Delia woke up, feeling a soothing heat softly enveloping her body. Her muscles felt foreign, unresponsive to her will, like she was only halfway present in her body.
A hazy veil clouded her vision, and the entire world seemed fragile, like a misty reflection on water.
{Another cursed dream… How many is this now?}
Her eyes slowly drifted downward. In her field of vision appeared a familiar figure — Qinxuan.
The girl lay beside her, her face very close, her breath rhythmically brushing against Delia's skin.
She looked calm, serene, as if there were no poison, no desperate struggle.
{In principle, it's not all that bad.}
This dream was different.
Not frightening, not threatening, but warm, filling her heart with a strange sense of comfort.
Yet somewhere deep in her soul, echoes of recent experiences still lingered: pain, fear, death.
These emotions burned inside, but the heroine clenched her teeth feebly, realizing that if this was the last, most important dream, she would not allow herself to leave without saying the most important thing.
— I… I thought I'd never see you again, — her words emerged raspy, quiet, as if it had to be drawn from the depths of her exhausted being.
She tried to lift her hand to touch Qinxuan's face, but the limb lay motionless,seemingly nonexistent
The wounded frowned, cursing her own powerlessness.
{Move! Damn it, move, or I'll get rid of you too!}
Under threat or by sheer willpower, her hand obeyed.
Awkwardly, slowly, her fingers brushed Qinxuan's cheek, tracing her skin with a heated touch.
Qinxuan opened her eyes. Her gaze was filled with surprise mixed with subdued joy. She wanted to speak, but the words froze on her lips.
In a half-delirious state, guided by emotion, the blue-eyed could not hold back.
The girl rose, her body weightless, and approached Qinxuan. Her lips met the girl's in a cautious, trembling kiss.
At first timidly, fearing rejection, but when Qinxuan did not pull away, and even responded faintly and gently, the kiss became more confident, deeper.
For a moment, the world froze, all boundaries between them vanished.
But suddenly…
Everything began to blur.
Dark spots obscured the light, and warmth left her body.
Delia felt her strength slipping away, as if she were sinking into a viscous, impenetrable darkness. A deep, heavy gloom engulfed everything, and she lost herself in this endless flow.
She woke just as abruptly.
Like being doused with a bucket of water.
Her eyelids fluttered, and her eyes opened. The light, too bright, too harsh, pierced her eyes. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, filling the room with a golden glow.
Outside, the sounds of the city could be heard: the muffled clatter of carriages, children laughing, the quiet voices of passersby.
The heroine tried to move, but her body did not obey.
It felt bound by invisible chains. She struggled to lift her hand, and even that required great effort.
Her eyes roamed the room.
Everything here was foreign — from the soft, refined bedding to the exquisite furniture carved with patterns. Every detail of this room seemed to emphasize that it belonged to someone with wealth and taste, far removed from Delia's life.
Turning her head, she noticed a figure curled up nearby.
It was Sharissa.
Her long hair, like a dark shimmering veil, lay scattered. The girl's face looked lazy, as if she were a being accustomed to observing the world from above, without hurrying to intervene.
{Why do such good dreams always end so abruptly?} — Del thought with longing.
A quiet, almost imperceptible moan of disappointment escaped her lips.
That was enough to wake the spider-girl.
Her eyes, glowing with pink light, instantly opened, and she immediately rose, peering into Delia's face.
— Sister! You're awake! — she babbled excitedly, as if she could not believe what she saw.—They said you'd be out for several days…
Shari impulsively reached for her, as if to hug her, but stopped at the last moment and gently took her hand.
Her palm tenderly clasped sister's fingers,cozy sensation them.
— How are you feeling?
The touch and caring tone brought a wan smile to the heroine's lips.She spoke in a gravelly tone, barely cutting through the heavy veil of fatigue.
— Wonderful, Shari. Like I spent the whole night unloading coal… and then a cart ran over me.
She frowned slightly, trying to find an accurate description of her condition, and added with a muted laugh.
— No, I'm wrong. I think first I got run over a couple of times, and only then was forced to unload coal.
The corners of Sharissa's lips twitched, but her her expression darkened at the memory of the liters of black blood that had to be purged from Delia's body.
— Believe me, you'd be in better shape if only a cart had run over you, — she said grimly.
