BTS: A Court of Embers

14: Upon Reflection

Maren was stubborn, but her stomach was even more hardheaded than she.

The growls and grumbles intensified through the hours since Seokjin had gone. The idea of dinner brought water to her mouth. Eventually, she knew she had no choice but to feed her cravings when the ruby on her cursed ring seemed appetizing--even breakable if she chewed it off. Gathering herself, she stood up from her spot before the fireplace and grabbed a coat from her wardrobe. She observed the wool slippers at the foot of her bed for a split second, and noticed something new.

Outside the window, the sky was a deep, guttural blue. The few stars above the treeline twinkled from a distance. However, her feet were not cold on the marble floors. The fireplace still broiled with heat and charred logs. She was warm.

Warm and starving. Another second in this room and she'd start shoving the gossamer curtains into her mouth. She folded the coat over her arm just in case the hallways were not the same temperature. She left the room without anything to cover her feet.

The corridor outside held a friendly but muted warmth. It needed another fireplace to be as comfortable as her bedroom. Even so, the harsh ripple of wildfire smoke no longer saturated the air. It smelled less of apples and more like outdoors. Windows must have been opened elsewhere, the body of night drifting through each chamber with the lightest touch of smoke. Debris still littered the ragged carpet. Doors still hung at odd angles from their hinges. The art still fluttered helplessly through the natural draft.

Maren quieted her breathing and steps as she neared one of the main hallways. Panic fluttered in her chest as her eyes immediately flicked to the inherent shadows of the vaulted ceiling.

The masked man had been there last, watching and waiting.

He--Seokjin--had been there.

She shuddered at his name, at both images of him. One wearing a cape of firelight and smiles, the other twice his size and clawed. The same soul, but separated bodies. Were they even separated? Would he be mad to find her lurking? Would he attack her again? All these things she never considered when she acted on hunger to leave her room. But being vulnerable now, a knot formed in her chest. One never had an appetite to be shoved into a table or tackled or towered over. Especially not to be yelled at, threatened, or nearly killed.

But for the sake of her peace of mind, she assumed his amusement with her was over. He had spoken to her today. She had gotten in her jabs. He exchanged his niceties. There was nothing left to say. Nothing that would matter anyway. If it wasn't about breaking her curse, then it wasn't necessary. They could go on and on about who was a worse friend and the best liar, but what was there to gain from it?

There was reason to be afraid of masked Seokjin. But, there was reason not to be. He received his wish in her stagnation. At the same time, there were other hells he could reign upon her. After all, she was under his supervision. He was responsible for her life. Yet, he also had the power to end that life whenever he desired.

Her stomach knocked on her insides again. Daring not to hide, she navigated to the dining room.

As she turned into the proper corridor, a slender figure stepped from her destination. Her blond hair was nearly white in the onslaught of moonlight, her grey and silver robes gleaming in contrast to the silver tray in her hand. In ash-tinged surroundings, Emberlynn resembled a maiden risen from the dust with a golden ring around her irises to prove that she, too, was part of the kingdom. But when she spotted Maren, the attendant paused, pity warping her beauty.

Maren approached her anyway, careful not to step on glass with her freshly healed feet.

The attendant grinned sadly over the tray, her voice low. "You left your room."