NOVGO.NET Chapter 87: A Warm Feeling
Chapter 87: A Warm Feeling
Elara:
I looked at the two girls fussing over me for what had to be the tenth time since they arrived and let out a deep sigh.
Before either of them could ask me for the eleventh time whether my head hurt, whether my body was still sore, or whether I was absolutely sure I wasn’t hiding some terrible pain from them, I literally stood up from the couch and twirled around. I even threw in two completely random movements that probably made me look more ridiculous than impressive before stopping with both arms spread wide.
"See?" I announced. "Completely fine."
Violet stared at me with an expression that suggested she wasn’t impressed by my performance in the slightest while Myra looked like she was still trying to decide whether she should laugh or start worrying again.
Violet was the first to react, her brows furrowing as she pointed out, "Being fine right now doesn’t mean you didn’t go through the horror of Friday night."
That shut me up immediately. Because what exactly was I supposed to say to that?
She wasn’t wrong. No matter how many times I spun around my room or insisted that my body had healed, nothing could erase what had happened that night. The attack. Myra being slapped unconscious. The men dragging me away. The cold wind against my face as they forced me toward the edge of that cliff. The moment I realized they hadn’t come to rob me, but to kill me. And then there was everything afterward, the fall, the darkness, those glowing blue eyes and the enormous black thing from the shadows that my mind still couldn’t clearly remember.
That friday night had added another nightmare to a list that was already much longer than it should have been. With another sigh, I lowered myself back onto the couch.
It had been five days since the night of the incident, and I had only been discharged from the infirmary earlier that morning. I had spent the entire time being poked, questioned, fed potions that didn’t taste as good as that golden one, and repeatedly reminded to rest while my mind kept circling back to the things I couldn’t remember.
By late afternoon, Violet and Myra had come looking for me almost immediately after their classes ended. They hadn’t even given me enough time to pretend that I had somehow returned to my normal routine. And they weren’t the only ones.
Mrs. Carter had dropped by during lunch with a delicious, light meal, completely ignoring my repeated assurances that the infirmary had already fed me enough to survive another attack. She had hovered around my dorm for nearly twenty minutes, making sure I was actually eating before asking me for what felt like the hundredth time whether I was doing alright.
It felt strangely good. I had spent so much of the past month being treated like an outsider, an unwanted human, a problem, or a threat. Having people genuinely worry about whether I was well felt warmer than I wanted to admit.
Maybe that was why I couldn’t bring myself to get annoyed at Violet and Myra for constantly fussing over me either.
Myra had been unusually quiet since the moment she arrived, and when I finally looked at her properly, I immediately understood why.
Guilt was written all over her face. Her fingers were twisted tightly together in her lap as she stared at them, and after a long moment, she muttered that it was all her fault.
"I was so useless, Elara," she whispered, her voice thick with shame. "I couldn’t fight them. I couldn’t do anything."
My mouth opened instantly to tell her she had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about, but Violet beat me to it by pointing a finger toward herself.
"It was my fault," she said instead, looking angrier at herself than either of us had ever seen her. "I should never have let you two leave on your own. I should have gone back with you." Her violet eyes darkened as she added, with frightening sincerity, that if she had been there, those five bastards would never have made it far enough to touch either of us.
Knowing Violet, she wasn’t exaggerating. The girl looked completely ready to track them down and finish whatever had happened on that road herself.
I couldn’t help sighing again as I leaned forward and reached for both of them. Myra immediately gave me her hand, and after a second, Violet did the same. I held one of their hands in each of mine before looking between them.
"If there’s anyone to blame, it’s those men," I told them quietly. "Not you, Myra. And neither you, Violet. They were the ones who attacked us. They made that choice."
Neither of them looked convinced, so I forced a small smile and added, "And if anyone else has to be blamed, then blame me. I’m apparently such an easy target that everyone in this place thinks it’s fine to mess with me."
Neither of them said anything after that. My attempt at making the mood lighter had failed miserably because there was too much truth hiding behind those words.
I might have carried the title of a princess, but so far, that identity had done very little except paint a target on my back. Liliana had used it against me. The academy had treated me differently because of it. Powerful people were constantly deciding what I should do with my life because of it. And now, five strangers had apparently known exactly who I was before deciding to attack me.
Being Eleanora Argentis had become something I carried like a weakness, a bright sign above my head announcing that I didn’t belong anywhere and that everyone was free to test exactly how much I could endure.
It was Violet who finally broke the silence. I lifted my gaze toward her as she leaned back, her expression now so serious that even Myra straightened beside me. Violet looked directly into my eyes before reminding me that my identity as the Princess of Starfall should never have been a disadvantage in the first place.
"Elara, the Argentis name is not weak," she said. "It’s the most powerful name in this realm. Even the Valemont name stands beneath it."
Something about the certainty in her voice made me sit up straighter. She wasn’t trying to comfort me. She genuinely believed every word she was saying.