were flying down familiar hallways and stair wells without a second's hesitation. I'd have to ask her how she did it, and perhaps ask for tips, too.
As I stared at Azure's hair, its ice-blonde strands bone-straight as ever, I found myself worrying. Those images of Zion and Alia in my dream... were they real? Had they really been marred with scars and burns?
I swallowed. Had... had they really died?
My eyes stung. No, it had to be a nightmare. It had to be. It was impossible they'd gotten so burnt, right? Unless... unless Azriel was more psychotic than I originally thought. I thought back to their marred skin, to the scar tissue that looked white and healed despite the blisters. No, it had to just be a figment of my imagination. There was no way they could heal that fast, right? Even with werewolf healing... no, it couldn't be.
Even so, the thought bought me no comfort. Even though I was in this new court, safer than I ever had been, I got the distinct feeling that time was slipping between my fingers like sand. I was sleeping in beds made for princesses whilst my friends rotted away in those dungeons. I had to get to them, somehow. I just knew... I just knew, somehow, that I was running out of time. That their lives, who they were, was slowly slipping away with every moment I spent here.
Panic prickled my heart. But how was I going to save them? I couldn't in my state. I could go back, but that would just end in me being captured, and that would make their chances of escape zero. My only hope now would be to ask those who saved me, but what was in it for them? To save two strangers? They would never agree.
I stared towards the ceiling, trying to contain the tears that threatened to spill, tears that had not been cried for a long time. I would have to wait. Painfully, I would have to wait. I would have to wait until I got stronger, or until there was some other way out. And with that feeling of time slipping by, I knew I didn't have much time to 'wait'. I had to figure something out, soon, else it would be too late.
Staring up at the ceiling, I hadn't realized I'd lost my focus until I walked into something hard and warm, sending me to the ground. Seconds later, a loud omph! sounded as someone else hit the ground, and I found myself blinking furiously to regain my focus.
A boy sat before me, looking just as stunned as I. He groaned as he rubbed against his brown curls, as though trying to get rid of some irksome ache. He muttered a couple curses under his breath until his eyes locked on mine. They were hazel -- light brown flecked with pieces of pale yellow, reminding me of bramble woods in Autumn. Quickly, the boy stood, rubbing his curls in a nervous gesture.
A lopsided smile formed on his lips. "Ladies, ladies! There's no need to knock me down. There's enough of me to go around!"
He shot us a wink, but I just stared, stunned. Azure didn't look the least bit amused, and Raina was blushing.
Eyes twinkling, he offered a hand, smile widening at me. It was almost infectious, and if I didn't feel so dull, I may have found myself smiling, too. But I didn't. Instead, I took his hand, surprised by his strength as he hauled me upright.
"Apologies for running into you, hot-stuff," he flirted, tipping an invisible fedora on his head. I blinked. I had never thought 'hot-stuff' to be part of a werewolf's vocabulary. He glanced towards the other two, his smile widening. "But you can't blame me, right? I mean, I couldn't help but be dazzled by such beautiful women. Tell me, what are your names?"
Raina's green eyes sparkled. "Rain--"
"Don't tell him that, idiot!" Azure snapped. Raina shot her a glare, but Azure's attention was already back on the stranger. Annoyance radiated off her in waves, and I was surprised the boy wasn't cowering. However, something in him seemed to tremble as her stormy eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you, and why are you still in the halls? Breakfast has almost started."
The boy stiffened, as though remembering something. In a quick motion, he bought up his hand and stared at his wrist, as though looking at an invisible watch. "Oh no!" he cried, tapping the invisible watch. "I'm late for the meeting of super-sexy-hot werewolves, where only the hottest werewolves of the court can go to and-- oh, and did I mention they were super hot and sexy?" He grinned, but before any of us could even process whatever the hell he had said, he was turning on his heel and swaggering away, an urgent spring in his step.
"What a weirdo, and terrible flirt," Azure grumbled, shaking her head. I blinked.
"I think he's kinda cute," Raina gushed, twirling a golden ringlet between her fingers. Azure shot her a lethal look, but Raina didn't deign to look her way. It made me suspect that maybe something had gone on between the two.
Before an argument could start, I strode ahead and prayed they would follow without incident. To my greatest relief, they did, Azure and I walking abreast whilst Raina held the rear.
"Who do you think that was?" I asked after many minutes of silence, and Azure shrugged.
"I don't know," was all she said. I watched as she glanced around the halls, a small scowl plaguing her features. "I also don't know what their damn definition of 'surveillance' is. I mean, I haven't seen one guard. Not once."
I nodded, thankful as we fell into comfortable silence again. As I stared at the pristine tiles, I thought of Zion and Alia. I though about their blood on the pretty marble, stark and red against the innocent white.
Innocent... I had been innocent once.
Once.
****
(A/N): another chap done! What did you guys think of the new character lolll
And pls tell me if this is too boring lol, I'm trying really hard to make it interesting but since it's the start it's pretty hard, sorryyy T-T I promise it gets so good