— I think you're right, — the heroine furrowed her brow faintly, her eyes darting around the room. — Alright… tell me, where are we?
— In a room belonging to the Merchant Hall.
— And how did we get here?
— It's all thanks to Irina Nix, — Sharissa said with a smile. — She provided this room for your rest. Moreover, only thanks to her resources were we able to save you. Qinxuan calculated that the total cost was about three hundred thousand gold coins.
For a moment, a proud smile lit up Sharissa's face, as if she rejoiced not only at saving her sister, but also at a new useful acquaintance.
However, the hurt girl froze, stunned by what she heard.
{Three hundred thousand? And Irina Nix? Damn it, things couldn't be worse. If even some of the rumors about her are true, we're in big trouble… But wait, Shari said she and Qinxuan are friends? How could they have befriended each other? Or did Irina know Qinxuan earlier? She never told me… though I don't know everything about her either.}
Her thoughts were interrupted by a light nudge.
The new sister, still holding her hand firmly, gently tried to lay her back onto the pillows.
— Shari, take me to them. I need to talk.
— No. You need to rest, — she replied decisively, carefully adjusting her clothing.
Delia frowned weakly. Her tone grew firmer.
— Either you help me, or I'll go myself. And if you try to stop me, I… — She trailed off, quickly thinking how to threaten without going too far, and added with an unexpected note of desperation. — I don't know what I'll do. Just take me to them. Please.
The words came with difficulty, her breathing grew heavy, and sweat formed on her forehead.
Seeing her condition, Sharissa hesitated. Her heart tightened, but she still did not want the sister to get out of bed.
Yet she could not resist the weak plea of her sister.
— Alright… but if you feel worse, I'll carry you back, okay?
Delia gave a feeble nod, a barely noticeable grateful smile appearing on her lips.
Her sister carefully helped her rise from the bed. Even this simple action was difficult: Delia's legs trembled, and every movement caused weakness,her body feeling like soggy paper.
Shari tenderly lent o her shoulder, supporting her.
— Slowly, sister. Don't rush. — Care mixed with concern was evident in Sharissa's voice.
Step by step, they moved toward the door. Delia felt her breath grow heavy, her heart pounding wildly, as if after a marathon.
{Now I'm officially disabled.}
Her mood worsened with each step.
From the abyss of despair, a hushed tone of the spider-kin pulled her back.
— Delia, I have something I must tell you.
{Why not "sister"?} — the blue-eyed wondered, nodding for her to continue upon seeing the girl hesitate.
— I didn't want to say it now. But I must, — Sharissa spoke, then fell silent again.
{Good thing we're moving slowly, otherwise she wouldn't have finished before we arrived.}
— Speak, I'm listening.
— When you were poisoned, at one point I decided you wouldn't survive. And I was going to kill you.
Sharissa hesitated, waiting for reaction, but her sister did not stop.
Her eyes remained fixed ahead, the words gliding right by her. In the corridor, tense silence hung, broken only by the soft sound of their steps and injured girl's uneven breathing.
{I won't say I expected this. But now it's clear why she didn't call me sister.}
Finally, Delia stopped, swaying slightly.
She turned her gaze to Shari, her face calm.
— You… wanted to kill me?
Sharissa pressed her lips together,averting her eyes, as if trying to hide from judgment.
— Yes, — she answered, bitterness laced her words. — I thought it would spare you suffering. I… I saw you in pain, and… — She swallowed nervously,lifting her eyes, filled with remorse. — Forgive me, Eris Talya. If you wish, I will leave right now.
{Eris Talya?}
Del silently looked at her for several long seconds. Her lips lifted into a faint, weary smile.
— Shari, — she began quietly, but a peculiar gentleness softened her words. — You thought you were doing the right thing.
— You're not angry at me?
Sharissa's eyes widened, relief flickering in them.
— No, — Delia replied, resting her head on the girl's shoulder. — I have never faced such a choice. And I hope that neither you nor I will ever be in such a situation again.
Sharissa remained silent, stunned by these words.
The pink-eyed squeezed Delia's hand, as if afraid she might disappear.
They continued their way.
— And what does Eris Talya mean?
— Oh, it means Dear Sister.
— I like how it sounds. Can I call you that?
— Of course. — Sharissa agreed happily.
Along the way, they met a servant, and after a few minutes, they reached the room they needed.