Elurra could make out a small clearing among the trees ahead of her. She noticed a small bend in the river near a large rock. It was the location in her dream. Even if she hadn't recognized the landscape, she known it was the right place.
A girl was leaning over a prone figure. She pulled back, and her hand released the knife sticking out of the corpse’s chest. Elurra stopped a few feet away and looked at the still body in horror. A red blossom of blood stained the cloth around the fatal wound. His face was contorted in dumbfounded misery; his deep green eyes were void of life. It was identical to her vision.
“You’re too late," her aunt's cold, cruel voice slipped out from between the lips of the beautiful young woman.
Elurra gasped.
“Nitiri?”
The ginger lady's expression flashed from gloating to confusion before settling on realization.
“Iara? But...I killed you!”
Elurra examined her aunt critically. Nitiri was still older than Elurra, but her graying hair had become a vibrant red. She had no wrinkles, and her cheeks were rosy. Her hazel eyes were mesmerizing and her lips full and lush. Nitiri’s pale skin made all her other features stand out. She was the picture of perfect beauty.
“It must be confusing, trying to remember all the blondes you have executed,” Elurra spat angrily. Nitiri’s confusion subsided, and she raised an eyebrow in amusement.
“Elurra, what a development. I thought you were your mother. I see you somehow got your hands on a magic potion and evaded my men. You are full of surprises.” Nitiri smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. “As you can see, I have won here. There is nothing more you can do.”
“What are you trying to accomplish? Why do you want a war with Amora?”
Her aunt grinned at her desperate tone. “It is not the war I want, direi. I am after the people and possessions accompanying war. You have no idea what you’re getting into. I will always be a few steps ahead.”
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“I will stop at nothing to make sure you fail, murderer.”
“Feisty now, are we? That’s no way to address your elders. I should kill you, but two corpses would be far too suspicious, and I would rather not try to lug your body back to Lur Alava.” She studied Elurra critically. “The last thing I want is you mucking up my plans again, so I will have to crush your spirit. What is important to you, Elurra? You must be close to your breaking point. You have no family, no home, and no—”
Elurra heard crashing footsteps behind her, and Terrin shouted her name as he approached.
“Friends,” she finished, her mouth curling into a wicked grin. “Or is that true? Đomo foci ge ńai.”[i]
Elurra felt the ground spin beneath her feet, and she reeled in shock as she felt the spell tighten around her limbs. She wanted to grab Terrin and run, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t even blink or speak. Her lungs gathered air in and out on their own accord. Nitiri kept talking as if nothing had happened.
“From what I’ve heard at the castle, you didn’t have any friends. No one liked the creepy little blonde brat. But it looks like you found a companion after all,” she sneered, stepping closer to Elurra.
Elurra felt like a fly trapped in a web, and the spider was coming in for the kill.
Terrin barreled into the clearing, shouting. “Snow! Where are you going? The castle—what in Yamoi’s name?” Terrin whispered when he spotted the corpse a few feet away, and his eyes widened in horror. “Prince Kai.”
In an instant, Nitiri’s face morphed into distress and she called out to him. “Please help me! I was going to go get help when I found him, but I believe this lass is frozen in shock, and I don’t rightfully know what to do. She isn’t responding to me, and I—” she choked off her words on a sob, and fake tears filled her eyes.
Elurra’s hatred for her aunt found new depths. Nitiri wiped away her fake tears with one hand, but the other dove into the folds of her skirts and pulled out a small box Elurra remembered all too well. Terrin would not be able to see it from where he was standing.
Run, Terrin! Elurra wanted to scream, but the words wouldn’t leave her throat.
She heard Terrin choke on his grief as he examined the dead prince before he took a shaky breath.
“You run and get help, and I will stay here with them,” he said softly.
“Thank you! I will go get the castle guard.”
With dread, Elurra spotted the small box in Nitiri’s palm as she dashed towards Terrin. She felt tears in her eyes as she tried with all her might to break out of Nitiri’s spell. She heard Nitiri throw her arms around the grieving boy to give him a hug.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you, sir…” Nitiri paused, clearly implying she didn’t know his name.
She could imagine Nitiri’s cruel hazel eyes in her mind. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she felt like a pit of despair was consuming her.
“My name is Terrin.”