Secrets Intertwined

Chapter 15: Part 2

Aislyn staggered over to where Minerva was still entrapped inside a cage of lighting and shakily fell beside her.

"Shit," she grunted, trying to push herself up.

"Aislyn?" She heard Minerva timidly calling out.

"One moment," she answered back.

Succeeding in only managing to sit up, Aislyn grabbed her arm and applied pressure to the now seeping wound before breaking her hold on the cage.

Minerva sat up from where she had been hunched over and gasped at the sight.

Lifeless bodies were strewn all over the charred and waterlogged tunnels.

She groggily got to her feet and stumbled over to the young women whose throat Aislyn had slit open. Covering her mouth with one hand, Minerva leant over and closed the fae's eyes. She repeated this with the four other fae until she got to the one whose eyes had been punctured.

Aislyn saw from the corner of her eye, Minerva double over and begin to gag. Letting out a sadistic laugh, Aislyn dropped her head back against the tunnel wall and smiled an eerie smile when Minerva turned to look at her.

"See?" she said, "rotten inside and out."

"When-when you came to get information out of that ma-male that tried to kill me... you didn't," stammered Minerva, gesturing to the chaos around her.

"Snapped each finger and then a few other things," replied Aislyn, waggling her own.

Minerva paled to a sickly green colour and her eyes grew huge.

"You know who I am, who they made me into... who I stopped your son from becoming."

"Yes, but I didn't realise... I wouldn't have let you... I wasn't aware of the extent of your abilities."

"Well, now you know."

Aislyn heart began to thump even harder than it had before. She realized that although Nikolas had told his mother about some things about her, he didn't tell her everything. And even though it hurt, she wasn't surprised... Even she sometimes struggled with the things she had done. There was a place inside of her that none had- or would ever- see. Raven had caught a glimpse of her other person after Nikolas had died but the only time Aislyn would ever let it out was when she was alone. It was the person Aislyn let take over when the reality of what she was doing was too much. It was someone who was ruthless and unapologetic and It was someone Aislyn didn't think she could survive without.

It was Azure.

"Thank you."

Aislyn snapped out of her daydreaming and refocused on Minerva.

"Pardon?"

"I said 'Thank you'. You saved my life."

"Anytime."

Minerva approached Aislyn, who was still sitting on the ground, crouched down and cupped her face.

"I see you, Aislyn. You did what you had to do but it wasn't you. I see you."

Aislyn jerked her head back, breaking the contact with Minerva's hands and replied, "It was me. It was all me."

"No-"

"Your Highness!"

Aislyn and Minerva both looked down the tunnel and saw an entourage of her private guards running towards them.

"How did they know something was wrong?"

"The life in this tunnel has been tainted with the death of these fae, today, my whole kind will feel the loss of their death."