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Interacting with: @PrinceAlexus, @Echotech71


Moving from the warmth of her personal chambers to the yet-to-be-heated west wing accommodations was harder than Katherine cared to admit. Her physical strength was markedly improved since they’d arrived in the temple, but her muscles protested every step with a gnawing ache. She suspected that the symptoms would remain for a few days, but her biggest fear was that there would be visible marks left over beneath her dark, padded leather armor.

Though her last attempt had been significantly more taxing, the deathly pallor of her skin lasted for weeks and had left her almost comparable to the corpse she’d risen. She could tell that her current symptoms weren’t quite that severe, but there would undoubtedly be signs. Signs that would raise questions that she couldn’t safely answer.

Katherine let the thought fade into the background as she focused her energy into re-casting the inky black rune across the entrance of the temple. Her words barely a whisper as she placed both hands on the door, tendrils of night rippling from her fingertips and shaping themselves into a large, ornate crescent-moon.

“My lady of night, may the shadows protect us.
With your lunar might, smite those who seek to harm us.”


A wave of nausea swept over her for a moment and threatened to bring up the little food she’d eaten, but passed as quickly as it had come as she finished the rune. She admired it for a moment like an artist would a canvas before continuing her walk to the west-wing of the temple, following closely behind Persephone and Nathaniel, and conveniently beside Daphne.

The doors locks let out a satisfying click as the priestess twisted the key within them, before opening the doors for her present company. She raised a brow and glanced towards Daphne as she addressed Nathaniel, but shrugged and took a moment to ensure the shutters were locked into place on the windows as they spoke.

Turning around, the priestess was met with Daphne’s almost looming figure and felt her heart skip a beat for a moment. Their eyes met across the room, a quiet, electric moment that seemed to charge the air between them. It wasn’t just a glance—it lingered, like a whispered promise only they could hear. A warmth bloomed in her chest, subtle but insistent, as though her heart recognized something before her mind could name it. She felt the same warmth rise to her cheeks in exceedingly obvious contrast to her otherwise very pale skin.

Katherine clasped her trembling hands in front of her, though her eye contact remained unbroken. She’d hoped that the shakiness hadn’t spread to the rest of her body like before, but her mind was completely clouded by the emotions that were currently running rampant. Her suspicions were only confirmed as Daphne spoke to her. There was a certain comfort to be found in the squire’s voice, despite the certain tone that only came with what she presumed was at least a few years of service in the military. It was steady and deliberate, calming the veritable maelstrom of thoughts in her mind. It carried a certain strength that wrapped around her like a shield against the darkness around them. It was the first sign of light she’d felt since the darkness had taken over.

Katherine’s breath caught as the squire’s hand gently lifted her chin, and soft lips met her own. Her heart galloped like a stallion unbridled, adrenaline coursing through her veins in an intoxicating surge. It wasn’t as if she’d never kissed anyone before—those days of innocence were long behind her. But this… this was different. Daphne ignited something she hadn’t felt in any of her past fleeting passions. There was an electric current between them, vivid and undeniable. It was the kind of connection that sounded hopelessly cliché in her mind, yet Katherine couldn’t bring herself to care.

For a moment, there was nothing else. Her mind went silent. All of the urgency, worry and pain of the day disappeared. She felt so alive, every nerve alight as if her body had been starved of this connection and only now realized what it had been missing. Her senses drank in everything: the gentle pressure of Daphne’s lips, the warmth of her breath contrasting the cold air around them, and her calloused warrior’s hand cradling Katherine’s face with such care it made her chest ache.

For an instant, all her defenses crumbled, leaving her raw and exposed in a way that should have terrified her—but didn’t. She felt safe, and the feeling was very much novel.

As they parted, Katherine felt as though the air had been stolen from her lungs, her chest heavy with the weight of feelings she wasn’t ready to name. Katherine’s eyes fluttered open and stared into Daphne’s, her own filled with pure exhilaration and fear.

For a moment, she questioned whether the whole thing had been a dream.

The thundering sound of her heart gradually made itself known once more before Katherine became conscious of her surroundings again. Her head snapped to the sound of Nathaniel’s voice, now painfully aware of the eyes trained on them. A shaky breath escaped her lips and she stumbled backwards momentarily, her mind now racing in a very different way than before. The overwhelming hurricane of emotions had hit her like a tidal wave and her recovering state of exhaustion was not helping matters, mind spiraling.

“I… I…” she stammered out, looking at Daphne with apologetic eyes, “I… I need…a m-moment.”

Katherine practically tripped over herself as she half-ran from the room, forcing herself across the main hall and back into her own chambers. Her breath hitched as though the air itself had thickened around her. Her chest rose and fell in shallow gasps. No matter how hard she tried, her lungs refused to cooperate. Tremors ran through her hands, which she clenched into fists at her sides in an attempt to ground herself. She blinked away a pair of tears that dared form in her eyes, squeezing her hands tighter and tighter until she couldn’t bear the bite of her own nails.

Breathe.

She slumped against the wall, sliding her back down the smooth wooden surface before planting herself onto the floor. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in the pocket it created. Unbeknownst to her, the dark magic she’d once had control over had taken the reins and now shrouded the room in total darkness. It swallowed the fire’s light like a black hole and crept out beneath the door in inky vines.

Breathe. Control yourself.