The silver doors to her quarters didn't just open; they dissolved into the floor without a trace.
Valerius stepped into the room with his arms crossed – a sharp, effortless smile playing on his lips. He didn't look like her master; he looked like a scientist who had just watched a vial explode and was delighted by the result.
He stopped a few feet from the bed, his golden eyes tracking the frantic rise and fall of her chest, then shifting to the empty space where forty years of concentrated essence had just vanished into her skin.
"Tell me, Asteria," he repeated, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "What are you?"
Asteria forced her hands to stop shaking, gripping the fur sheets until her knuckles turned white. Her newfound power was still hot beneath her ribs, pulsing like a predator that made her want to leap across the room and tear the smile off his face.
'What am I? I'm the thing you created, you lunatic,' she thought, but her voice came out as a sharp, guarded rasp.
"I could ask you the same thing," she shot back. "What kind of Master feeds his servants enough power to level a city block? You've spent the last week talking about the Queen being a vile, disgusting sickness, yet you're handing out the infection like it's candy."
Valerius tilted his head, his gaze never wavering. "A sickness is only a problem if the body is too weak to adapt. Survival of the fittest, is it not?"
"It was a trap," she snarled, her eyes narrowing. "You were just bored, weren't you?"
"I wanted to see if you were what I suspected you were," he corrected smoothly. He took a step closer, his presence expanding until the room felt half its size. "And it seems I was right. You are a miracle. A human with multiple soul cores... it shouldn't be possible."
'Miracle. Right. I feel like a freak of nature and he's looking at me like I'm his new hobby...'
"Is that why you're smiling?" Asteria asked, her voice dripping with venom. "Because you found a new toy?"
Valerius laughed – a soft, melodic sound that chilled her more than his silence ever could. "I'm smiling because for the first time in the century I've lived in this place, the odds in this kingdom have shifted. But since you're so keen on deflecting my curiosity, I suppose I shall grant you some room. For now."
He turned on his heel, the tension in the room snapping like a cut wire. He walked toward the window, looking out at the sprawling, luminous city of Aethelgard.
"Rest," he said, his tone suddenly brisk. "Your body needs to stabilize that madness. You'll need every bit of that newfound strength for tomorrow."
Asteria frowned, her guard still up. "Tomorrow? I assume the Gallery hasn't grown a fresh layer of dust overnight."
Valerius turned, his golden eyes flashing with a dark, infectious glee. "Forget the duster, Asteria. Tomorrow evening is a glorious and most disgusting, filthy banquet. Her Majesty is celebrating the anniversary of the Kingdom's founding! It is the most prestigious – and most disappointing — event in Aethelgard."
He paused, letting the weight of the words settle.
"And you will be attending. Not at my heels with a tray of tea, but at my side. I am introducing you as my partner. Prepare yourself, my dear Asteria."
Asteria's head spun. "And you're only telling me this now? When I have less than a day to prepare? You are kidding, right?" She exclaimed, her voice louder than intended but fueled with her panic.
She continued, getting her thoughts in a better order. "Partner?" she stammered, her voice cracking. "I'm a slave. I'm a maid. I have the hands of a miner and... whatever you think I am! You're going to walk me into a room full of powerhouses and expect them not to see how different I am?!"
"Precisely," Valerius said, a devilish grin spreading across his face. "The best place to hide a dagger is on the belt of the man everyone is watching. They will look at your dress, they will look at your grace, and they will look at my favour. They will be so blinded by the scandal that they won't see the predator in their midst until the blood is already on the floor."
'He's insane. He's absolutely, fundamentally insane. He's going to get us both executed before I even find the Vault.'
"Mistress Hestia will be here at dawn with the seamstresses," Valerius added, walking toward the door. "Try not to snarl at them. We have a world to break, Asteria, and we must look our best while doing it. For I am – no we are – the most dangerous people in the whole Kingdom of Glass!"
'Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.. Am I right?'
"Fine, I'll play along, master." She snarled, clenching her jaw. "But you owe me one favour afterwards."
Velarius' eyes widened slightly, proceseing her courage to demand something from him. "I'll bite, I agree, I'll honour the favour you ask, it seems reasonable enough."
The doors hissed shut, leaving her in total darkness.
Asteria collapsed back onto the bed, her heart hammering against her ribs. The opulence of the room, the silk of her gown – it all felt like a suffocating cage. Tomorrow, she would be paraded before the very gods of this Nightmare. One wrong move, one slip of her bottomless, unrestrained hunger and she would be killed.
She stared at the ceiling, her mind a chaotic blur of panic.
'A partner? A dagger?' She wasn't ready. She was barely human anymore, and now she had to play the part of a lady in a nest of vipers.
As the first light of the artificial stars began to dim, the Queen of Nightmare felt something she hadn't felt in a very long time.
Pure, unadulterated terror.