Silence.
Not a word was spoken between them.
Uncomfortable.
It was the perfect word to describe the lasting silence between them. They were facing each other; their gazes rested on one another, but neither said a word. After minutes of unpleasant silence, Celeste was the first to speak. "So, could you tell me what you talked about with your aunt?"
Cruxia considered how much she wanted to tell Celeste, chewing on her bottom lip as a thoughtful look could be seen on her pretty face. "We might be allowed to stay here, but my aunt needs to talk to the warlords first."
"Warlords? This clan has more than one?"
The Yxal nodded. "The Deathchanter Clan is the only one that has three warlords. The other clans have only one."
"And when will your aunt talk to them?"
"Tomorrow. We will go there together."
"And if we are allowed to stay, then what?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't thought so far," Cruxia replied honestly. "First, we must wait for the warlords' decision; then, I can think about what's next for us."
Celeste was not pleased with that answer; her expression showed that, but she didn't say anything. She knew she was not in a position to complain or demand anything. She was at the mercy of the Yxal, and she hated that. She could only hope that her powers would return to her or that Tenarian forces would rescue her somehow.
"My aunts allow us to stay in this room and even provide us with fresh clothes."
"Good, I feared I would have to wear these rags for the rest of my life," Celeste replied, relieved.
"She wants us to take a bath first. You could really need it."
"So do you," Celeste muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" Cruxia asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I just wanted to express my relief," Celeste lied.
"Not sure if you will be so relieved."
"What do you mean?" Celeste questioned, confused.
"I have to keep an eye on you while you take a bath."
"You cannot be serious!"
Cruxia sighed. "Trust me, I don't want this any more than you, but it is necessary. I must be there in case you attempt to drown yourself."
"I'm not going to drown myself!" Celeste replied, shocked. She had not expected the Yxal to say something like that.
"It happened before, so we must be extra cautious. We cannot allow a valuable source of information to kill themselves," Cruxia explained. She didn't know why she was justifying herself to the other woman. She was not accountable to her. Celeste was her prisoner; she didn't have to tell her anything. Celeste had no choice but to do what she said. Nevertheless, Cruxia argued with her prisoner for a reason she couldn't explain.
"You do not need to fear for my life. I do not plan to kill myself," the Anxoyal replied, serious. She meant it.
"Even if I believe you, I still have to watch you. We cannot take any risks, not to mention that my aunt requested that I do so. I still have to do that even if I do not want to. Sometimes, we must do things we do not want to," Cruxia replied after a short pause.
Celeste was anything but pleased with the answer, and her face clearly showed that. "What if I don't wash at all."
"Then I must wash you. Trust me, you do not want that."
"Seems I have no choice," Celeste groaned.
"You don't. We should go now; it's already getting late. If you behave, I ask my aunt for food. Unless you'd rather want to starve."
"No, I do not."
"Then come with me."
Celeste did as she was told, following Cruxia to the bathroom next door. The room's walls were grey, and beige tiles covered the floor. In the room's middle stood a copper tub large and wide enough to fit two people of Celeste's size. Between its bottom and the ground was a fireplace with sheets of wood already placed in. Next to the tub stood four wooden buckets full of water. Nothing else was in the room besides the cupboard before the left wall.
Cruxia walked over to the tub and picked up the first bucket, pouring its content into it. "Seems we need to get more water by ourselves. I saw a well not too far away from the house."
"Who will bath first?" Celeste asked.
"None of us. We will bathe together. How will this work? I need to lock the bathroom to prevent you from leaving the room. Nyxara told me the door doesn't lock properly, so I won't risk it."
"Can't you just tie me up somewhere?"
"I don't think it's possible to tie you to the bathtub or the cupboard. And I won't tie you to one of the beds in our room either because I won't be able to look after you while I'm still in the bath."
"Can't I stay with your aunt while you take a bath alone?"
"She is quite busy at the moment."
A questioning look appeared on Celeste's face. "What is she doing?"
One of Cruxia's brows was raised. "You didn't hear it, did you?"
"What do you mean?" the Anxoyal asked, confused.
"So perhaps it's true that Yxal's hearing is better than your people's. I can hear what they are doing. Not sure if it's a blessing in this situation." The look on Cruxia's face told Celeste what she needed to know.
Cruxia's aunt and Nyxara seemed too busy to watch her, so she had no choice but to climb in the tub with Cruxia. She was not looking forward to doing it, but there was no way to talk herself out of this. She had to endure this embarrassing act with the other woman who, unlike herself, didn't seem to mind.
