The Tiger Within

"Kyera Mei I am your" she began but before the words left her mouth Kyera"s hand smashed against her cheek . Akira froze . She had never felt a slap that seemed to sear her heart tears watered her eyes but didn"t have the chance to fall .

"GET OUT . " Kyera growled angrily . Her heart was hurting too much to have any sympathy for this woman . Testing her patience right now would have drastic consequences and she wasn"t pulling punches .

"We need to" Akira stopped as Kan grabbed her arm gently .

"Akira, not tonight . Let it go . " Kan whispered the words just loud enough to make her frown .
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"I will listen to you plead your case the day you have the decency to face my father and tell him why his sons joined him so young . " Kyera spoke with . Sense of finality meant to sting . Akira would never face her father, she would spend her life running from death but there was no escape from the Lord of Shadows .

"I . . . you have sympathy for everyone else, but not me . " Akira pointed out as she turned away .

"Despite the claims of others, I am not a saint . " Kyera replied coldly to her retreating back . Akira tensed, glancing back at her over her shoulder .

"No your a Demi G.o.ddess . " Akira rebuked as if her behavior was somehow wrong for a G.o.ddess . Kyera chuckled at her mother, her tone dark and the shadows at her feet danced .

"Akira, they say all G.o.ddesses are vain and vengeful… doesn"t that explain it all? Also… let"s not forget who made me this way . If you wanted a better daughter, you should have raised her better . Better yet raised her at all . " Kyera purred and this woman before turning and going back to her family .
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Akira broke then, tears pouring down her cheeks and Kan watched her eyes cold . She looked at him . "Do you think she will ever forgive me?" Akira whispered and Kan shook his head slowly .

"She forgave me before she knew the truth . Perhaps she will but you crossed her bottom line . Stay away from our Little Princess, Akira . Next time we will not be polite about it . " Kan warned her before following Kyera back to the others .

Kyera had swept Raina up into her arms and said polite goodbyes to the guests of the ball . She was done, every ounce of diplomacy spent and she had to get away . Not to mention the look on little Raina"s tear stained face cried out for her .

No sooner than Kyera walk up to the group did Raina raise her arms, wanting to be held in that warm pillowy embrace . She was quickly obliged as Kyera picked her up and settled her daughter on her hip . With a plea of pregnancy and need of rest, Kyera slipped from the ball with her daughter, and took her home .

The bathhouse held a promise of warmth, but Kyera refused its gentle call . Instead, she helped Raina change into her night gown and then had Lazren and Kan put her to bed . Neither wanted to go together but, Kyera didn"t give them a choice . There was no denying her when a true order left her lips .

With that Kyera gently removed the masterpiece from her skin, hanging the beautiful fabric on the mannequin behind her . Her golden eyes focused her stare into the looking gla.s.s for a long time and for the first time she wondered who was looking back at her? Was this the woman she was supposed to be? Could tonight have been avoided? Did she miss something? How did she not know he was there?

A little voice in her mind purred mockingly . "You knew he was there… your heart knew but you didn"t pay attention . You still trust him and you nearly lost Clovis because you trusted him . " the voice purred in her mind, her stomach burned and rolled as she looked down at her hands .

Red blood stained her hands in odd blots, having soaked through the fabric in different areas more . The crimson liquid seemed to be accusing her as she looked down at her hands . Pouring water into the bowl, Kyera began to scrub her arms, all the way to the shoulder, to remove the blood . It still felt hot and sticky on her skin, even though she couldn"t see it . Her flesh turned raw and pink on her hands and elbows and yet it was still there .

Kyera had blood on her before, from people dying in traps or hunters who attacked her people . She had been covered in her brother"s blood as a child, but those had all easily washed away . The water of the river removed those stains from her, but this blood did not relinquish its hold on her mind nearly as easy . Her eyes saw her arms were clean, the blood washed away but her mind didn"t believe it . The guilt was still there .

"It"s my fault . " Kyera whispered as she put both hands on the basen . Her stomach rolled again as she looked down into the rust colored water . Without hesitation, and quite a bit of speed she backed away from it, sitting on the windowsill . Clovis found her there several hours later, staring into the abyss inside her mind .