Lia stands frozen.
Tears welling in her eyes as her body reacts before her mind can.
A violent tremor runs through her.
Her stomach lurches.
A splitting headache blossomed behind her eyes, growing worse with every passing heartbeat. Cold sweat pours from her brow, soaking strands of her hair as she stares at the scene before her.
Beside her, Terrene instinctively reaches towards her sister.
She has no idea what to do.
Then her gaze finds Myles.
Her eyes narrowing into a piercing glare, glistening with restrained fury.
"Myles...?"
The name barely escapes her lips.
The word caught in her throat, almost choking her.
Across the room, Myles slowly closes his eyes.
He inhales deeply.
Once.
Twice.
He forces himself to breathe.
He can tell Lia is breaking.
If he surrenders to the shock as well, he would only make things worse.
When he opens his eyes again, the sight before him almost shatters that resolve.
Lia's condition has deteriorated in seconds.
She looks pitiful.
Beads of sweat glimmer beneath the lodge's soft light as they roll down her trembling face. Saliva dripping uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.
Her body shakes harder with every breath.
Quiet moans escape her lips at first.
Then those sounds deepen.
Twisted.
Gradually becoming low, animalistic growls born from unbearable pain.
Myles stares at one of the people he loves most in the universe.
There are precious few people he truly cares for.
Lia stands among the very highest.
And somehow...
Somehow he has become the reason she is suffering.
His thoughts begin to unravel.
Slowly.
Silently.
Madness creeps into the spaces guilt has opened.
Across from him, Kushi has scarcely taken her eyes off him since Lia and Terrene appear.
She stands motionless.
Lost.
She has never seen Myles like this.
Outwardly he fights to remain composed.
But his trembling hands betray him.
So does the emptiness settling behind his eyes.
He is hanging on by little more than sheer will.
Kushi draws a slow breath before stepping forward.
"Look," she begins softly, "I can't pretend to understand how you feel."
Her familiar smile remains upon her face.
Warm.
Gentle.
Steady.
"But please... pull yourself together so we can talk."
She continues walking towards Lia.
"It isn't what you think."
Something about her voice carries no hostility.
No defensiveness.
Only quiet sincerity.
Even Terrene's murderous intent falters.
Only moments ago, she had been prepared to tear Myles apart.
He would regenerate.
That hardly mattered.
Now...
She hesitates.
Kushi notices.
Her smile brightening ever so slightly as Terrene's hostility finally begins to ebb.
Without another word, she kneels beside Lia.
"Lia..."
Her voice floating gently through the chaos.
Soft enough to comfort.
Strong enough to be heard.
At least...
She hopes so.
But Lia barely registers it.
Everything around her has become blurred.
The room.
The people.
Their voices.
Even the taste of blood filling her mouth seems strangely distant.
Muted.
As though she has fallen beneath deep water.
Then...
One voice reaches her with perfect clarity.
"Hey there."
The voice is female.
Smooth.
Playful.
Almost cat-like in the way each word curls around the next.
It purrs.
"Let your rage run wild."
The playful tone deepens.
Growing rougher.
Raspier.
"Wouldn't that feel so much better?"
The voice draws closer.
Out of the darkness emerges the silhouette of a woman.
She is breathtaking.
Dark blue hair, so deep it borders upon black, cascades down her back.
Her eyes are razor sharp.
Ancient.
Soulful.
The sort of gaze capable of making kings question themselves.
A beautiful smile rests upon her lips.
Yet what dominates Lia's attention most is her sheer presence.
She stands nearly ten feet tall.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Impossible to ignore.
"Wh... who are you?"
Lia's voice comes out weak.
Exhausted.
The towering woman smiles wider.
"Who I am isn't important, girl."
She takes another slow step forward.
"It's why I'm here that matters."
Outside of Lia's head, a strange energy that makes Kushi weak in her knees pours out in abundance from Myles.
With a flushed face, she turns to see his face, or was it truly his?
The man before her had the same looks and all, but he was different.
As his gaze landed on her, fear grabbed onto her heart.
"Leave." Myles commands.
Kaelen grabs a hold of Lia's collar, ready to bolt, but then something she had never thought possible happens.
Myles grabs a hold of her criole and tells her to leave as well.
Terrene almost wets herself. Someone being able to touch her criole is akin to some reaching out and holding onto her spine.
Shaking and actually to the point of actually soiling herself, Terrene stands fir ready to give her life for her sister. The thing inside of Myles is out again.
It doesn't make sense; he is in no danger. Before her thoughts could come full circle, a burly arm gently scoops her up and pulls her away.
Terrene stares at her sister, mortified by her expression. Lia has a twisted smile on her face. Her gaze at Myles seemed obsessive and devoid of purity.
What is going on? Terrene allows her eyes to touch light only for a second; what she sees almost makes her soil herself differently.
********
Elsewhere, on Cradle, Dande's hand stopped midway through brushing his wife's hair.
His expression darkened.
Cold beads of sweat formed upon his brow.
Without a word, he gently drew the bed sheets over Hamana's body before climbing out of bed and dressing himself.