Cruxia handed Celeste two buckets after she had poured the remaining three into the tub. They had to go to the well four times to fill the tub three-quarters full. Cruxia found a box of matches in one of the cupboard's drawers. She put the stacked wooden pieces on fire, keeping the fire alive long enough to bring the water to an acceptable level of warmth.
Cruxia turned to Celeste. "Before we get in there, I ask you not to do anything stupid. It won't end well for you."
"Understood," Celeste simply replied.
With that said, Cruxia didn't hesitate to remove her armour. She started with her bracers first, and a clattering sound was produced when they were dropped to the floor. Her upper body armour came next, followed by a grey linen shirt. For a reason, it didn't surprise Celeste that the taller woman wore no bra beneath. Although she had not wanted to ogle the other woman, her eyes were drawn to the Yxal's muscular upper body. Her arms were more muscular than Celeste's, which were already quite muscular. Celeste had always wondered if Cruxia was muscular or if she had just thick armour since the other members of her late clan were skinny and not muscular. She had just gotten the answer to her question.
"Are you done staring?" Cruxia asked, not bothering to cover her medium-sized breasts.
Celeste turned around to hide the blush that crept onto her face but said nothing in return.
"You should also start removing your clothes," Cruxia said demandingly.
"I prefer if you turn around," Celeste replied. She didn't need to look at the other woman to know she was rolling her eyes. She had spent some time with the woman, so she remembered some of her common gestures and quirks.
"Don't try anything stupid," Cruxia reminded her again.
Celeste peeked over her shoulder, seeing that Cruxia had turned around and removed her shoes. Celeste gazed at the wooden buckets not far away from her. Despite the Yxal's reminder, she toyed with picking up one of the buckets and then...The light-brown-skinned woman quickly discarded the idea, knowing Cruxia was much stronger than her. Not to mention, she would hear if she would move quickly to get the nearest bucket, and since she fought her once, she knew the Yxal possessed quick reactions. She was a trained warrioress.
Instead of trying anything, Celeste removed the rags she was wearing, feeling a small amount of relief when she finally was rid of them. She discarded them on the floor, reaching the tub. She carefully touched the copper tub, noticing it was not burning her as expected. She carefully touched the water's surface, seeing it was decently warm. It was not too hot but not too cold either.
She stepped in the bath with one foot first, then with the other, lowering her body and slowly getting into the warm water. It was an understatement to say the water was just pleasant. She may have had a bath two days ago, but that had been in a lake with a much lower water temperature. There were leagues between the lake water and the heated water from the well.
She leaned back, enjoying the pleasant water. Since her capture, she had never believed she would ever be able to enjoy a warm bath again. She was granted this privilege, but it would only be for a short duration since she couldn't bathe alone. It was only a matter of time till Cruxia was done undressing.
Celeste had not planned to watch Cruxia, but her eyes were drawn to the pretty and muscular woman. Her gaze rested on her broad shoulders, moved to her defined back and then wandered to the woman's legs, which were only half covered by chausses. Her lower body armour was already discarded. Beneath the chausses, she wore braies and underwear made of beige fabric that reached to her knees.
Cruxia entirely removed the chausses and did the same with the braies, not caring that the other woman was able to see her fully nude form now. Celeste quickly averted her gaze as she caught herself staring for too long. She couldn't deny the other woman's beauty. She may not match the beauty standards of most of the Tenarian population, but that didn't mean she was not beautiful. To Celeste, she was, but it did not matter since she had no interest in her captor. She just wanted to escape her, but she couldn't do that. She had no choice but to spend more time with the Yxal.
Celeste's gaze rested on the walls as she heard the Yxal approaching the tub. Splashing sounds reached her ear when the Yxal stepped into the water with one foot first and then the other. A much louder sound could be heard, letting Celeste assume that the other woman had sat down and broken the water's surface with the rest of her body.
"You may want to take one of these," the Yxal said.
Celeste turned her head, spotting the sponges and bars of soap Cruxia was holding. She took each out of the hand Cruxia held closely to her face. She regarded the soft circular object for a short moment before she looked at the other woman, who had an expecting expression on her face.
Cruxia was so tall that she couldn't fully stretch her legs, letting Celeste assume the tub wasn't designed to fit someone her size. It was intended for creatures the size of Cruxia's aunt. While the water was high enough to cover Celeste's entire torso, the same could not be said in Cruxia's case. The upper half of her cleavage was exposed, but the Yxal didn't mind that.
