RISE OF THE WARRIOR QUEEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN-1

KAIA'S POV.

My feet moved on their own.

I wasn’t thinking anymore. I wasn’t feeling, either. Just moving. Moving away from Gareth. From Laura. From the way my chest felt like it had been torn in two. The world around me blurred, and yet my mind still remained on Agatha.

I had to see her.

She had been saying strange things for weeks now. Things I didn’t understand. Things I didn’t want to understand at the time. But maybe I was ready now.

Maybe I had no choice.

“You shouldn’t have seen that,” Lilac's quiet voice sounded in my head as I walked. Her voice trembled a little, and I could tell she was hurting too, maybe even more than I was. I could feel her pain.

I didn’t answer. My hand tightened at my sides, my knuckles turning white.

“You were hoping,” she said again, softer this time. “Even after everything… a part of you still wanted him to care.”

“Don’t,” I whispered. My voice was rough and shaky.

Lilac sighed. “Kaia, acting like it doesn’t hurt won’t make the pain go away.”

I clenched my jaw. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Yes, you do. That’s why I’m here,” she said gently.

The path turned, and I saw Elder Agatha’s cabin ahead. It looked warm and safe. But even that didn’t calm the storm inside me.

“I didn’t think he loved me,” I said finally. “I’m not that foolish.”

“No,” Lilac agreed. “But you didn’t think he’d humiliate you either.”

That made me stop and stare at the ground.

“I don’t know what hurts more,” I whispered. “Seeing them together… or the way he looked at me like I didn’t matter. Like I never did. And to think he had the guts to feed me bullshit yesterday about how he would always want me around."

Lilac didn’t answer right away. She was quiet for a moment, and when she finally spoke, her voice was low and sad. “That’s what people like him do, Kaia. They make you feel important, then pull it all away when it counts.”

I let out a shaky breath. “And Laura... she had the guts to smirk at me. Like it was all a joke to her.”

“She wants to see you fall apart,” Lilac growled softly. “But you haven’t. And you won’t.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to stop the pain. It didn’t work. But Lilac’s voice made me feel a little less alone. Even if Gareth never truly saw me, at least someone did.

“I’m tired,” I said. “Tired of pretending I’m okay. Tired of acting like being alone doesn’t hurt.”

“You’re not alone, Kaia,” she reminded me. “I’m here. I’ve always been here. And maybe it’s time you stop trying to prove yourself to people who never deserved you.”

Her words were like a warm blanket I didn’t even know I needed.

“I don’t even know what to say to Agatha,” I said as the cabin got closer. “Do I tell her what I saw? That I'm really starting to believe I truly come with some kind of bad luck?”

"Stop it!" Lilac’s voice turned strong. “You don't have bad luck, Kaia. Tell her what you need to say. Not for them—for you. Maybe she has answers. Or maybe she'll just listen. But don’t keep this pain inside.”

I reached the steps and lifted my hand to knock, but my fingers shook slightly.

“You still have me,” Lilac whispered. “And I’ll help you pick up every broken piece of your heart. Even if we have to rebuild it ourselves.”

The door opened before I could respond or knock a second time. Elder Agatha stood there, her eyes looking at me with concern.

“Come in, child,” she said. “Your heart is heavy. I can feel it."

And just like that, the walls I’d been holding up began to fall.