I won't fall for the queen who burned my world-Chapter 147: Like old time

The night draped itself over the mountains like a deep velvet cloak, stars blinking through the darkness like scattered gemstones.

The cool air carried the scent of earth and distant rain, and the sound of running water filled the clearing where they had stopped to rest.

A crystal spring bubbled nearby, its surface shimmering faintly under the moonlight, reflecting the sky above like a silver mirror.

Elysia stood at the edge of the water, arms crossed, her expression unreadable. The faint glow of the spring cast a soft light across her features, illuminating the silver strands of her hair, making her look almost ethereal.

She wasn't even doing anything—just standing there, staring at the water with that quiet intensity of hers—but Malvoria couldn't seem to look away.

She had never been one for sentimentality, had never allowed herself the weakness of lingering on a moment simply because it felt like something worth remembering. But this—this was different.

Something about the way Elysia looked in the moonlight, her hair catching the silver glow, her violet eyes reflecting the night sky—it made something stir deep inside Malvoria's chest, something she did not have a name for.

She inhaled slowly, pressing her lips together before finally speaking.

"You asked me why we came," Malvoria said, her voice deliberate, measured. "I just said I wanted a nice time with my wife but..."

Elysia turned at that, her gaze sharp, watching her carefully.

Malvoria took a slow breath before continuing. "I never intended to let myself care about anyone. I've spent years convincing myself that love is a weakness." She stepped closer, the soft crunch of grass beneath her boots the only sound between them. "But you—you—make that impossible."

Silence stretched between them, heavy and fragile all at once.

Elysia's lips parted slightly, her violet eyes searching Malvoria's, as if looking for something—doubt, insincerity, a trap. But Malvoria had none of those things to offer.

She exhaled, voice barely above a whisper. "This place...it reminds me of the past."

Elysia blinked, her arms lowering slightly, but she didn't speak. She just listened.

Malvoria glanced toward the water, letting her thoughts drift for a moment before speaking again. "I used to come here when I was younger. With my mother. And Lucindra."

At the mention of the name, something in Malvoria's tone shifted—just slightly, but enough for Elysia to notice. The air between them grew heavier, more complex.

"You don't talk about your other mother much," Elysia said carefully, her voice quiet but firm.

Malvoria scoffed, crossing her arms, her gaze hardening as she stared at the spring. "Because there's nothing worth talking about."

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Elysia studied her for a moment, then tilted her head. "Then why bring her up now?"

Malvoria exhaled sharply, as if frustrated with herself for even mentioning it. "Because this place used to hold good memories," she admitted.

"My mother—Veylira—was the one who found it. She used to bring me here when I was little. We would camp by the water, and she would tell me stories about past rulers, about battles and victories and why I had to be stronger than all of them."

A short pause, then a bitter chuckle. "And Lucindra was there too. At the time, I thought she was part of it. That she was...family."

Elysia remained silent, but the tension in Malvoria's voice did not go unnoticed.

Malvoria shook her head, jaw tightening. "But she was never really ours. Not in the way I thought. Not in the way that mattered." Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, but her voice remained eerily even. "She left. Took what she wanted and disappeared."

Elysia frowned slightly. "What did she take?"

Malvoria let out a slow, controlled breath before answering. "Money. Influence. Whatever she could carry. But more than that... she took my mother's trust. And for a long time, she took mine too."

Elysia's eyes softened, something unreadable flickering behind them. "I'm sorry."

Malvoria let out a dry chuckle, shaking her head. "Don't be. I'm not." She finally turned back to Elysia, her gray eyes sharp, unreadable. "If I ever see her again, I might just kill her."

Elysia blinked at the bluntness, but she didn't look surprised. "You really hate her."

Malvoria's jaw clenched. "I do."

Another beat of silence, the only sound between them the gentle ripple of the spring.

Then, unexpectedly, Elysia asked, "And your mother? Veylira? Does she still love her?"

Malvoria exhaled, her expression flickering with something unreadable. "She won't say it out loud, but she never really stopped." Her voice lowered, as if the admission itself was exhausting. "That's what makes it worse."

Elysia looked away for a moment, her gaze falling on the reflection of the moon in the water. "It's hard to stop loving someone," she murmured.

Malvoria studied her carefully, catching something in her tone that made her chest tighten—something quiet, something knowing.

But she didn't press.

Instead, she took a step closer, her presence steady, grounding. "She was a fool to love someone like Lucindra."

Elysia's lips quirked upward, though there was little humor in it. "Love makes people foolish."

Malvoria tilted her head slightly, watching her. "And what about you?" she asked, voice quieter now. "Do you think you'd be a fool for love?"

Elysia let out a breath, her fingers idly brushing against her wrist. "I think," she said carefully, "that love is dangerous."

Malvoria smirked, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "That's the first thing we've agreed on in a while."

Elysia chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Don't get used to it."

Malvoria huffed a quiet laugh, the tension between them loosening—just slightly.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. They simply stood there, side by side, staring at the water.

The moon above cast its pale glow across the clearing, and the stars reflected in the surface of the spring like tiny flickering lights, dancing and shifting with every ripple.

It was strange, Malvoria thought. To stand in the same place where she had once been a child—where she had once believed in something as fleeting as warmth, as trust—and now, all these years later, to stand here with her.

Elysia.

The woman who had turned her world upside down in ways she hadn't even begun to understand.

The woman who had somehow carved herself into Malvoria's thoughts, into the very fabric of her control.

And, perhaps most dangerously of all...

The woman Malvoria was beginning to realize she did not want to lose.

Malvoria inhaled slowly, pushing the thought away before it could take root. Instead, she straightened, rolling her shoulders slightly.

"We should keep moving," she said finally, breaking the silence.

Elysia gave her a skeptical look. "Didn't you say we were resting?"

Malvoria smirked. "I changed my mind."

Elysia sighed, shaking her head with a small smile. "Of course you did."

But even as she followed Malvoria away from the clearing, even as they continued up the trail, she found herself glancing back at the spring just once, just long enough to etch the image into her mind.