Chereads / This Fire Within Me / Chapter 19 - XIX. Cautious

Chapter 19 - XIX. Cautious

That ear piercing scream rang through the room, it echoed and got reflected by the soundproof thick walls which made the scream sound even louder and more heartbreaking. Her terrified eyes gazed unfocused around. Blood seeped through the cracks of the stonecold floor.

My mind seemed to progress everything in slow motion. And it was too much to bear. But at the same time, I was calm, too calm in fact. I knew exactly what I was going to do. At that moment, I could feel it. The flame that ignited within me. I felt it with every sense, and every cell in my body. And it started seeping outside. I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. But it gave me confident, and at that moment, it was everything I needed.

Power, that is.

I took a few steps forward, my inner flames growing with every step. The burning feeling was overwhelming, but for the first time, it wasn't painful.

Her gaze turned towards me, her eyes drowned in tears and a bit of uneven insanity. And I could tell she was confused and scared. But most importantly she was spiteful. I don't know if it was directed at me, at the other or at herself. But her mother's corpse a few feet ahead made the reason behind the spitefullness clear.

Without a warning, and out of thin air, someone was suddenly standing behind me. The person put his palm right on my back. And a pulse ran painfully through my body.

The feeling of fire when it's extinguished by water, do you know it? Probably not, unless you are an orange red-ish flame dancing on wood sticks, but that was exactly how it felt.

I stumbled forward a few steps, the last thing I see being her sorrowful, beautiful ocean-blue eyes...

********

Youya's POV:

A ray of light creeped through the window and disturbed my sleepy eyes. I opened them tiredly and looked around. Rin and Hina-san were sleeping on the couch, each of them taking a side and in a sitting position. Rin's head was leaning backward on the backrest, drooling right on it, while Hina-san was sleeping cross armed, her head resting on her shoulder. Both of their positions looked uncomfortable and I in no way envy them for the cramps they're going to get later when they wake up.

On the other side of the room, Ayane-san was sure to be right beside the bed. She was, as yesterday, resting her head on top of her crossed arms on the side of the bed, sleeping peacefully.

My gaze turned to the bed. Kuro-san was up in a sitting position, his skin looked ghostly pale and he was looking out through the window absentmindedly.

When he noticed that I was awake now, he took the half mask placed on his lap and put it on his left side of the face.

For a split of a second, he scrunched his brows and squeezed Ayane-san's hand that was holding his. But right after, his features turned neutral again as if nothing happened.

Was he in pain? Was it the curse that Rin told us about yesterday? What should I do to help? Can I even do anything? I really wanted to ask!

"Kuro-san how ca-" I started to say but stopped when he shot me a terrifying glare. I panicked because I didn't know what upset him.

He stayed silent.

And I was freaking out in this terrible silence, not knowing if he would get angry if I tried to talk again.

"Hikaru" He broke the silence. "Call me Hikaru"

"Is that.... y-your name?" I carefully and unsurely asked. Well I remember that Kuro was not his real name, but it couldn't have upset him that I called him that, could it?

He just noded silently.

*******

*At the palace*

"I told you not to say that name in front of me ever again!"

Yells were heard all over the palace. But it was not the usual voice of the angry young prince, but his mother's.

A poor maid was kneeling on the ground, shaking in fear as she tried to inform the queen and beg for her orders.

"B- but y- your highness. His highness needs medical attention. H- he's been sick for a long period now and I'm afraid it's not a minor illness" The maid said as her forehead pressed down onto the floor utterly terrified.

A loud crash came from the room as her highness's aura destroyed all of the glassy objects within the room.

"F-forgive me, your highness! Forgive me!" the maid cried again and again as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Get lost!" The queen ordered. The maid raised her head and looked at the frustrated queen and decided that it was of no use to beg the queen any further. She stood up and ran out of the room before closing the door immediately.

Sebastian who heard the shouts was heading to the room when he found the maid crying on the ground.

He squatted down to her level and tried to comfort her.

"She didn't approve?" he asked her.

The maid only shook her head and clutched his uniform in her palms. He patted her back and sighed in disappointment.

Guess his highness got to withstand a little while longer...