Son of Night and Daughter of Stars

Chapter 25: The Past and Present

Estelle looked up, breathing hard as she met Nyx's eyes. He was gaping at her, slightly open-mouthed. For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Estelle could feel Danica beneath her, and the adrenaline slowed through her body. Her friend had just tried to kill her. And this stupid Illyrian had just stood there until the last possible second! For some reason, his staring suddenly pissed her off. 

"Thanks for the help," She snapped, standing and climbing off Danica. She kneeled in front of her friend, flipping her over onto her back. She pressed two fingers to Danica's neck and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse. Good. Now she could direct all her anger at the Illyrian. 

"Hey, I tried to help," Nyx protested, walking over to her, his hand still pressed to his shoulder. "Your friend is a demon." He paused, glancing at Danica's prone form. "Literally." 

Estelle growled and shoved his uninjured shoulder. He stumbled back a step. "You could have, I don't know, stepped in or something when she started trying to kill me!" 

"I did," Nyx protested, his brows lowering as he sidestepped another shove. "But in case you didn't notice, I was a little busy trying not to die myself. Why the hell did she go after you?" 

"How the hell should I know?!" Estelle realized a second too late how loud she'd yelled. It was closer to a shriek than a yell, actually. She dropped her hands back to her sides and took a deep breath. "Okay." She inhaled deeply again and turned back to Danica. "We need to get her to Yrene." 

"The healer?" Nyx looked hesitant to touch Danica, but he leaned down to help Estelle pull her to her feet. Danica's head lolled on her shoulders, and Estelle grabbed her by the back of her neck to prevent injury. 

"Yes. She's the best I know," Estelle said. She began to walk, one of Danica's arms pulled over her shoulder, the other around Nyx's. 

Nyx stayed silent until they reached the doors to the castle. "Her eyes were blue." 

Estelle craned her head to look over Danica's shoulders at him. "Excuse me?" 

"The- Danica. Her eyes were blue when she looked at me just now." Nyx glanced over at her. "Is that normal?" 

Estelle didn't reply, stopping abruptly. Nyx stopped with her, and she heaved Danica closer, grabbing her face with one hand. She gently pressed two fingers on either side of Danica's eye and pulled the lid open. Nyx leaned closer to see as well. 

Danica's lovely golden eyes shone back at them, unfocused and glazed. Estelle released her and started dragging her inside again. "Maybe the light played tricks on your vision." 

"I know what I saw," Nyx grumbled. Estelle didn't bother to reply. 

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"Shit, Estelle," King Dorian cursed as he paced beside his daughter's bed. "Could you have hit her any harder?" 

Estelle's mouth fell open. "She was trying to kill me! What was I supposed to do, slap her?" 

"Are you sure she was actually going to kill you?" Queen Manon asked from where she leaned against the wall. "Perhaps you simply--" 

"I'm sure." Estelle was all but snarling now. She was tired of the adults treating her like-- well, like a child. "If you don't believe me, ask him." She pointed accusingly at Nyx, who scowled at her. 

Manon's glittering gold eyes turned on Nyx. "Would you say the Princess was in danger by my daughter?" 

"Oh, yes," Nyx said with no hesitation. "She seemed pretty hell-bent on... what did she say?" His eyes flicked to Estelle. "Winning." He looked at Manon again. "I think you should know, something about your daughter was different during that."