FIRE NATION

CHAPTER 18

Roseanne leaned back in the window seat, setting her watermelon juice aside. Even though the day was hot and humid enough to leave a fine layer of sweat on her skin, the treat wasn't bringing her much enjoyment. Two days. It had been two whole days since Lalisa had come anywhere near her, and she was becoming more and more certain that she had made a terrible mistake.

The conflicted feelings had started as soon as she walked out of the training room. She had been proud of herself for leaving on such a dramatic note, but the high had only lasted a few seconds, barely giving her any time at all to savor the sweetness of her revenge. The haunted look in Lalisa's eyes had lingered with her ever since, and guilt gnawed at the edges of her stomach, growing worse each night that Lalisa didn't return to the bed they had learned to share.

"I don't have anything to feel guilty about," she said aloud to the empty room, sounding more confident than she felt. "I didn't rape her. I didn't get her pregnant. I didn't bite her..." But she recognized the statements for what they were—excuses, almost as pathetic as Lalisa's. She had caused someone pain on purpose, and apparently, she didn't have the stomach for such cruelty, even when it was directed at a deserving target.

Roseanne sighed and scrunched up into a ball, resting her forehead on top of her knees. She had no idea what to do next. She could go back to her original plan and run. Whatever strange pull Lalisa had over her was surely severed now. But Larce wouldn't hesitate to send his soldiers after her, and Roseanne doubted she could avoid them forever. When they caught her and brought her back to the palace—and it was surely a matter of when, not if—her life would be even more miserable than it already was. As Lalisa had said, the pups growing inside her were "Fire Nation Property".

I thought I had this figured out. Negotiate my freedom, train Lalisa, and leave to start a new life... But I can't keep teaching her now. Not after what I've done. Our deal is as good as broken.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she bit her lip, trying to ground herself in the pain. As tempted as she was to give up, she had more than herself to think of. She curled one arm around her stomach, trying to suppress the sudden ache in her chest. The litter she was carrying made her feel resentful, frightened, and fiercely protective all at once. Some part of her already loved them despite how they had come to exist.

Getting her hands on some more kajihana or giving the pups over to Lalisa and Larce seemed terrible, but just the thought of giving birth and raising them on her own gave her fits of terror too. She didn't have the first idea how to take care of a child, let alone more than one. There were no good options, and just going through them in her head made her want to break down and sob.

She never got the chance to cry. The bedroom door opened, and the familiar scent of jasmine filled the room. Although she was terrified, Roseanne couldn't help turning. It doesn't matter anymore. Whatever she does to me can't be worse than the future I have to face. But Lalisa's expression didn't hold any traces of anger. She wasn't smiling, but she wasn't scowling either, and the flames that lived in her dark eyes were gone. Instead, they seemed almost tired, with purple shadows underneath.

I guess she hasn't been sleeping either, Roseanne thought. I'm not even sure where she's been these past two nights. She looked closer, and was surprised to see that the Princess had forgone her cosmetics. Lalisa's lips were their natural color rather than blood red, and she had taken her hair out of its formal top-knot. It fell in dark waves around her shoulders, making her face seem even paler than usual, and she seemed lost in her large red bathrobe.

Roseanne waited, half expecting a reprimand for staring, but it never came. Lalisa entered the room and shut the door behind her, somehow managing to appear both alert and exhausted at once. She stretched out her arm, and Roseanne noticed that she was clasping a cup. "I brought you some watermelon juice," she said, offering it almost hesitantly. "I thought you might want to cool off."