"What are you waiting for?" the light-purple-haired woman asked, a brow raised as a slight look of confusion settled on her face. "If you think this is a romantic bath, you are wrong. Just clean yourself so we can get this behind us as soon as possible."
Celeste said nothing in return as she began to soap her arms. She scrubbed them clean with the sponge, softly biting her bottom lip as she realised she would have to stand up and get out of the water to soap the rest of her body.
Things would be so much easier if Cruxia's aunt had a shower instead of a bathtub. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the Yxals had the same technology as the people in Tenaria. The Yxals were much behind in this matter. At least the people in the two settlements she had been in so far. She could only judge this settlement's standards by the equipment in this house, which gave her the impression it was much better equipped than most houses in Jeekalan. She wondered if the warlords' houses had pipes supplying water to showers, faucets or other fixtures like sinks or toilets.
In Tenaria, most households had a steady water supply through pipes, which allowed them to use showers, toilets and other fixtures. Only in the rural areas near the border did those houses in small villages not have that technology. She was wondering if the other Yxal settlements also lacked such technology.
Celeste gulped, gathering her courage to ask Cruxia the question that stuck in her mind for nearly two minutes. "Do you mind looking away while I..."
"While you soap your body?" the light-pink-skinned woman completed.
Celeste simply nodded. As expected, Cruxia rolled her eyes. "I cannot believe you still behave like this. I don't understand why you have such a problem showing your body to another woman. I could understand if I were a man. I don't mind showing my body to anyone, but I at least could understand you. I don't have any interest in you and your body. You don't need to fear I will take advantage of you. Your immature behaviour is a huge turn-off anyway."
That was not what Celeste had wanted to hear, and it was clearly shown on her face. A sulking expression could be seen as she pulled her legs to her body, turned around and stood up, showing her backside to the other woman as she slowly began to run the slippery bar of soap over her body. She was too upset by the Yxal's words to care that she was able to have a look at her toned ass.
"I can help you with your backside," Cruxia offered when Celeste was done soaping her front.
"No, thank you," the Anxoyal spat.
"Suit yourself," Cruxia replied.
It was much more challenging to soap her backside, but she managed to do so. Once she was done, she went back into the water and turned around, stretching her legs out. At least the tub was wide enough so their legs didn't have to touch.
Although Celeste didn't want to look at the other woman, her gaze was drawn to Cruxia for a reason Celeste couldn't explain. The Yxal was sitting on the thick edge of the tub, running the soap bar over her muscular upper thighs at the very moment.
The tall warrioress caught her staring. "What? Have you never seen a naked woman before, or why are you gawping like a perv?"
Celeste didn't owe her an answer. Nevertheless, she answered her for some reason. "I have seen naked women before."
"Your reflection doesn't count."
"I wasn't counting myself in. I thought you didn't mind showing your body to anyone, so why are you sulking now?"
"I'm not sulking," Cruxia replied, frowning at Celeste's behaviour. "Your behaviour just annoys me. You seem to forget that you are my prisoner and not my companion. Believe me or not, my people usually treat prisoners much worse."
"Should I be grateful now?" Celeste asked stubbornly.
Cruxia tilted her head to the right, and a deep frown appeared on her forehead. "You have no idea what my people would have done to you if I hadn't stepped in. You are lucky I'm the daughter of the late warlord, and I insisted on interrogating you. Otherwise, someone else would have talked to you. My sister and most male members of my clan are much worse. You don't want to imagine what they would have done to you."
"You mean worse than torture?" Celeste asked, not wanting to drop this matter.
"That's cheap coming from the woman whose group sneaked into my settlement, set fire to buildings and murdered some of my brethren. You are hardly a paragon of innocence."
Celeste hated to admit that Cruxia was not wrong about this. She knew there was no way to win this argument; she had done something that she thought was necessary for the greater good and for the safety of her kingdom. Cruxia had told her she had not enjoyed inflicting pain on her, but she was unsure if she was speaking the truth or just saying that to appear in a better light.
The Anxoyal remained silent; her gaze rested on herself as she scrubbed her body. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see Cruxia soaping her legs and feet, getting into the water once she was done.
They washed themselves silently; Cruxia was the first to get out of the tub. She walked over to the cupboard, taking two towels from the third drawer. She wrapped one around her body and took the other one back to Celeste, who accepted it and wrapped it around her body, having gotten up in the meantime with her backside facing Cruxia. She stepped out of the tub, noticing the water had gotten much dirtier because of the filth that had stuck to their skin.
