"Let go of me, you brute!" Selene yanked her arm and ran to where her sister laid, almost lifeless.
"You have just a few minutes to spend in there." The xyiom guard made sure his voice rang out loud enough for Selene to hear him. She ignored him regardless.
"Lyra!" Selene called out, making sure not to grab her sister roughly, "are you alright? Speak to me, Lyra!" Selene's voice came out in quivers, inspecting every part of Lyra's body.
"Tell me, what did they do to you!" Selene demanded. Lyra was too weak to even look upon her sister's face. She couple tell if she was staring into the face of the enemy or not.
"Get away from me!" Lyra managed to utter. She went on to try to peel Selene's fingers from her, thinking she was the enemy.
"It's me, Selene. Open your eyes so you can see me!" Selene shook her gently, "your temperature is high. You need medical attention."
"Selene? You...you came for me?"
"Yes, my love I did. I will never leave your side."
"They...they almost killed me when you were taken away." Lyra said weakly, pointing toward the guard that stood watch at the door.
The guard eyed them with intent, making no attempt to hide that he was eavesdropping on them.
"I'm going to make sure they all pay with their lives!" Selene Seethed through clenched teeth.
"First, I need to get you out of here, so I can get you something to eat and have your wounds treated." Selene rose to her feet and tried getting Lyra to do same when she flared her nose and sat up straight.
"Why do you smell that way?" She asked her.
Selene's brows furrowed with confusion, "smell what way?" She asked back.
Selene hadn't realized that she still had the mating smell of the beast on her and the human maids had made little attempt to wash it off her.
"You smell awful, even I who hasn't showered in weeks don't smell this bad." Lyra added.
Selene didn't understand what she was saying and tried to get a whiff if herself. She smelt noticed and immediately assumed that her sister was hallucinating.
"Get up, Lyra. You need to be treated urgently." Selene said to her and reached for her.
"I don't...go wash that awful smell away from you first."
"If you bother yourself with how I smell any while longer, you might end not making it out here alive. So give your hand and let me help you up."
Lyra sighed and reached up to take Selene's hand as she let her pull her up from the ground but she made sure she let Selene know she wasn't comfortable with the smell on her.
Selene was about to lead Lyra out of the dungeon when the guard blocked their path.
"Where are you taking her to?" He asked rudely, ready to throw them back in if need be.
"The king ordered that I bring her out for treatment." Selene replied while she barely held Lyra up.
The guard ran his eyes over Lyra. "She seems fine to me and I don't think the king would give such order without letting me know about it first."
"But he has passed the order already." Selene interjected, "or would you dare to disobey your king?" She asked sarcastically, knowing no guard would dare go against the king's orders.
The order had been a lie and Selene didn't think it through to realize the consequences if lying in the king's name.
The guard opened his mouth to say something, as if he was against the Idea of Selene taking Lyra away from the dungeon but hesitated and moved aside for the both of them to make their way out.
The guard kept his eyes on them, following their every move until they disappeared out og sight.
"I know you're weak but you need to try to walk faster than this, Lyra."
"My legs feel like they're going to give out." Lyra replied.
"I know that, but we have to keep going."
"Can we not stop to rest?!" At this point, tears had already started to fall from Lyra's eyes, she couldn't match her sister's pace and it was killing her.
"No, we're almost at my quarters." Selene informed her. Lyra's eyes bulged.
She couldn't voice out her surprise but Selene knew what she was thinking. An ordinary human like herself at a quarter all to herself— in the midst of Xyioms.
"When I get you treated, I will tell you everything. For now, let's focus on getting you in there." Selene seem to answer her sister's unspoken thoughts.
Selene was leading her back to the quarters she had stayed when the king still saw as a prince and gave the quarters to her to stay in.
When they got there, she was glad to find the door unlocked and kicked it open with her feet. She felt a surge of pain as she did so but didn't let it reflect in her features.
"We're here!" She announced and led Lyra to the bed. Lyra collapsed immediately on it.
Nothing had changed since she Left and she was glad it didn't. But where the problem lied was how she was going to get Lyra treated.
Food didn't pose as a problem as she could easily get a maid to lie to and have food brought to her.
"Just hang in there, Lyra, I'm going to get help now." Selene let out but Lyra was barely listening. The feel of the soft foam had overpowered her and she had fallen asleep immediately.
The sheets were stained with Lyra's blood but she gave little thought to that as she dozed off.
Selene had to make sure she was still breathing before she vanished from the room to go get food for her before she sought for medical help.