Chapter 107 – The Question.

Noxx stood in front of the office door, still. The guard who had brought her there had already left several seconds ago.

The door was open and the queen was inside, but Noxx still hadn't gone in.

'You can do this...'

Moon spoke inside her head.

“We're with you, Mistress!”

Noxx moved her eyes slightly to one side.

“If anything happens, you call us,” Moon said, encouraged.

Sun answered immediately.

“Moon, don't distract her.”

Moon went quiet.

Noxx was grateful for it. She didn't know exactly what the queen expected.

She had seen Elyra many times.

She had been close to her…

She had even spoken in front of her!

But Matt was always nearby, or in her mind...

Not now.

This was different.

Noxx looked inside and saw that Elyra was behind a desk covered in documents, holding a sheet of paper in both hands.

She didn't look annoyed.

She didn't look busy enough to ignore her either.

In fact...

She was looking at her.

Noxx went even more still.

Elyra smiled.

"You can come in."

Noxx obeyed and took several steps.

She stopped again.

Elyra set the document down on the table.

"A guard told me she found you wandering around the second floor."

Noxx didn't answer.

"I assume you were getting to know the castle."

Noxx nodded.

The queen studied her closely.

White hair, red eyes, a face practically identical to Matt's in his vampire form.

The difference was in small details.

The posture, the way she looked at things, and the almost complete absence of any attempt to hide how uncomfortable she was.

Elyra let out a small laugh.

"You really do look a great deal like Matt."

Noxx raised an eyebrow.

She said nothing.

Elyra smiled a little wider.

"Yes." She pointed at the chair in front of the desk. "That too."

Noxx looked at the chair, then at Elyra.

"Sit."

Noxx walked over to it and sat down carefully. She rested both hands on her legs.

Elyra waited.

So did Noxx.

Several seconds passed.

Noxx ended up speaking first.

"What do you need from me, Your Majesty?"

Noxx's voice came out polite. Elyra tilted her head slightly.

"Nothing."

Noxx blinked.

"Nothing?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

Noxx went on looking at her.

Elyra rested an arm on the desk.

"I want to get to know my beautiful new daughter."

Noxx stopped moving and swallowed.

"Just that?"

Elyra smiled.

"Were you expecting something else?"

Noxx didn't answer.

"An interrogation?"

Nothing.

"That I'd try to lock you up?"

Noxx lowered her eyes a little.

Elyra laughed.

"I see."

The queen picked up another sheet. She set it aside without reading it.

"Then let's ask a few simple questions."

Noxx looked at her again. Elyra held the smile.

"Did you try to absorb Matt?"

◇◆◇

Iris turned another page.

She understood none of it.

She went back and read the same paragraph.

Again.

Nothing.

Iris closed the book and left it on the table. Then she picked up another.

Eleonora laughed inside her head.

“You're doing very well.”

Iris opened the new book.

'Shut up.'

“You've been at this for hours.”

'I know.'

“And what have you learned?”

Iris turned two pages.

Nothing useful.

'That these books were written by idiots.'

“And what if you're the idiot who doesn't understand them?”

Iris pressed her lips together.

Eleonora had been like this all morning.

Every time Iris found something that seemed to have to do with souls...

It was no use.

Every time she saw a word that sounded something like separation...

It was something else.

And every time she tried to understand a formula...

She ended up worse off than before.

“Matt took months.”

Iris kept reading.

'Because I kept interrupting him.'

“Exactly.” Eleonora laughed. “And you expected to find all of it in one day?”

Iris shut the book hard.

"I'm going to break you."

Selene looked up from the other side of the table.

"Princess?"

"I'm not talking to you."

Selene looked at the sword.

"Understood."

Iris picked up another book.

Eleonora went on.

“Besides, Matt studied.”

'So do I.'

“But Matt understood what he read.”

Iris stopped.

Eleonora seized on it.

“You've spent five minutes looking at a page upside down.”

Iris lowered her eyes and turned the book around.

Selene covered her mouth.

Iris looked at her.

"Don't laugh."

Iris went back to the book.

'This is harder than it looked.'

A maid approached Selene. She leaned in and whispered something that made her expression change.

"Princess."

Iris kept reading.

"I'm busy."

"It's about Princess Noxx."

The page stopped moving.

Iris didn't look up.

"What about her?"

"She's meeting with Her Majesty."

Iris tightened the hand she had on the table, only a little.

Eleonora noticed.

“Heheheheh.”

Iris let go of the book and took a breath.

"I'm not interested."

Selene watched her. Iris opened another book.

"Princess..."

"If anyone interrupts me again with something that isn't about Matt..."

She looked up.

"...I'm going to beat all of you senseless."