Hey guys! The semester ends in less than a month and you know what that means? MORE EXAMS! Next week will be hell and I do not look forward to it. On a happier note, we hit 40k views! This is really awesome! I'm so happy that you still like the book (even though I was kind of mean in the last chapters ;) ) Anyway, here's the new one. Have fun reading it and don't forget to vote and comment :) Love you all <3
In addition to Talia, Vriany, Satie and the girls, another woman was present in our room. She was of average size with short brown hair and striking blue eyes. I walked to her, letting go of Rilos, and extended my hand.
"You must be Feolrn. I'm glad to know that you can help us find out what happened here. I've never seen you around before. Where are you from?"
"Hello, your Majesty. I am very honoured to meet you," she said, taking my hand and bowing. "I live deep in the forest. When lies aren't part of your life, it's a bit awkward to live in society as it tends to be based on those. I always was a bit solitary anyway and books are my favourite companions. Now, I believe you wanted to know what happened to you all during the last week, is that correct? And none of you experienced the same thing?"
"I think that all the staff went through the same week concerning these two. They were locked up in their room, arguing violently. No one could enter and the rare moments that Rilos was out, he was in a foul mood."
"How about you, your Majesty?" she asked, looking at me.
"I was alone with my thought and..." I drew a shaky breath. Rilos slipped his hand in mine, squeezing it gently. I had missed this. I still had some anger swirling inside, but knowing what really happened could help bring it down a notch. That and Rilos telling me how he felt about the bite. "I tried to be strong. I really didn't want to do it. I didn't want to make anyone sad, but he was just so persuasive. Next thing I know, I was lying down in my own blood."
"Who's 'he', Lyra?" worried Satie.
"Sadist," I answered with a small voice. "He kept talking in my head. He knows how to push the right buttons and I... I couldn't help but believe him."
"It's alright, Lyra. Nobody is mad at you," reassured Rilos.
"You are. You're angry with me."
"Before you told me what he said to you, yes. I thought you had done it because of what happened between us and that hurt me immensely. What went on from my point of view was about the same as Lyra. She didn't want anything to do with me and shut me out."
"Interesting. A mix of curse and subconscious. Most likely triggered by that event. Someone put it there with the intention of it activating the moment this would happen. I don't know who, however. It's been too long and no one I can access knows about it. You know what I have to do, my King, in order to find the truth."
He clenched his teeth, his lips flattening into a thin line.
"Everyone turns around to face the wall, except for you, Feolrn," he barked. Feolrn motioned for me to take off my shirt. I backed away, crossing my arms over my chest. "She needs to access the trigger, Lyra. Calm down. Imagine no one is there. Come here," he said, opening his arms. I ran into them, hiding my face on his chest and gripping his shirt tightly.
"It's one thing to do it when we're just the two of us, it's an other when there are people around," I murmured. "I don't like it. I don't like this at all."
"It's okay, Lyra. You won't have to take it off completely. Here," he whispered, uncovering my shoulder. "Let's just do it like this. Feolrn will simply put her hand over the mark and you'll feel a bit sticky. That's her blood. It's needed in order for it to work but don't worry, I'll clean it right after everything is done."
"What do you mean 'the mark'? Are you saying it's still there?"
"Not all wounds want to be healed, your Majesty, especially those who don't need to be," stated Feolrn. "I've noticed that your love is no longer as restricted as it previously was, your Highness. Something as beautiful as love should never be put in shackles."
"I don't want to hurt her."
"You can be really thick for someone who has lived as long as you have, your Highness. Your soul-mate told you before, didn't she? 'If love breaks something, then it wasn't love in the first place.' You are incredibly wise for someone who's whole life was devoid of love until recently."
"I'll take that as a compliment, I think."
I shuddered as her damp hand came in contact with the top of my shoulder. It stayed there for a few minutes and then left. The stickiness went away almost immediately and my shirt was put back into place. I sniffled and turned around. Feolrn was in a trance-like state, her eyes moving wildly.
"Is she alright?" I asked, worried.
"Yes. She's observing what went on during the time we were under the effect of that spell. With a bit of luck, she'll be able to tell us who put it on and I will find and kill that person. You can all turn around by the way."
"I doubt you'll be able to kill that person, your Highness. She's already dead."
"Let me guess. Cyrian made her put it on Lyra and he eliminated her afterwards."
"Indeed, except she died because the spell was too demanding for her. It's the biggest spell I've ever come across. The people in the castle weren't the only ones who were affected, everyone in this world was. Had the Queen succeeded with her attempt to kill herself, no one would have known that they were under such a thing. The world stopped and the whole week happened in our head. The moment she passed out, the entire thing fell apart. You two should have a discussion about the trigger, by the way. It's more than necessary. As I said, part of it came from your subconscious."
"We will in due time. So the only thing that really happened was Lyra trying to kill herself?"
"Yes. That was the goal of the spell. Getting her to kill herself. Cyrian knew that if it was set off, it would mean that you had found her. He wanted to destroy that fate by all means possible. Clever people always are the most dangerous, wouldn't you agree?"
She had two wolves lurking inside her. One was chained, an expression that reminded me of Dark-Soul swirling in its eyes. The other was tensed, ready to jump at the mad one at any moment.
"Is that why you live away from everybody?" I wondered out-loud. "To protect them from you?"
"An instinctive without filter. That refreshing. You saw them, didn't you? My wolves." I nodded. "Yeah, I have a bit of a split personality. It's mostly under control and your soul-mate is able to fend it off, for now. Once it's not the case anymore, he'll have to end me. It's a shame that people with my power never last very long."
"You've exceeded my expectations by a long run, Feolrn. I think you still have some time before you," Rilos said softly.
"I should really get going. Being near that much innocence isn't good for predators."
On those words, she disappeared.
"We are glad to know that you weren't really fighting, but please, Lyra, you need to tell us if you feel like hurting yourself. We are your friends, aren't we? We can help you. We don't want you to die," hiccuped Sanaelle.
"I'm sorry," I croaked, hugging her. "I didn't want to burden you with my problems but I now realize that it hurt you more than anything. I won't make the same mistake twice. I will tell you everything, good and bad, as long as it isn't some private matters between Rilos and I."
"Dammit. Here I thought that we finally had you," joked Felia, joining our hug, quickly followed by Kylanne.
"Thank you for being there, girls. You're the best friends I could ever ask for."
"Right back at you. That is why we will leave you alone until tomorrow. If Feolrn is right, you have to talk to your soul-mate about some things," concluded Kylanne, dragging the two others outside by the collar.
Everyone else was already gone, except for Vriany who was having a staring contest with Rilos, both had their teeth showing. Anger and aggressiveness were saturating the air. The tension suddenly snapped and they transformed, launching for each other's throat.