Chapter 25

                                    

                                          





After their dinner, Rai offered to have his new guests shown to their rooms, but they chose to spend the night catching up with Lyra. All of them followed her to the her cottage and awed at how it was built. So much of it looked like those back in the Netherworld. Isadora noticed the stars carved into the ceiling and gave Lyra a sly smirk when she put two-and-two together on who put them up there. 
It hadn't taken long for Lyra to feel a bit overwhelmed with having them around. She loved them, but it was a lot of different personalities to have around when she had been on her own for so long.
After a few hours, one by one the misfit pack started to drift off, their exhaustion finally taking them under. As well as the wine that had been gifted to them. It was just Lyra and Kore left awake.
He clicked to get her attention and motioned for her to follow him outside for a moment. 
"It is good to see you again, I have missed you so much, little sister." Kore spoke in his native tongue; he didn't want to risk anyone overhearing their conversation. And he doubted anyone here knew his language.
Lyra sighed, breathing in the cold night air. "The same goes for you, big brother. I missed having all of you around." 
He noticed that she seemed distant the whole night. "And yet, you seem to be anxious with us around as well, why is that?"
"I've been on my own for a while now, I'm not used to having so many people in my space. I'll get used to it again."
"At least we don't have to worry about you running off again." Kore joked, making Lyra laugh.
"No, I won't do that. I have too much at stake right now to run anywhere. Too many things are in motion." 
Kore nodded. "Does not wanting to run have anything to do with the vampire that couldn't look away from you at all tonight, or him getting possessive over you during our bath?"
"History repeating itself."
"In what way?" 
Lyra glanced at Kore, confused. "Me having feelings for another vampire king?"
"Oh, I thought you meant the similarity between you two and the story you told earlier, I wasn't referring your past in the castle. Two lovers, one a vampire, the other a hybrid? Sounds a lot like repetition to me."
"I thought you would have brought up how this isn't a good idea and try to talk me out of it."
Kore raised a brow at his baby sister. "Are you hoping that's what I will do? As far as I can tell, you were looking at him just as much as he was catching your gaze. You accepted him touching you and even being in water with him, something that took all of us months to be able to do. You like him, but you're keeping yourself from acting on it because you are scared of ending up in chains again. Nothing happens the same way twice, songbird."
"No, but that doesn't mean the outcome won't be the same." Lyra winced hard when Kore smacked the back of her head. "Fuck, ouch! What was that for!?"
"He's not the one holding you in chains, you are. Stupid, do you not think that any of us wouldn't have gotten you out of here as soon as we got close to this place if we thought you were in any real danger? Don't use the slayers as an excuse either, they will be handled tomorrow." 
Lyra shook her head. "It's not that easy, Kore. I spent years believing that he loved me, that he was trying to get me out of there and save me, only to show me what a real monster looks like. How can I trust my gut when it was telling me to trust him?"