When Elena admits she had told Lucinda where to find Anandi, it feels at first like a betrayal. There is a flash of annoyance in those serpentine green eyes. Her lips twitch as they resist the urge to sneer. Of course Elena told Lucinda. Of course the witless golden girl did not think to consider that not everyone was so innocent.But the anger fades quickly and quietly, the kelpie’s shoulders relaxing as she sighs. “Oh, Elena. Don’t blame yourself, it was inevitable. We are… bound, in a way. Ever since I made a Kelpie of her.” It was a bond far different from that she had with Anouk. It did not bring the two mares closer- if anything, the opposite was true. They orbited each other in perfect balance, each push echoed by an equal and opposite pull; they would not ever escape each other, could not unless they collided in an act of mutually assured self destruction.
The Making of Lucinda was most certainly a failure, a lapse of judgement, yet Anandi could not bring herself to admit she regretted it. If questioned about this lack of regret, she would sooner confess to an abundance of pride than a fondness toward the other mare.
“We were born in lands far from Beqanna, my home was called Windskeep.” Anandi tilts her head, intrigued. It seems Elena was well-travelled, something the kelpie admired. “What about your family?”
“I have two sisters in Novus, Sereia and Indrani.” She practically preens, pink fringe folding back proudly. “My other sisters, and the rest of my family, live in the deep sea. For now.” Had she already told Elena she is kelpie? There’s been too much on her mind lately; she cannot remember. There’s also, perhaps, been too much wine tonight; the edge of everything is softened to the point where it does not matter, anymore, who knows what she is.
“It was Tomke, the swamp girl.” She was a pretty roan with big eyes and delicate features. It was a shame she spent her days splashing around the mud; she would do well in court. But it was no skin off Anandi’s back.
Elena grins impishly, and Anandi grins back. When they first met, she had written off the healer as a good girl. Charming but boring. The kelpie had of course been mistaken, although she had yet to see just how devious the blonde could be. “Come, let’s get more wine and see what spells we can cast tonight.” She presses her shoulder into Elena’s, and leads her toward the merriment gathered round the closest bonfire.
corrupts absolutely,
or almost.
A N A N D I
@
some say the loving and the devouring are all the same thing
☾
