Kaija: Queen of Stone

14.5

I jumped up from the bed, hyperventilating as I fell to the floor. My vision blurred. The sun was peeking over the horizon, begging to get beyond the trees. I froze when I heard fingernails scraping against the wall.

A chill trailed down my spine as I straightened. I knew it was a matter of time before she came back. The scratching grew heavier from within the bathing room. I stood and walked toward the room. I gulped, hands shaking as I walked toward the sound. The scratching stopped when I was two steps away from the archway leading to the bath.

"Anai?" I whispered, trying not to wake Mara.

No response.

I looked back out the window, the sky shifted into a pink hue. She was supposed to be gone right now. It was alleged she would return in spiritual form during the daytime and when dusk and night, she could appear solid, like a human, but with her scratching it appeared she was still solid.

"Anai?" I tried again, turning back.

I jolted, stopping myself from screaming as her hands reached out and latched to my forearm. The chill from her touch grazed my spine. Anai dragged me toward the door to the bedroom, using her supernatural powers to open it. We ran through, the door closing behind.

"How dare you!" she shouted, her eyes shifting with fury. I had seen Anai many times before, but seeing her again and again was always a shock. This version of her wasn't the one I remembered. Wasn't the one I loved. She was gone the moment Baria took her life.

"I-I—" I didn't know what to say or how to explain it.

"I saw what you have done," she spat. "I thought our bond was to last forever, but you have fallen for another."

"I still love you," I clarified. I loved who she was. I loved the woman who was alive. In the death, and in this form, I didn't know if she was still there. In this form, Anai was filled with jealousy and hatred.

She craned her neck to the side. It creaked as the sunlight from the window at the end of the hall touched the shadowed walls. She blanched, looking down at her arms. They were changing from solid to transparent. The blood on her neck grew in color, darkening.

"How am I deemed to trust you?" she hissed. "You've promised yourself to the woman that killed me!"

A promise I made long ago. Years after she died. I wanted vengeance. I wanted Baria to suffer like she made me suffer. A king spared the innocent and Baria was no innocent.

"That promise is no more. I didn't do it to hurt you, my love. I did it to get revenge on the life she stole from you," he confessed. "But now, she is dead."

Her face altered despite the pemernate look of horror she was bound to have for the rest of her existence. Blood streamed from her throat in a continuous torrent, drenching her servant dress. Her eyes were cold and colorless. A hue of white swarmed her weightless body.

"She's dead?"

"The woman you saw killed her," he explained. "Your soul can be freed now."

Her face tightened. "You know it cannot be that simple," she whispered. "Not after what you did."

What I did. There were too many memories to live over. I couldn't handle the pain of being subjected to another.

She began to disappear. "I am sorry, my love, you will be seeing me again and again, until you meet death and death meets you. That's the deal you've made."

It was my mistake.

Anai disappeared, leaving me in the hall. I stood there, lost to the memory of what once was. I sniffled, rubbed my face and entered Mara's chambers. I approached her bedside and watched as she slept peacefully. At least one of us could.

I left Mara's room soon after and stood on guard outside her door. I was not fully alert, for I closed my eyes every once and a while to keep my sanity. The day was the only time for relief from Anai's spirit.

When Qia came to visit, I groaned, blinking. She was wearing a simple black dress but not the one servant's were subjected to wear. It was nice to see she was becoming her own person again.

"Good morning," she greeted, cheerful. Her face was dewy and the smile on her face was wide. "It's nice to see you again, Hona."

I nodded, exhausted and tormented. With a yawn, I stepped to the side.

"I can attend to her if you want to get some shut eye," she said with a smile. "You look like you need the rest."

Even though I wanted to protest, I consented, and walked across the hall to the next room. I opened the door, trying not to think of the room down the hall.

The room where Baria took my love away from me.