Elysia stood just outside Malvoria's office, arms crossed tightly, her mind an absolute ss of contradictions.
The corridor was quiet, save for the occasional passing servant who kept giving her curious glances—because, really, what was she doing here?
She should turn around, pretend she had never walked all this way just to stand like an idiot in front of a closed door.
But she didn't move.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, glaring at the heavy wooden door as if it would suddenly fling itself open and provide her with an answer.
The problem was simple—Malvoria was avoiding her.
Avoiding her in a way that was so blatant it was almost insulting.
One week.
One week of silence, one week of absence, one week of feeling an emptiness she shouldn't even feel in the first place. Malvoria had gone from feeding her, teasing her, touching her, kissing her, to suddenly vanishing into her office and refusing to be seen. And Elysia?
Well, apparently, Elysia was losing her mind about it.
And it made no sense. It shouldn't matter.
Malvoria was still the sa arrogant, infuriating Demon Queen. The sa person who had invaded her kingdom, the sa person she had sworn to hate. So why did it bother her that Malvoria was suddenly nowhere to be found?
Why did it feel like sothing was missing?
Elysia sighed, tilting her head back against the wall, staring up at the high ceilings of the castle as if they held the answer to her existential crisis.
She should leave.
She should turn around, walk away, and forget she ever had this ridiculous idea of confronting Malvoria.
But she didn't.
She lingered. Like an idiot.
The servants passing by were definitely looking at her now, whispering to each other as they hurried along, their gazes flicking between her and the closed office door with undisguised curiosity.
Oh no.
She was becoming a spectacle.
Gods, this is embarrassing.
Elysia took a deep breath and straightened. That's it. I'm leaving. Right now. She turned sharply on her heel, prepared to flee before she could humiliate herself further—
And then the office door creaked.
Her heart jumped into her throat.
Without thinking—without even pausing to see who was coming out—Elysia spun around and ran.
Ran with the full force of soone who had just committed a cri and was trying to escape before getting caught.
She didn't even look back.
Didn't care where she was going.
Didn't think about why she was running.
She just ran.
Unfortunately, she didn't get far.
Because in her blind panic, she rounded a corner at full speed and—
SLAM.
She collided straight into a solid, unmoving figure.
The impact was violent.
It sent her stumbling back, her vision blurring montarily as strong hands reached out instinctively, gripping her shoulders to steady her.
Elysia barely had ti to regain her balance before a familiar voice spoke, utterly baffled.
"...Elysia?"
She blinked.
Oh.
Oh no.
She had run straight into Zera.
Zera, who was now looking at her like she had just dropped out of the sky, her eyes narrowing with suspicion as she took in Elysia's breathless state.
"...What are you running from?" Zera asked slowly, her grip on Elysia tightening slightly.
Elysia opened her mouth.
Nothing ca out.
Her brain had completely short-circuited.
This was bad.
This was so bad.
Zera was her girlfriend. The person she was supposed to be with. The person who shouldn't have to witness Elysia fleeing like so lovesick fool from the very woman she had been forced to marry.
Elysia could not say the truth.
But she had no idea what else to say.
She needed an excuse. Imdiately.
Her mouth worked uselessly for a second, her mind scrambling, trying desperately to co up with any reason for her current state that didn't involve Malvoria.
"Uh," she started, voice an octave too high. "I was just... um—"
Zera's gaze sharpened.
Oh gods.
She was already suspicious.
"I was just—" Elysia attempted again, searching for literally any words.
Zera's expression darkened. "You were just what?"
Elysia inhaled deeply.
And then, before she could stop herself, she blurted out the worst possible thing she could have said in this mont.
"I'm running from Malvoria."
The silence that followed was instant.
Zera's grip on her shoulders tightened.
Elysia's soul left her body.
Oh no.
Zera's hands remained tight on Elysia's shoulders, her grip no longer just steadying—it was demanding answers. The air between them shifted, thickened with sothing dangerous.
"You're running from Malvoria?" Zera repeated slowly, her voice deceptively calm, but Elysia could feel the fire simring just beneath the surface.
Elysia swallowed, regretting her words imdiately.
She should have said anything else. Literally anything else. She could have lied, said she was running to the library, or avoiding so tedious noblewoman who wanted to discuss castle decor with her. But no—her mouth had betrayed her.
And now Zera was staring at her with sharp, piercing accusation in her eyes.
"Why?"
Elysia shifted, feeling an uncomfortable heat crawl up her spine. "I—"
"Why are you running from her, Elysia?" Zera's voice dropped lower, her fingers tightening slightly, her gaze searching. "What exactly happened?"
Nothing. Nothing happened, Elysia wanted to say.
But, oh, everything had happened, hadn't it?
The hot tension. The way Malvoria had kissed her forehead before leaving her outside her own door. The way Elysia had felt sothing she wasn't supposed to feel. The way her stomach flipped every ti Malvoria so much as looked at her.
And, more importantly, the way she had stood in front of Malvoria's office, waiting, hoping, for sothing that she had no right to hope for.
Elysia clenched her jaw. "It's nothing."
Zera didn't buy it.
Her blue eyes flickered with sothing almost desperate. "Tell the truth."
Elysia couldn't.
She couldn't tell Zera that she didn't even understand the truth.
She couldn't say that Malvoria's absence had left an uncomfortable emptiness in her chest, and that it bothered her. That it made her feel restless. That it made her want sothing she refused to na.
So instead, she tore herself out of Zera's grip. "I said it's nothing."
Zera exhaled sharply, clearly frustrated. "You've been different since you ca back."
Elysia stiffened.
"Ever since Malvoria rescued you, you've—"
"I—" Elysia cut her off before she could finish, her chest tightening. She didn't want to have this conversation. Not now. Not ever.
The tension between them thickened, unspoken words rising like a storm between them.
And then—
A hand touched Elysia's shoulder.
A new presence. Warm, unbothered, amused.
"I need help with sothing, please," a voice chid in smoothly.
Elysia turned her head sharply.
Standing there, with the most infuriating smirk imaginable, was Malvoria's mother.
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