Royal Reboot: Level up, Your Majesty!

Chapter 61: The Walking Contradiction

Book 3

Queen of Hearts

The Walking Contradiction

What are you doing here?

Eydis almost asked, but why bother? The answer was always the same: chaos. The world, this very moment, was unravelling in ways no one could have foreseen. Fitting, really, as she seemed to be unravelling right alongside it. Chaos wasn’t just around her, it stood before her. Chaos had a name. 

And that name was Astra.

Eydis forced herself to stand, biting back the pain that threatened to buckle her legs. She pretended she was fine, that every fiber of her being wasn’t screaming for her to collapse, that all she wanted wasn’t to turn and run.

The Queen of Shadows would never run.

“Who are you?” Her voice wavered. It would’ve been comical if it weren’t so… 

Pathetic. Her fingers curled into a fist, but even that small movement sent fresh waves of pain radiating through her body.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Astra’s diamond blades clenched so tightly her knuckles were white. Then, after a tense pause, she added, quieter. “Funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

Astra took another step closer, and that was when it hit Eydis: the scent. She knew it. She knew it. 

Sandalwood.

Of all the things her brain could latch onto right now, like survival or maybe charming her way out of this mess, it fixated on something utterly meaningless. Irrelevant.

Their eyes locked. Eydis froze. 

Astra’s gaze wasn’t warm. Not the rare, reluctant softness Eydis had once pretending not to notice. No, this was…

A glacier set ablaze.

This wasn’t anger in the abstract; it was personal. Burning hatred. Betrayal. The kind of revenge Eydis herself had unleashed just minutes ago.

So…

This was it, wasn’t it? This was how it ended for her.

She might have flinched at the unexpected sting of that gaze, if her body had still obeyed her. Instead, her lips twitched as though to laugh, but the motion died halfway as pain flared through her abdomen. Her hand instinctively pressed against the sticky warmth spreading across her shirt, courtesy of the Sins she’d invited upon herself.

Healing magic? Not an option. Her reserves were scraped dry and then some. And even if, by some miracle, she had so much as a flicker of magic left, healing had never been her strong suit. Minor cuts weren’t an issue. But a gaping hole through her body, laced with Greed’s acidic poison? Absolutely not. 

That level of miraculous recovery was strictly within the realm of the Saintess: sparkles, sunshine, and divine intervention.

Ah yes, the Saintess of legends. 

Eydis could almost hear the smug voices of her Celestial counterparts now. They’d be quick to remind her that their glowing hands and endless compassion weren’t doled out lightly. Something about “preserving the sacred equilibrium of—” 

Her brain had translated everything after 'sacred' to 'blah.’

Why was she thinking about that now? Oh, right. Pain. Pain had a way of messing with your mind. Logical thought became as slippery as the blood she was quickly losing.

“Make… this quick.” 

Astra’s eyes narrowed. “What are you playing at?” Her gaze dropped to the wound, then softened. “You’re… bleeding out.”

“Stating the obvious now?” Eydis rasped. “Just… end it. It’s what you want, isn’t it?”

It was unreasonable for her to act this way. She should’ve been stalling, buying herself time, searching for an escape. But the fire in Astra’s eyes burned brighter than Eydis cared to admit. And…

It wasn’t an unreasonable request. She couldn’t fight, or stand upright, or even keep her eyes open. If Astra didn’t finish the job, the night surely would.

How… meaningless.

Eydis had always thought she was at peace with death. Inevitable. Logical. A fact of existence as certain as life itself. But now, as her vision blurred and the charred grass seemed to spin beneath her, she tasted the truth for the first time.

She wasn't ready.

Just the pull of something unfinished, something important, something that felt inarguably hers, even if the shape of it had already faded. Not that it mattered now.

Her legs gave out, surrendering without grace, and she crumpled, already bracing for the cold bite of damp earth. But instead… warmth.

Softness.

And intoxicating. Sandalwood. 

Eydis let out a weak, breathy chuckle as her vision dimmed. Her spiralling mind clung to one ridiculous idea:

She really needed to get Astra to spill the name of that perfume.

Then came a soft voice, brushing against her ear. It was close. Too close.

“You don’t know what I want, Eydis.”

The words carried an unexpected gentleness that shouldn’t have been comforting. Eydis pretended it wasn’t. 

Not that it mattered.

Moments later, the world slipped away.

When her senses returned, they did so grudgingly.

Golden light poured in, absurdly bright, and far too cheery for her current state of mind. Eydis squinted and lifted a trembling hand to shade her eyes. It met something silken, and silver. 

“Angel of death,” she murmured, her throat dry, “you’re deceptively beautiful these days.” 

She let her fingers drift through the silver strands, half-expecting them to vanish like smoke. Instead they glided against her palm, slipping until her fingertips found warmth.

Living skin. Astra’s cheek.

Astra sat at the edge of the bed, palm hovering near Eydis’s forehead as though testing for a fever. The air pulsed with sandalwood, the scent both overwhelming and insistently real.

Their eyes met, then Astra recoiled abruptly.

Eydis simply stared, her muddled thoughts swirling. Was she really alive? Had Astra saved her? And if so…

Why?

Astra cleared her throat with a light cough. “If you’re trying to flatter me, you’re—”

“I was genuine,” Eydis interrupted, her honesty slipping out before she could stop it.

Astra’s crimson eyes widened.

“…ly surprised,” Eydis added hastily, recovering too late. She opted for a playful tease. “But well? Did it work?”

