Lover's Curse (Red Queen Awards Winner)

Chapter Thirty Two - Screaming Voids

Mare

I'm running out of ideas

Plan Pick-the-Lock had promise. It took little effort to find a hairpin in the drawers, and little more to locate the keyhole. But Evangeline had crafted a lock too small for it to fit, and other pins yielded no results.

Plan Annoy Eleanora was easy enough. The guard had no patience for my grumbling and taunts, and might've freed me just to shut me up. At least, she might've if she hadn't invested in a robust set of earbuds.

Plan Guilt Iris was all set until she disappeared. After Tiora unlocked us from the room, Iris had stopped seeking me out, and the few times I'd seen her had been at Cenra's side. She may have looked solemn, but not solemn enough to help me.

I scream into the nearest pillow.

"Feel better?" Eleanora leans against the doorframe, studying her nails. Her hair has been tied back beneath a cap, though the red hue still reminds me of Gisa. "You should eat, at the very least."

"I don't want to."

She shrugs. "More for me, then."

My fingers twitch as she takes the plate, pausing as if to test my reaction. "Looks delicious. Sure you want me to have it?"

"No."

Eleanora smiles as I lift the plate to my face. "Progress."

It smashes to the floor.

"Or not." She sighs. "Next time, I'm just eating it."

"I'll make a note to drop it sooner." My foot slides into the mess, kicking a shard beneath my bed. "We can start a game called Screaming Into the Void."

"I prefer the sequel." Eleanora snorts. "The Void Screamed Back."

The sound of footsteps draws me to the door, where I press an ear to the wall. She rolls her eyes, but says nothing. Voices drift from the hallway, melodious and regal. "We went through so much trouble to secure her. Surely we have more plans than to let her rust?"

A nudge of the door, and my head has room to poke out. Iris lingers a few paces behind her mother, hands wrung and smile uneasy. Cenra gives her a quizzical look. "I recall it being quite easy."

"I suppose." She bites her lip. "But isn't it a waste of resources to maintain her capture? There must be more--"

"Yes, Iris. Keeping her alive is a waste of resources. I don't know why you're so insistent on it."

"I--" Silence.

Cenra takes her daughter's hand, softening. "Sometimes you have to cut your losses. It was a good idea that happened to not pan out. There's no shame in it."

Iris looks away, and I realize they've halted in front of my door. I freeze.

She catches my gaze. She says nothing. Her eyes glide back to Cenra, who tilts her head. "It's alright. The gods know I wanted to prove myself at your age." She smooths her hair. "You're allowed to make mistakes."

Iris nods. "Yes." Her voice is far away. "A mistake."

Their conversation turns to less serious matters as they walk away, as I duck inside, heart racing. Iris was right. Cenra's not Maven. She's a happy, well-adjusted person with far too much power and a dangerous legacy to uphold.

One that has no use for me.

Night falls.

The bustle of servants slows to a crawl, then halts as more and more fall to sleep's lure. I wait for Eleanora to join them, but she never does. The strands of hair escaping from her cap gleam silver in the moonlight, and they still gleam when she finally departs for the bathroom.

No witnesses.

I slide a foot underneath my bed and dislodge the shard. It fits in my palm like the hilt of a dagger, supple leather swapped for nerve and desperation. The keys. She must have them.

My breath hitches as I inch across the floor, from darkness to fluorescent lighting that blinds me upon first glance. She's at the counter, a tray of grey powder propped open as she dabs an eye in front of a hand-sized mirror. Odd. Eleanora didn't strike me as one to care for her appearance.

The shard is long and curved enough to hook around her throat, though not terribly sharp. Fine. I need her scared, not dead.

Her head bobs as she scrubs her forehead, frowning as more hair tumbles from her cap. It's longer and wavier than I remember.

She looks so much like Gisa.

Too much.

My grip wobbles. No. Stay strong. Stay steady.

She shifts the mirror down.

Light bounces off the glass directly into my eye, and I stagger backwards. My back collides with the wall as my vision clears, too slow for stealth, but quick enough for a surprise lunge. Her neck is unguarded. I can still win.

I don't.

She sidesteps me before my fingers find purchase, before I can do anything but slash wildly in her direction. The shard clatters onto the ground beside me, and she picks it up, dripping crimson.

Strange.

Why don't I feel any cuts?

My eyes drift up, following the curve of her elbow to her shoulder, then further, to the thin trail of red blood leaking from the side of her neck. The face too smooth and delicate to be Eleanora's.

Rosalie Nonne presses two fingers against the cut, grimacing. "Oh, dear." She winces. "I should've listened to Ellie when she warned you were violent." Sigh. "Could you fetch me a tissue? I'm not used to doing this manually." A soft smile. "It's awfully inconvenient to be the only healer you know."

"You're--"

"People never could tell us apart." She chuckles. "Perhaps it's the hair."

A/N: Sorry this was late, had to write it from scratch. This was the roughest stretch, and it took a bit to figure out where to take it. Rest of the chapters should be on time

Edits: Added dialogue to Chapters 28 and 29 to increase Cenra's presence. I realized I had built her up and kinda forgot about her lol

Smoothed beginning of Chapter 31

Replaced section of Chapter 15 that I hated with a good emotional beat