Svetlana was dead.
Dead.
It was not something Nayati should have ever heard. How she had obtained the information was simple. Rumors spread quickly, and battles, especially ones that ended in death, were always famous somehow. Nobody ever noticed the shy sweetheart that lingered in the woods. Completely without parents. Abdullah and Romani had been scarce, her only friend being Bale whom she loved dearly. But...Svetlana. First she had been banished, but now...Nayati would never feel the comfort of her wings. The warmth of her side, the loving, gentle tone of her voice. The dark black of her eyes that only ever held patience and love towards Nayati. Never again would she be called precious, beautiful. The image of Svetlana is burned vividly into her memory, but imagining it bloodied and dulled by death makes her stomach lurch and tears cloud her vision. Nayati can still remember the softness of her coat, the tenderness in her touch when she had found the spotted girl half dead in the snow. Why had she been killed? What had Svetlana done to deserve such a horrible end? And why, why had they ripped her beloved mommy away from her so soon?
The tears and hysteria had attacked her earlier, seized her chest in a panic attack she hadn't had in nearly a month. Nayati refused to let herself succumb to the tears and gasping sobs again. No, she'd had her breakdown. Now, she just felt numb. Walking with perfect control, though she was worlds away. Ever since she was conceived she'd been named a devil, a mistake. Nobody loved her, and nobody ever would. Had Mother's curse followed her all the way to Helovia?
The scar throbbed on her side, reminding her of the thud of hooves that split her open and beat her into submission. Hated. Nayati was hated. Abby, Roma, and Bale were the only ones she had left, and she was desperate to keep them near. Ruby eyes drifted slowly over the greenery that she knew so well. It was the only thing she knew other than the places she'd been with Mother and the frozen land of the Threshold in Frostfall. "Nothing left..." she whispered, pained. All alone, that's how she felt. Where were her loved ones? Why did they all stop seeking her out when she needed them the most?
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