"There is no way to let the water out," Celeste detected.
Cruxia walked over to the cupboard again and searched the drawers, eventually finding what she had been looking for. The item looked like a green coloured sponge. Celeste immediately sensed the magic radiated by the object.
"What is this?" she asked curiously.
"We call it Xh'vorath; it's like a magically enhanced sponge. It can suck up a lot of water."
Cruxia placed the object in the water. "Stand back and watch." And Celeste watched in astonishment as the enhanced sponge sucked up the water quicker than expected, growing in size as well. Celeste assumed it must have a diameter of thirty inches once it had fulfilled its purpose.
"It doesn't look heavy; under normal circumstances, it would be pretty heavy, but the spell it was enhanced with makes it ten times lighter than it's supposed to be." Cruxia picked it up, guessing it must be as heavy as an adult small-breed goat. She had no problems picking it up due to her well-developed arm and back muscles. She put it beside the tub, wanting to ask her aunt what to do with it tomorrow.
"You have never seen an Xh'vorath in action, have you?" Cruxia asked, having noticed the surprised look on Celeste's face as she watched the water being sucked out of the tub.
Celeste shook her head, noticing she was no longer as upset as a few minutes earlier. She might have calmed down but wouldn't forget that conversation so soon. "We don't have such in Tenaria."
"Honestly, I don't know where they are from exactly. All I know is that the Aetherial Elu'vani collect, enhance and sell them. The Xh'vorath will shrink with time, and the dirty water will be transformed into a much smaller portion of clean water. That way, we do not waste that much water. The settlements in Dragdom have enough wells and groundwater, but it doesn't hurt to have water stored in these. Especially if you want to travel somewhere." the taller woman explained.
She walked over to the cupboard again, taking out two smaller towels than the ones around their bodies. "We should dry our hair too," she said, handing one to Celeste, who took it without hesitation. They wrapped it around their heads; due to Cruxia's horns, she had more trouble doing it, but she managed nevertheless. They left the bathroom without saying a word, returning to the guest room.
The first thing they noticed when they arrived were the plates and bottles on the bedside tables. Cruxia spotted a wooden box on the left bed, but none was on the other. She walked to the left bed and probed the meat softly with her finger, noticing it was semi-warm. She assumed it was the leftovers of a meal served not so long ago.
"I thought your aunt and her lover were busy. Seems they found the time to make us a meal."
Cruxia smirked. "It was not them who made the meal. They are still busy." Cruxia could still hear the quiet moans that must come from the other side of the house. "I assume it was her husband who made the meal. Uncle Theodar has always been a great cook."
"He is your uncle-in-law, right?" Celeste asked carefully, not wanting to anger the other woman any further by saying or asking the wrong things.
Nevertheless, the answer earned her a head tilt and a questioning stare. "You might think my race is savage and behaves weirdly, but we are not so savage that we would allow brothers and sisters to marry and even have children."
"Well, I have heard stories about one specific clan with such practices," Celeste argued.
Cruxia frowned. "You are speaking about Sonder the Sunderer, aren't you? His parents were blood-related, but that's the only exception I know of. All the other stories are made up to put us in a bad light." She cleared her throat. "You should eat before it gets cold; consider yourself lucky that my uncle-in-law provides you with such delicious-looking food."
Celeste's gaze fell on the plate beside her. There was a large piece of meat, eight medium-sized peeled potatoes and a large amount of cooked peas. The meat and potatoes lie in a brown sauce. She picked up the cutlery, which looked very similar to the cutlery in Tenaria, and cut off a piece of meat. The cutting itself was easy.
She didn't care much about its delicious taste but rather about the fact that it was a refreshing change from the hard-to-chew food she had been given during her captivity. The animals they had eaten when they had run away from the eastern clans had not tasted bad, but not as good as the food Cruxia's uncle had made.
They ate in silence, only glancing at each other occasionally. Celeste remained on the bed when she was done eating while Crucia stood up and walked to the wide wardrobe, studying its contents. She fished two brown nightgowns out of the wide range of clothing pieces.
She threw one over to Celeste, who caught it effortlessly before she discarded the towel around her body and put on the thin piece of clothing. She turned around so that the other woman could get dressed unobserved.
Once Celeste was done, she cleared her throat and told the other woman she could turn around again. She studied herself and then the other woman, noticing that the nightgown only covered half of Cruxia's shins while hers reached to her ankles.