Astra’s glare could have frozen fire, but she contradicted it by staying, by leaning in, reaching for a glass of water on the nightstand, and offering it with a gesture too gentle to belong to anger.

“You’re impossible,” she grumbled.

It felt like déjà vu. It was déjà vu. And confusing. Eydis didn’t have the energy to unpack it. She took the offered water, draining it in one graceless gulp.

“Impossibly alive. Definitely.” Eydis scanned the room. “Probably.”

It clearly wasn’t their room, nor did it bear the cold, damp marks of a dungeon, though she wasn’t ready to rule that out just yet. Rather, the space felt cozy, even intimate, with lush greenery climbing outside the window and the rich scent of coffee and freshly baked bread lingering between them.

It was… nice. Pleasant. And utterly baffling.

Astra didn’t reply in words.

What followed was the barest brush of fingers against Eydis’s temple. Gentle, hesitant, and entirely unintentional. 

“Alive,” Astra murmured, almost to herself. She reclaimed the empty glass and moved to leave.

Eydis caught Astra’s wrist. “I didn’t know you cared, Astra.”

Astra tensed. “I just don’t want to spend another afternoon scrubbing your blood out of my bed sheets.”

Her bed. Another afternoon?

That word sank in far too slowly for Eydis’s liking. She glanced down at herself: a silk robe in royal blue, luxurious, impeccable taste….

Familiar.

Astra’s bed, Astra’s room, Astra’s clothes. 

Of course. Because why wouldn’t she wake up dressed in her roommate's clothing. Again.

“Well,” Eydis said as her fingers tightened ever so slightly on Astra’s wrist, “if nothing else, you’ve saved the world from the tragic sight of me bleeding out in unflattering attire.”

The words sounded sharper than intended, a reflex more than a choice. Sarcasm: her armor, her magic, her… shield.

Under her palm she felt Astra’s pulse, steady until it fluttered. She watched as Astra’s crimson gaze flicked, almost unconsciously, downward.

For the love of all things unholy…

Heat flared in Eydis’s cheeks despite herself. Such an indignity. The Queen of Shadows did not blush. Not over proximity, not over silk robes, and certainly not over—

She cut the thought short.

Before Astra could speak, Eydis’s own treacherous mouth betrayed her. “And I suppose you also bathed me?”

Drat. Stellar deflection. Eydis fought the urge to sink into the mattress and curse herself in every language she knew, fighting the urge to groan aloud.

Actually, she did groan aloud.

Astra abruptly pulled her wrist free. “Would that make you feel better or worse?” she asked. Then, she shook her head and dismissed her own question. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter. You’re used to this anyway.”

Used to this?

Eydis frowned. Used to what, exactly? Dying? Or almost dying? Or maybe being threatened by her roommate while half-dead, only for said roommate to save her life and then, apparently, bathe—

She forced her thoughts to stop before she could chase the mortifying mental spiral further.

Astra rose from the bed and moved to the window, her back turned. “There’s a croissant on the nightstand.”

Eydis wasn’t particularly fond of buttery pastries, but the croissant was there, and she needed a distraction. She tore into the flaky bread without thinking. The taste, however, was strangely comforting.

Astra sat on the daybed by the window, her gaze distant. When the silence grew too loud, Eydis finally said, “You have questions.”

Astra took a slow sip of her coffee, then finally turned her head slightly, just enough for Eydis to catch her profile.

“I do,” she said softly.

Without another word, she placed her mug on the windowsill and grabbed a book from the shelf beside her, flipping it open as though the conversation was over. The meaning was clear: Not now. Not yet.

Eydis sighed, sinking back into the pillow. Her body felt heavier than it had any right to, the exhaustion pulling at her once again. She had her own questions—too many, in fact.

Why had Astra saved her? Had their roles been reversed, Eydis wouldn’t have done this, whatever this was. She’d have dumped Astra into Ares Van Nassau’s lap and leave.

Her familiars stirred in the back of her mind: slithering, buzzing, barking, restless with suspicion. They urged her to leave, to mistrust Astra, to see her for what she was: a potential enemy. 

A definite danger. 

Eydis shut them out entirely. It wasn’t their place. But logic dictated she should listen. She wasn’t safe here. With Astra. Was she?

Unlikely. And yet…

“You should rest.” Astra pulled the curtain shut, though she lingered by the window.

“Are you going to watch me sleep?” Eydis teased.

Astra glared at her.

“Fine,” Eydis murmured. “At least try to look less broody. It’s unsettling.”

Astra let out an exaggerated sigh, she lifted the book higher, hiding her face.

The gesture wasn’t endearing. Not at all.

Eydis’s lips twitched despite herself. Her fingers absently drifted to the bandage beneath her robe, tracing its edge. Dry. Healed. No agonising ache coursing through her veins. Her body, though sore, felt warm, blanketed in a sensation she barely recognised.

Anchored.

She wasn’t used to comfort after chaos, not without consequence. But this was familiar. Just like after her battle with Gluttony. 

That moment of peace.

For once, Eydis let herself admit it: her decisions weren’t always rational.

For once, she wondered if trusting her instincts wasn’t the worst mistake she could make.

And that instinct told her it was okay. Okay to close her eyes, to lean into the pull of rest. To trust Astra.

But it didn’t matter. Trust was dangerous. Eydis knew better than to put faith in anyone, least of all herself. She should push it away, rebuild her walls. But her body was too heavy, her mind too tired, and the idea stayed.

Insistent. 

Maybe it was exhaustion. Maybe it was foolishness. 

She wished it didn’t matter. It couldn’t. 

But it did.

It mattered more than anything.