𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𖥸 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨

07 | A Queen's Declaration

Asteria had just about had enough of the living world when she was notified about what went down in the dungeons. She couldn't believe that something else needed to be added to this list of things that went wrong this month.

     Currently, she was making her way through the halls, eyes narrowed, fists clenched, toward the infirmary. She needed to speak with Kyran. They had to figure this out.

     "Why didn't anyone get me sooner?" She demanded, shooting a long look towards her court. There was only disappointment in her face. "I could have ordered her to stop before any of this happened."

      "Why would we? You were busy and it could have risked your life," Pythios replied smoothly, the words only causing her to grow more livid.

     "That doesn't matter! I could have come down during the interrogation and made sure this didn't happen! You only managed to get her even more hurt!" Asteria hissed, not even holding back the anger that was in her voice.

     "Your Majesty, there would have been nothing you could have done. That woman held her at sword point," Gabriel intervened calmly. "None of us save for Pythios was aware of that until he came down to get me."

     Asteria walked right past him, continuing her path to the infirmary without sparing them a single glance. "I don't even want to speak to you right now."

     They didn't make a move to follow her, and she closed her eyes and took a long breath in an effort to calm herself. How could this have all happened when she was upstairs? The guards never told her anything that was happening down below and she was getting sick of it.

     Eventually, she reached the infirmary and walked right in, shooting a hard stare towards any of the healers who glanced in her direction before she spoke, "Where is she?"

      "Who, m'lady?"

     "Kyran."

     "The next room."

     Asteria gave her a curt nod as she continued on her way, pushing open the door and walking in wordlessly. As the healer had said, Kyran was indeed sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. She seemed burdened, eyes dull and fixed on nothing in particular.

     "Pythios has informed me of what has happened down in the dungeons." No greeting or welcome in her tone, only slight anger and a lot of disappointment.

     Her words caused the girl to mildly wince, brushing a strand of her red hair out of her face as she looked the Queen in the eye. "I had no control of what I did. I apologize. Fyre is something I've longed wished to keep hidden away. The half that everyone considers a monster." 

     Asteria's eyes narrowed at her response, pursing her lips. "Why didn't you inform me of this earlier? When you first became my blood sworn? It would have been nice to know these things so we could have prepared."

     Kyran looked away. "I didn't say anything because she is not your problem."

     "Well, she is now if you're my bloodsworn," Asteria replied, feeling some of her anger leave her as she focused on calming herself down. "If you'd killed someone down there. . Not that I would care if it was the woman we were interrogating."

     The redhead bit her lip, reaching to the side to stroke her serpent who was on the bed beside her. However, when she tried to touch him, he hissed aggressively and snapped at her hand, making her jerk away with such pain in her eyes. "I couldn't hold her back. She . . . she sensed my distress and came to the surface when I unlocked the cage around her."

     "Just how long have you had her? When you called your spirit animal? How many times has she exactly emerged?" 

     Kyran gulped. "She molded into my soul the night I called Sīd. The bonding sickness made her more powerful and harder to control, and any time I let my emotions take over, she surfaced. I'd say about a dozen times is how many she came through, and she's killed a lot of people. After the bonding sickness disappeared, I managed to gain enough control to cage her, lock the door, and destroy the key. I didn't want her to hurt anyone else, and I promised Sīd that she would never come through again. I broke that promise today." She looked away when the copperhead hissed at her angrily again.

     "So that's why he is so upset with you." Asteria's lips curled as she gave the serpent a pointed glance. "That's a truly dangerous ability. I don't know what to say other than let you deal with it. Just, next time, if you ever feel like it's going to happen again, try to get a hold of me would you?"

     "Sīd knows how dangerous Fyre is. I can't guarantee anything, because Fyre warned that if she had to surface again, everyone of you was going to die. She would make sure of it." No emotion, no feeling in her words. Just empty numbness.

     Asteria pursed her lips and stared ahead. "There must be something we can do."

     "There really is no way. Only Sīd and I can handle this," Kyran responded to her with a sigh. "You can't help me."

     "The court and I would do almost anything to help you, Kyran. You're one of us."

     "Am I? Really? They've done almost nothing, save for Pythios and Gabriel. And even then, sometimes I agree with Fyre's threat."

     Only a harsh slap was the Queen's response, the rings on her hands drawing blood from the girl's cheek. She couldn't help it. No one threatened her court.

     The shock on Kyran's face did nothing to soften Asteria this time. Her stare was hard and her eyes were cold. "No one threatens my court. Especially not you. You're in no place to do that, girl."

     An expression of hurt crossed Kyran's face, and she stood up promptly, shoving the Queen away from her. "This was a mistake. I never should have returned." Her voice held so much pain, anger, as she lifted her hand to wipe the blood from the cuts on her face. "I was a fool to think you cared. You're just like the rest of them."

     She walked out silently without another word, making no move to wipe the tears dripping off of her cheeks.