Her gaze rested on the other woman and then wandered to the small box Cruxia had just picked up. Cruxia had already removed the lid and was regarding its contents, which Celeste could not see from her spot. Her curiosity rose when Cruxia pulled out a black bracelet with a small red gemstone.
Before Celeste realised what was happening, Cruxia had already walked over to her, grabbed her left hand and put the bracelet around her wrist. The bracelet immediately tightened around her flesh as Cruxia removed the gemstone from its socket.
Suddenly, she felt a weird feeling rushing through her body. The feeling that something was taken from her and making her weaker. She felt different than before, but she couldn't tell what was different. She assumed the bracelet's purpose was to suppress her magic. If it were true, she couldn't summon her wings even if she felt strong enough again.
"What did you do to me?" Celeste hissed. She couldn't quite judge the expression on the other woman's face, but for some reason, she had the impression that Cruxia felt something similar to remorse. There was a look in her eyes that almost looked like an apology.
"You took my magic, haven't you?" Celeste asked, sounding accusing.
"It's a measure of security. We cannot allow you to sneak out and fly away. You would do the same if the roles were reversed. And if I had wings, of course. Most of us don't have those."
"You really are afraid of me escaping, aren't you?"
Cruxia shrugged. "What shall I say? Of course I am. Not only are you and your group directly responsible for the deaths of some of my brethren. But indirectly, you are also responsible for the annihilation of my clan. If you didn't steal the artefact, the eastern clans would have never attacked us."
"If your father didn't annihilate the Corpse-Eater Clan, they wouldn't have either," Celeste replied.
"Fair point. Nevertheless, you have information that could be useful to us and that we would not want to miss," Cruxia replied. She held back the information that Celeste might be the reason why the warlords would allow her to stay. She didn't like the idea of giving the other woman to anyone. She didn't like the thought of what they would do to her to get the information they wanted, but she had to think about herself first in her current situation. Her chances of survival would be slim if the warlords denied her residence.
She had a bad feeling the eastern clans would catch her if she had to leave Jeekalan. She had to be selfish for her own sake. And she had no idea why she didn't want the woman to endure more pain than she already did. Perhaps because she was not as cruel as her brethren. At least, that was what she believed about herself.
"You will torture me again, won't you?" Celeste asked, a cold expression on her face.
"Unlike my brethren, I do not enjoy hurting others. I don't care if you believe me or not. You could spare yourself the pain by telling us what we want to know. It's the least thing you could do after what you and your group did."
"And if I don't talk? Will you kill me like Marjo?"
Cruxia tilted her head. "I never told you he is dead."
Celeste tilted her head as well. "Yes, you did. It was on the day your sister wanted us to take off our clothes because she believed the rags were too good for the likes of us."
"Why would I say he is dead if he is not?" Cruxia asked, her eyes widened when she realised what she had just said.
"He is not?" Celeste asked, as surprised as the Yxal.
Cruxia mumbled something to herself, remembering that she had lied to the Anxoyal about her friend to put even more pressure on her, hoping she would give her the information her father had requested.
"No...Well... I don't know... He was still alive before the eastern clans raided Narvashok, but I don't know what has happened to him since. The clans might have killed him or taken him. He was held in a room in the Hall of Power. He may be still alive...I don't know..."
Celeste studied Cruxia's facial features, searching for signs of truth. She couldn't be sure, but she had the strong impression that the horned woman was not lying. The last moments she shared with Marjo were not pleasant; he accused her of being the reason why they had landed in captivity and of many other unjustified things. He had become very paranoid in captivity.
Nevertheless, he was still her best friend, who she had known for over a hundred years. She didn't wish for anything bad to happen to him. She was hoping he was still alive. Perhaps he was able to escape during the chaos unleashed when Narvashok was attacked. She could only hope for the best outcome. He didn't deserve to die.
"Anyway, I'm afraid I need to put more security measures on you," Cruxia replied as she took a pair of handcuffs out of the box. She walked over to Celeste and took the other hand, which didn't wear the bracelet, putting the cuffs around her wrist and the top left bedpost.
"Why does it always end with me being tied up?" Celeste asked.
Cruxia sighed. "As I have said before, it is just a measure of security," she replied as she returned to bed.
Cruxia pulled the crimson blanket over her body, watching Celeste do the same. Cruxia's blanket barely reached her feet, and there was only little space left for her to move up or down, but she could fit in, and that was all that mattered to her.
