"You will sit here until the earth eats away at your bones, and for you, my dear sister, that will be a very long time indeed ..."
*
After the use of dark magic, Liro is outcast from the sisterhood, stripped of her immortal grace and lifespan. Lef...
Liro felt as though invisible fingers were tapping along the inside of her skull. An arrhythmic pattern that had her jaw working and her teeth clenching.
She'd made a point of busying herself, and all the while, keeping an eye on Kier from the corners of her vision. Come to my study once you find yourselves able. She had assumed that the Queen wished for them to turn up at her door together, though with the length of time Kier was taking, Liro was finding it difficult to abide.
If the Queen wanted to give her an impossible task, or murder her outright, Liro wanted it over with. She wanted to know.
Liro hadn't told anyone about the body she and Kier had found in the woods, and she hadn't yet asked him if he'd talked. She hoped he'd kept his mouth quiet. The less people prodded around the body, the less there would be questions. For her and for Kier.
More importantly, less competition when it came to tracking down her sisters.
Yasri and Emina were dangerous.
The more Liro thought about it, the tighter she clenched her jaw. She'd gotten something back from their terrible ceremony, her undoing. Her gift, being able to burn without being burnt.
It was not unfathomable to rationalize that her sisters had also been given a gift.
They hadn't been away when they'd first stalked her in the forest. No, that much was evident. They were too surprised by Liro's power to convey that they had been gifted as well.
Especially after what they had done to her. Stripped her of anything that could possibly matter. It was ludicrous to think that Liro had any value left to her.
Yet in the amount of time since then, they must have been experimenting. Testing their limits. The body in the woods was proof that they were no longer resting. No longer just myths told to little children. Mere words, passed from lips to air.
The Sisters of Ruin were active. Hunting. Being idle apparently didn't work when there was an even number of Sisters.
Liro felt a hand at her shoulder, and she turned sharply, surveying the face now in front of her own.
"Tyras," she said calmly, clenching her teeth together tightly. Her body language displayed indifference, though she was feeling anything but.
"And you are Liro, if I've collected my information correctly," he replied. His eyes were lazy as they observed every inch of her face. "I don't remember you from before my group departed. Though Kier doesn't usually keep women at his side."
But you remember me from somewhere else, don't you?
"You don't remember me from before simply because I wasn't here." Her eyes narrowed as her hands clenched. "And Kier does not keep me at his side."
"My apologies." Tyras moves to stand beside her, rather than staring her down. "Though that predicament does sound like a fate best avoided."
Liro kept her mouth shut. This conversation was not worth an ounce of her time, and the longer Kier seemed to take with his own business, the more she imagined this encounter becoming prolonged. Not to mention that if Tyras was hoping to make an admirable impression, he was saying entirely the wrong things.
"You do know me, though," Liro bit out.
Tyras had the good graces to look surprised. "Do I?"
"I saw it on your face. You've seen me before." Her jaw worked frantically. "How?"
"If you do recall, I started this conversation with the precise fact that I didn't know you."
Liro snorted. "My, you know how to spell very pretty lies."
"Excuse me?"
"You can lie. Fine. You can keep all the information from me that you want." She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "But I will find all of it out. And how I do that is entirely up to me."
Tyras didn't flinch. "I'd give you a shovel, but you'll need something bigger to dig through every aspect of my past."
Liro offered him a smirk. "It was a pleasure, Tyras. And I do think I'll enjoy my new task."
"Don't do anything illegal, Liro. The King truly does hate that." The threat lying under the words he spoke was evident.
Don't poke too deep, or I will have to stop you.
Liro didn't look back as she walked away, moving swiftly with long steps towards Kier. She felt as if all the pent up tension was writhing beneath her skin, ready to burst forth at any moment.
She needed this meeting with the Queen over with.
Now.
"Kier," she said, coming to a stop beside him.
He was standing at the edge of the sparring ring, watching two hunters trade blows. His eyes were calculating as he took in every motion, every twitch of a muscle.
"Can you not see I'm busy?" Kier's voice was harsh, like cold winter winds digging into her chest.
"Do you not remember that we have a task to attend to?" Liro couldn't keep the bite out of her own voice. He was infuriating.
"I do believe she said 'when you find yourselves able'." Kier rose a single eyebrow as he looked to her briefly. "I'm busy."
Heat sparked at the tips of Liro's fingers. She'd controlled it before, and now she seemed to be paying the price.
"Fine." She doled her arms across her chest and took a step backwards. "I'm going to see what she wants. You can join me." Her words were clipped as she spoke them, "If you find yourself able."
She didn't know what was more satisfying; turning away from him without hesitation, or seeing the look on his face as she did so. Liro didn't even know if she would be able to pick, of it came down to it.
Liro was unsurprised as she heard the crunch of his boots against the ground as he followed her. After all, he was proving time and time again that he was a loyal lapdog.
And the Queen had crooked her finger.
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