Moonlark Turned Evil

41: Time Continues Onwards

Warning: small mention of self-harm.

"Are you alright?" Jevro asked calmly.

Eria stumbled, but kept her chin high. "There's no need for your concern. I'm perfectly fine." I know you're not worried.

They'd barely managed to escape Atlantis after Sophie sunk it, making it out by a hare's breadth.

Death had been right on her doorstep, three seconds from knocking.

The pair paused in front of Queen Ilith's chambers.

Eria reached out to open the Japanese style shoji—a doorway made of a wooden frame with paper glued on top of it—but she hesitated. Her mother would be angry when she learned of their defeat.

Eria was already on thin ice because of the last battle, when the entire army dispatched to the lake had been killed. Ilith let her off the hook that day because they had been able to teleport another army into the city itself. But now that their new plan was in tatters . . .

Jevro gave her a sideways glance, unsympathetic.

He never pitied anyone, no matter who they were or what they'd been through.

Hand trembling, Eria reached out and tapped the part of the shoji where the wooden frame was thick.

"P-permission to enter?" she said, cursing herself for how timid she sounded.

"Come in," Ilith drawled, from somewhere beyond the door.

Nervously, Eria slid the door sideways and bowed respectfully before entering.

Jevro followed her, closing the door.

Ilith was sitting on a raised dais at the far end of the room, dressed in an elegant robe of green, light purple, and gold. Her silver hair was done up at the crown of her head in a bun.

Eria walked forward until she was several meters away from the dais, before sinking to her knees and touching her forehead to the floor. "I offer my greetings to my mother, Her Majesty Queen Ilith. May she live long, in great prosperity."

As she straightened, she saw how Jevro merely sat down on the floor with only a nod of greeting to Ilith. The queen returned the acknowledgement, utterly unmoved by the lack of respect.

Failing to greet the queen would, even if it was Eria, result in an immediate beheading.

How . . . has Jevro managed to earn her trust?

Eria clenched her fists tightly, relaxing them before anyone could notice.

"Well, Eria?" Ilith turned an expectant gold gaze towards her.

Fear seized her. Her tongue felt numb. Facing death was far easier than being stared down by her mother. "We . . . were . . . Atlantis was . . ." She shivered, finally managing to mumble, "They all died."

Ilith gave her a small smile, too gentle, and Eria knew what was about to happen. "I'm sure there was nothing you could do, Eria. Come forward."

Eria swallowed, and slowly made her way to the dais. Ilith gestured for her to stop moving when she was about an arm's length away.

"Jevro," Ilith called lightly, glancing past her. "What happened, exactly?"

"Sophie Foster attacked us, Your Majesty," Jevro said. "She sank Atlantis and used an electric ability on the water. Princess Eria and I are the only survivors."

"I see." Ilith turned back to Eria, who braced herself.

She didn't get much chance to prepare.

Ilith was lightning fast as she stood up, delivering a sharp kick to Eria's stomach. Eria was sent flying backwards across the room, slamming into the only wall that wasn't made of sliding doors. She collapsed, struggling to raise her head as her mother pulled a gun from the folds of her robes.