"Have a good night," she muttered, not knowing if Celeste had heard it. She closed her eyes, allowing sleep to slowly take her.
---
You are the last member of your clan, aren't you? At least that way, you won't disappoint anyone when you lose this battle.
He woke up with a start. The pain in his chest was immense; his lungs hurt, and he couldn't catch a breath. Fortunately, the pain vanished as quickly as it had appeared. It was not the first time he had awoken in the middle of the night with his body cramping in pain. And it would not be the last.
At this moment, you must feel utterly helpless.
Another piece of the nightmare he could remember. Another sentence he had never heard being said in his presence. Although he had an excellent memory, he could not remember those sentences. Sometimes, it was to his disadvantage. There were things he wished to forget. Things he couldn't forget.
He couldn't remember anyone saying these exact sentences, nor could he recall the owner of the voice. The voice had been distorted and hardly intelligible. He didn't recall anything else. No creatures, no surroundings. Only this strange voice.
He sat up on the edge of the uncomfortable straw mattress. It had seen better days, and so had his back. He loosened his shoulders until the uncomfortable feeling diminished a little. His back still hurt when he got up and went to the opposite side of his room, where he had put his clothes on a frail, creaking chair. His room was not very wide or tall. Or well-furnished. It was not very inviting and did not radiate happiness.
He hated his room. Only his hatred for a particular creature was stronger.
Once he was done dressing, he left his room. He needed fresh air. As fresh as it could get down there. Deep down in the ruins of a forgotten palace, under thick layers of earth. A constant natural supply of fresh air was impossible in a place like this. Without the use of magic, living was impossible down there.
He followed the narrow, half-collapsed corridor, which looked more like a tunnel, until he approached a wooden double door. The upper part of the left door was missing; it looked as if something big had bitten a good chunk out of it. The teeth marks were unmistakable. The right side had been nearly torn out of its hinges. The double doors could no longer close properly and weren't guarded either.
No one could stop him from entering the room ahead of him, not that anyone would try. On the contrary to his room, the one he was now standing in was huge. It wasn't any more joyful than his room. There were broken columns and shattered windows through which soil had once flown. Nowadays, the windows and other holes in the walls have been sealed, so no soil could come through. Remains still lingered on the floor, ignored by those who inhabited this ruined place.
The room was barely lit, but he didn't need the dim light of the torches. His vision was good enough to see everything in the room, even in the darkest corners. The room hadn't changed since his last visit a few weeks ago. His eyes immediately fell on the creature in the back of the room.
A familiar woman was sitting on the remains of a stone throne, legs spread wide, her arms lying on what remains of the throne's armrests. She was in a pretty comfortable position, but from the look on her face, he could tell she was feeling anything but comfortable at that moment. Her yellow glowing eyes reflected pain.
There was a man beside her, an old man, who gave her medicine to ease her pain a little. He didn't need to ask her to know the pain she felt was still tremendous. Pain caused by a wound that will never heal and never stop hurting. The shirt she was wearing was open, partly exposing her breasts. Her upper body was muscular; he noticed it was not as muscular as it used to be, but it was still pretty muscular. Not that he would pay any attention under normal circumstances. She was his sister, after all.
The wound that caused her discomfort started right next to her left shoulder and ran all the way down to her hip. He was uncertain if he had ever seen an uglier wound than this one. It reminded him of a deep and wide crack in the earth. The damaged tissue was ugly dark purple, and the tissue at the bottom of the crack was black. It was a nasty wound, but she had survived it.
"What are you looking at, Nevendras?" a raspy voice asked. Besides pain, her voice reflected annoyance.
"Nothing," he replied, not commenting that Valkoraya was using the wrong name again. He was used to her way of speaking to him despite him not liking it.
"Why are you here anyway? It's the middle of the night; aren't you supposed to sleep or something?" she asked annoyedly, her gaze no longer resting on him but on the man, who was doing his best to ease her pain.
"I could ask you the same," he replied defiantly.
Valkoraya's head turned immediately, and blazing eyes glared at him. She didn't say anything at first, as if she didn't want to let her temper get the better of her. Nevertheless, her reply was harsh. "You think you are funny, don't you? You know very well that I can hardly sleep at night thanks to that nasty wound. Do I need to remind you how I have gotten it and who was responsible for it in the first place?"
Nevi shook his head, not wanting to start another unnecessary argument. There were more important things to discuss. "I need to talk to you about something."
His sister was annoyed, and she clearly showed it. "What is it?"
"The return of the Sinister Sins."