Chapter 13: Still Breathing

Still Breathing

Elara’s eyes opened slowly.

The crystals had shifted to a pale, tired morning light. For a long moment she only stared at the canopy above the bed, breathing shallowly. Then she lifted one hand and looked at it. The skin was intact. She pressed the same hand to her stomach. Raised, tender scars met her fingers through the thin sheet.

Not a dream.

A broken sound escaped her throat. She turned onto her side, curling in on herself as much as the healing wounds allowed, and cried—quietly, exhaustedly, without the raw violence of earlier nights. The tears came from somewhere deeper than anger now. From the simple, crushing fact that she was still here.

“Why didn’t I die…?” The words were barely audible. “Why couldn’t I even do that right…?”

The lock turned.

Queen Lilith entered without hurry, already dressed in a dark, practical gown, crimson hair neatly bound. She carried a folded set of clothing over one arm. Her expression was calm, almost pleasant, as if the dinner, the blood, and the strange presence from the night before had never happened.

“Good morning.”

Elara did not answer. She lay on her side, sheet only half-covering her, and made no effort to hide what the fabric failed to conceal. Her blue eyes, swollen and dull, tracked the Queen with flat exhaustion.

Lilith set the clothes on the edge of the bed, pulled a chair close, and sat.

“Dress.”

Silence.

Elara’s voice, when it finally came, was hoarse and low.

“I’m not going to kill you quickly.” Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “I’m going to hurt you so badly you’ll regret every second you kept me alive.”

Lilith’s mouth curved in a faint, amused smile.

“Still making grand declarations, I see. Your own mother looked me in the eye and thanked me for how well I’ve treated you. If I truly wished to break you, little hero, you would already be on your knees begging to give me every part of yourself.”

Elara’s fingers curled slowly into the sheet.

“I’ll kill her too,” she said, each word scraped raw. “The humans. The demons. The gods and goddesses. Everything. I won’t forget any of it.”

Lilith laughed—soft, genuine, and cutting.

“So the great hero has finally gone mad. How entertaining.” She gestured at the clothes. “Put them on.”

“I’m not leaving this room.”

The amusement in Lilith’s eyes cooled. She stood, crossed the small distance, and closed her hand around Elara’s throat—not hard enough to choke, but firm enough to force her head back against the pillow.

“You are testing my patience again,” she said quietly. “Remember what happened the last time you did that. My restraint is not endless. Dress. Now.”

Elara held her gaze for several seconds, jaw tight, then gave the smallest of nods. Lilith released her and stepped back.

“Get out while I change,” Elara muttered.

“I’ve already seen every inch of you more than once.” Lilith’s tone was dry. “Just put the clothes on.”

Elara pushed herself upright. The movement pulled at the scars; her arms shook with the effort. She managed to get the charcoal dress over her head, but her fingers fumbled uselessly at the fastenings. After watching for a moment, Lilith exhaled through her nose, moved in, and took over. Her hands were efficient, almost impersonal, guiding Elara’s arms and securing the clasps at her back.

When she finished, Elara spoke without looking at her.

“I want a bath.”

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “You can barely stand. You’re in no condition—”

“Then you do it.”

The words hung in the air. Lilith blinked once, a rare flicker of surprise crossing her face. A faint flush touched the high tops of her cheeks before she mastered it.

“…Very well.”

She sealed the chamber door with a quick press of power, then returned to Elara. This time there was no struggle. Elara simply stood there, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion, and allowed the Queen to undress her again. Lilith’s movements were careful. When Elara swayed, a steadying hand caught her elbow.

The bathing chamber was already filled with warm, gently steaming water. Lilith guided her down into the oval pool, then—after a brief hesitation—removed her own gown and stepped in behind her. The water lapped quietly around them.

Elara sat with her back turned. Lilith took a soft cloth and a vial of cleansing oil and began to wash her shoulders and spine in slow, thorough strokes. She moved up to the matted golden hair next, working the oil through with her fingers, rinsing it clean. Her pulse had picked up; she could feel it in her throat. Something about the quiet compliance felt off—too easy, too hollow—but she did not stop.

“Turn.”

Elara turned.

Lilith’s hands continued their work, sliding the cloth over collarbones and the soft curves of her breasts with the same careful attention. She kept glancing at Elara’s face: the bruised-looking eyes, the blank exhaustion, the complete absence of the usual flinching. It unsettled her more than resistance would have.

Elara shifted slightly in the water, leaning closer.

For a fraction of a second Lilith thought the girl meant to close the last distance between them.

Instead Elara’s hand flashed to the small ledge where the grooming set still sat. The silver scissors were in her grip before Lilith fully registered the movement. She drove them forward with what little strength she had left, once, twice, three times—short, frantic stabs that scraped ribs and caught in the flesh of Lilith’s side as she twisted away.

“Die—die—die—die—!”

The words were wet and broken, torn out of a throat that had almost nothing left.

Lilith’s surprise lasted less than a heartbeat. Power flared. She wrenched the scissors free, sent them clattering across the stone floor, and backhanded Elara hard enough to snap her head to the side. Blood—Lilith’s own—ran in thin lines down her ribs, already sealing under her will. She seized Elara by the upper arms and hauled her bodily out of the tub, water streaming from both of them.

“You still haven’t learned,” Lilith said, voice low and sharp with genuine anger. “You actually believed a pair of scissors would be enough.”

Elara hung in her grip, dripping, trembling, tears cutting through the water on her face. Her teeth were gritted so hard the words barely made it out.

“I’m going to kill you… You’re going to die…”

Lilith stared at her for a long moment, crimson eyes hard. The cuts on her side had already closed, but the insult remained.

“You have crossed too many lines,” she said finally. “What happens next is no longer on my conscience.”

She released Elara, letting her sink to the wet stone floor of the bathing chamber. Without another word Lilith gathered her gown, dressed with tight, controlled movements, and walked out. The door sealed behind her with a heavier, more final sound than usual.

Elara stayed where she had fallen, naked and shivering on the cold floor, blood from her reopened lip dripping into the puddles around her. The scissors lay out of reach.

She did not try to pick them up again.

For a long time the only sound in the chamber was the soft drip of water and her own uneven breathing.