Nina turned to him. His entire attention was on Princess Lotus that he hadn't even noticed Nina standing on the other side.
His head was bowed, his brows furrowed, and his eyes conflicted. No, not conflicted. Nina knew that look well. She had fawned over it when she watched romantic dramas. She had gushed when she read about it in books. She had wished that someone would look at her that way.
Longing.
That was the look in Lev's eyes. He looked at Princess Lotus like he couldn't bear to be without her. Like he was in pain.
Oh.
The realization hit Nina hard.
That snag in her heart came back, this time stronger. She finally understood what it was.
Princess Orchid knew this scene. She knew it intimately. And her body was reacting to the image even though her soul was gone.
And now Nina was left to bear the pain.
The pain of watching your husband in love with your sister.
Nina didn't know how to feel. This was something she was familiar with. In her real life, her boyfriend had cheated on her, he loved another woman while he dated her.
She knew this feeling well.
But why does this hurt so much?
She didn't like Lev. It was hard to feel attraction for someone who tried to kill her twice.
Are these Princess Orchid's true feelings?
That had to be it, Nina decided. After this body wasn't hers. And even though she didn't have the memories, the body did remember pain. Nina knew that well.
So she cleared her throat and shoved those feelings away. It was easy for her, years of conditioning herself to move on from every horrible event had trained her for this.
Lev looked up, noticing her.
Their eyes locked.
His were wet, and bloodshot.
Oh.
Oh…
Nina looked away and moved closer to Princess Lotus. As she reached out to touch her, Lev moved. He grabbed her wrist and shoved her back.
"Get your filthy hands away from her," he growled.
Nina sighed. Her wrist burned, and even though he had held her for two seconds, a bruises started to form there.
"She's my sister," she said, throwing a hard look at him.
"Your sister?" Lev scoffed. "Did any of that matter when you ruined her life?"
That snag in her heart became stronger. It wiggled out of the dark hole Nina had pushed it into, overtaking her entire heart.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. It's disgusting when you do that." Lev spat. "You're a horrible person, Elowin. But of course you know that already. You own it with everything you are."
Nina swallowed hard. It felt strange, listening to his icy accusations when the only horrible thing she had done was put toilet water in Manager Park's coffee. Twice.
Ah. Right. He looks at me and sees Elowin, not Nina.
Lev rose to his feet. His eyes darkened, and every trace of emotion was wiped away. "I wish I'd killed you back there."
The way he said it. Nina knew he meant every word. He never made empty threats. The scars on her shoulder proved that.
She took a step back, her spores flaring purple on instinct, pure instinct to protect herself.
But that backfired.
Princess Lotus whimpered. The sound was soft, Nina wouldn't have caught it if it weren't for her sharp hearing.
Lev's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!" he roared, rushing over to Princess Lotus.
Nina stepped back, her heart pounding, her emotions stuck in her throat. "I didn't—"
"That's enough from you!" Lev yelled at her. He took off his shirt and began waving it furiously, spreading away the purple spores. "Putting her here isn't enough is it?! Now you want her dead! When will you stop?!"
"That's not true!" Nina screamed. "I don't want anybody dead!" But the more she spoke, the more her spores poured out of her. She whined, willing them to stop, but they only darkened. It was like she wasn't even in control of herself anymore. "I didn't mean to! Lev I mean it!"
Lev glared at her. The look was enough to make milk go rancid.
Give it up. You're talking to a man convinced you want to kill his lover. Give it up, Nina.
Nina held her head high, stood straight, and met his gaze. "I mean my sister no harm. Whether you believe that or not is not my business." With that, she turned and left.
The moment she walked out, the guards began to cough and double over. Amy screamed and jumped to a safe distance.
Nina looked at them, three powerful looking beast women reduced to their knees just from a whiff of her spores, and an unknown emotion settled in her chest.
She didn't want to name it.
She didn't want to name it.
She couldn't not name it.
But she failed.
She knew what it was.
The feeling of seeing people on their knees in front of her. In front of Nina, who had all her life been a doormat.
Exhilaration.
This is what power feels like…it feels….
It feels…
Good…
Nina blinked, and guilt replaced that airy feeling. She took a step towards the guards with he intention of asking if they were okay.
[Don't. This is a normal day for Princess Orchid. Don't apologize.]
Nina froze. "I wasn't going to."
[Liar.]
Liar.
Right. I'm a liar. I'm pretending to be someone I'm not.
Nina turned and walked away. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails cut into her palm.
She walked, faster and faster till she was almost running. Her heart bled and cried, but her eyes stayed dry. She felt sick, and wanted to wash her body twice.
Just as she turned a sharp corner, she slammed into a solid wall.
"Fuck!" She screamed, clutching her nose.
A wall?
That didn't make sense. Why was there a wall in the middle of the hallway?
Also…are those snowflakes?