"Kudca."
His voice was as grim as Hamana had ever heard it.
The commander appeared almost instantly.
"What is the status of the boy?"
Kudca lowered his head.
A grimace spread across his face.
"My men were killed by his criole release, Yevthe."
Shame weighed heavily upon every word.
For a moment, silence filled the chamber.
Then Dande forced a smile.
"Take heart."
It looked wrong upon his face.
"That boy is more of a monster than even I can comprehend."
His smile faded.
He slowly shook his head.
"Dare I even call him a boy?"
"Took her long enough," Hamana remarked from the bed.
Dande turned towards his wife.
Even more sweat gathered upon his forehead.
"My lovely Kukupu..."
His voice carried both affection and dread.
"Tell me you had no hand in this."
Hamana smiled.
"I won't."
She tilted her head.
"Because I did."
The room fell silent.
"...Why?"
Hamana's smile softened.
"Those two need to learn that they carry responsibilities beyond themselves simply because they exist."
A faint grimace crossed her face.
"It is an unbearably heavy burden."
"But it is still theirs to bear."
She lowered her gaze.
"Allyser agrees."
"Cerve confirmed it before he came to greet you."
Her eyes lingered upon the sheet covering her body.
"Notice..."
She spoke almost to herself.
"Even we aren't safe from their influence."
Kudca respectfully cleared his throat.
"What shall we do, Yevthe?"
Dande looked exhausted.
Defeated.
He slowly waved a hand.
"Nothing."
The single word carried the weight of surrender.
Kudca frowned.
He understood.
He simply did not like the answer.
With a final bow, his body dissolved into countless tiny particles that scattered into the air before disappearing completely.
Back on the archipelago, Kushi lay unconscious upon the ground.
Not far away stood Terrene.
Lost.
Motionless.
Her eyes remained closed, as they always had, yet somehow her face conveyed the sensation of an endless stare.
She was looking towards the direction Kushi had fled.
She could no longer feel them.
Not the way she once could.
That connection had faded.
But she could still see them.
That alone was terrifying enough.
What's going on...?
The question echoed through her mind.
Back inside the lodge, Myles...
Or rather, the body that belonged to Myles...
Stood before Lia.
A twisted smile spread slowly across his face.
Obsessive.
Possessive.
Entirely unlike him.
"Ah..."
His smile widened.
"I see now."
His eyes narrowed with unsettling delight.
"You've been watching."
Lia's own smile stretched even further.
"Of course."
Her voice carried a strange tenderness.
"How else would I get my man back?"
The thing wearing Myles frowned.
"What you're doing isn't right."
"But it is."
She smiled almost lovingly.
"She loves him."
Closing her eyes, she rested a hand upon her chest.
"I can feel it."
She looked back up.
"Almost as much as I love you."
Pain flickered across Myles' face.
"You call that love?"
For the first time, Lia's smile faltered.
She looked away.
Ashamed.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice became quiet.
"About all of that..."
"I truly am."
"I know no apology could ever make up for it."
"But I am sorry."
Silence lingered.
Then Myles spoke again.
Enough.
"I've heard enough."
His voice had changed.
The warmth had returned.
"This is wrong."
"What we're doing..."
"...is wrong."
Lia's expression tightened.
"But..."
"He can hold on a little longer, can't he?"
Myles slowly looked down at his own arm.
A faint smile touched his lips.
One filled not with arrogance...
But pride.
"More than a little."
Confusion crossed Lia's face.
"Then wh..."
"Because..."
His smile disappeared.
"I've stolen enough of his time."
His voice cracked.
"I..."
"I won't."
He swallowed.
"I can't."
"Not for you."
"Not even for you."
Lia slowly sank to her knees.
She looked at him with such heartbreak that it physically hurt to witness.
Myles turned away.
He raised an arm to shield his eyes as though staring directly into an unforgiving sun.
"Please..."
His voice trembled.
"Stop."
"We've done enough."
"So now..."
"We have to pay."
As he turned back, a pair of radiant wings erupted from his back.
Heat flooded the lodge.
The temperature climbed so violently that the surrounding air distorted.
The release was restrained with incredible precision.
Even so, it was hot enough to trigger a chain explosion throughout the area.
"...This should be weak enough."
When he finally looked back at Lia...
The alien presence had vanished.
Only Lia remained.
His bitter smile returned.
"So..."
He whispered.
"Is that how it is?"
His gaze drifted past her.
Across the islands.
Finding Terrene far away.
Then returning to Lia one last time.
"Sorry..."
It was barely more than the movement of his lips.
Enough for someone watching carefully to understand.
Then his body went limp.
Far away, beside the unconscious Kushi, Terrene smiled.
Hope.
Relief.
Confusion.
Joy.
Grief.
Every emotion imaginable collided within her at once.
As Myles silently mouthed those final words...
She opened her eyes.
Even with all the fear she held in her heart, she allowed light to touch them.
What she saw was beautiful.
Myles' eyes...
They looked just like hers.
Wide open.
For the first time, a fragile thought entered her heart.
Maybe...
Maybe I can be normal too, after all.