"Explain," Aeryn commanded, her voice cutting through the humid morning air like a rusted blade. She stood with her spine rigid, though the paleness of her skin betrayed the exhaustion she was trying so desperately to hide from her subjects.
Old captain, sensing the Queen's fraying patience, stepped forward with his head bowed, his mouth opening to offer a tactical report. But Aeryn didn't even look at him. She raised a trembling hand, the gesture sharp enough to halt him in his tracks.
"Commander Kaelen," Aeryn said, her voice dropping to a dangerous, mocking silkiness. "You were so confident going against me. Come, come, my dear... explain this."
When the silence stretched longer, maris came forward.
"Your Highness!" Maris started, stepping into the Queen's line of sight to shield Kaelen.
Aeryn looked at him with a stare so cold that it seemed to freeze the air. "Are you Kaelen?"
Maris flinched with shame, his boots scraping against the dirt as he stepped back.
"I asked... are you Kaelen!" Aeryn repeated, her voice rising.
Maris shook his head frantically.
"SPEAK!" Aeryn cried, the command echoing off the stone walls of the nearby structures. A few heads far away turned to see what it was.
"No, Your Highness!" Maris choked out.
"THEN STAY BACK!" she ordered back. She was breathing heavily now, her chest heaving as she struggled to maintain her upright posture.
"My lady, you cannot..." Rissa started, her voice soft with concern, but Aeryn whipped her gaze toward her, silencing the woman with a single, sharp glare before she could finish the sentence.
Kaelen didn't answer right away because she couldn't find the breath to do so. Her eyes were fixed on the man bound before them, tracing the impossible contours of a face that was a mirror image of her own.
Finally, she mustered up her remaining courage and stumbled forward, grabbing his jaw. The man let out a small, wet smile, whispering something that made Kaelen's blood boil. With a guttural cry of pure frustration, she pulled back and slammed her forehead into his mouth. The crack of bone on bone was sickening.
Zephyr and Maris immediately lunged forward, dragging Kaelen back as she began to thrash. "Let me go! I don't know this person! This is a trick!" she screamed, her voice reaching a frantic, jagged pitch.
While she struggled, the prisoner spat a mouthful of crimson and started to mumble again. This time, Zephyr stepped into the circle, lowering his head. As the words reached him, Zephyr's entire demeanor shifted; he drew his sword and pressed the steel against the man's throat. "Your Highness, allow me to end this now," Zephyr cried out, his voice thick with a sudden, protective rage.
The sight of the blade triggered something even more volatile in Kaelen. She threw her weight forward, clawing at the air. "I will kill him! He doesn't get to breathe my air! Let me go!"
Aeryn moved with a speed that shouldn't have been possible. Without a word, she swung her hand and delivered a sharp, echoing slap across Kaelen's face.
The silence that followed was absolute. Kaelen's head snapped to the side, her body going instantly slack. She remained frozen, her cheek stinging, as she slowly turned her head back.
She found herself staring into the Queen's eyes. They weren't just angry; they were filled with a cold, visceral disgust, as if Aeryn were looking at a rabid animal rather than her Commander.
While maintaining that piercing, loathing stare, Aeryn reached out and grabbed a handful of Kaelen's heavy military cape. With agonizing slowness, she began to wipe her palm against the fabric. Halfway through the motion, Aeryn turned her torso toward Zephyr, her eyes briefly leaving Kaelen to acknowledge the knight's request to kill the prisoner.
Then, she looked back at Kaelen. The Queen finished cleaning her hand on the cape and then shooed the fabric away with a sharp flick of her wrist a dismissive gesture as if discarding something contaminated. She remained locked on Kaelen for a beat longer, before turning her full attention back to Zephyr, waiting for his response.
"What does he say?" Aeryn asked slowly, her hand resting on the hilt of her own ceremonial blade.
Zephyr swallowed hard. "He says we cannot kill him... and that he will only die if..." He stopped speaking. The man's blood-stained teeth bared in a silent laugh.
"If what?" Aeryn demanded.
"If you die, Your Highness," Zephyr completed in a low, hollow voice.
Aeryn stood perfectly still. Zephyr again said, "Allow m "
Aeryn softly moved Zephyr's arm aside. She came face to face with this male version of Kaelen and looked deep into his eyes. The man's smile disappeared instantly; instead, an expressionless, void-like look came over his face.
"Kaelen!" Aeryn finally said after a while. No one responded. "Commander Kaelen!" she barked, followed by a sharp, painful cough.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Kaelen roared back, snapping into a rigid salute, her face still burning.
"You are responsible for this matter. Get to the root of what this is. I want to know how this mockery exists."
"I... Sakina... my lady, please," Kaelen tried to retaliate, her voice trembling with the need to explain herself.
The moment the words left Kaelen's mouth, Aeryn's head snapped toward her with terrifying speed. Her eyes, which had just begun to calm into their usual stoic coldness, narrowed instantly. The pupils sharpened and the lids tightened until her eyes formed jagged, inverted crescents a look of pure, predatory lethality.
Kaelen fell silent immediately, the air leaving her lungs. The absolute iron and lingering revulsion in that gaze were enough to choke any further protest.
"Your recklessness won't find us Sakina!" Aeryn snapped, her voice low and dangerous. "Zephyr will see to that. He is the only one among you who hasn't lost his mind this morning. As for me... I will return to the imperial palace."
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