Frostbitten Past

X L V

THE CLAN Leader was alone, in his bedroom, laying on the floor. He was surrounded by blood, and Andorra wasn't sure if it was his or not. His chest was moving, which indicated he was alive, and Andorra just watched for a moment.

He looked weaker than he had ever looked before. When she stepped through, he bent his head towards her, his eyes narrow. "So you weren't killed after all."

She pursed her lips. "Where is everyone else in the palace?"

He let out a wet laugh, then groaned as if it hurt to do that. "How would I know? I ran to safety the moment the attack started. Who cares about the help when they're so disposable?"

Hot anger ran through Andorra at those words, making red flow through her veins. She felt it run down her spine, through her arms and legs, pressing against her skin, begging to be let out.

"You're a shit leader." She wasn't prone to cursing, but it just came out, fueled with hatred. Hatred stronger than she thought she had. "You don't deserve your clan." You deserve to die. The thought was sudden and violent, but it was true.

"Did my son find you? That worthless boy was too concerned about your whereabouts to do much of anything."

She scoffed, hating that he was lying to her face. "I know about the plan. I overheard you talking about it. I'm not staying behind, and I will become queen, whether you want me to or not."

The Clan Leader's mouth twisted. "Guess that cat is out of the bag. My son was pretty shit at it anyway, wouldn't you say? Since he failed his job to keep you here."

Her chest ached at those words. At the thought that Noah truly didn't care for her. "Truthfully, he probably would have gotten away with it if I hadn't overheard you." She loved him, and she let him trick her into believing he loved her, too.

I almost played the life of a human, just to be with you. He had told her that. He had made it so obvious he wanted her to stay out of Anlithamy the whole time, and she hadn't seen it coming.

"So, is this the part where you kill me?" He rasped, laughing. It was painful to hear, due to the wheezing and the injuries to his body.

"Looks like you're dying without my help. And I can just leave you behind. I honestly just came to ask about the others, but if we're done here..." she took a step back, towards the door, gesturing to leave, and the Clan Leader shot up. He grunted, his hand going to the side of his stomach.

"Don't leave me here!" He wailed.

"Why shouldn't I?" Her voice was acidic. "You said I was useless. You made me feel useless. And now you want my help, after admitting that you wanted your son to trick me into staying behind? I don't think so."

She stepped into the in-between before he could say anything else, and the fire in her chest burned. She felt like she had right before she killed that man in her high school. She tried to tame it, tried to push it away, but she couldn't. She could feel herself falling apart at the seems, but she held it together enough to think of the Clan Leader's wife, Noah's mother. Despite her being a toxic part of Andorra's time there, she was still Noah's mother.

When she found Noah's mother though, she was dead, laying in a lump on the corridor floor, her wide eyes looking up at what had probably killed her in fear. There was something in her expression that made Andorra's stomach immediately sour, and she pulled herself back into the in-between, thinking of Anlithamy at once.

When she stepped back through, she had expected there to be hoards of people, waiting, but there was no one but Princess Carling, waiting patiently. She looked for a moment to be worn, with her beautiful hair pulled back, but when her eyes met Andorra's, she smiled. It was the smile of someone who was relieved, and for a moment, Andorra wondered if the woman perhaps thought Andorra wouldn't be returning.