Chapter-42 Aftermath

Frederique woke with a start, lungs pulling in air like she'd been drowning. Her body felt heavy, sore, yet more whole than it had in days.

The memory of blood lingered on her tongue, thick and coppery. Her hands shook as she blinked away the fog of sleep, trying to make sense of her surroundings.

She was back in her room. The small, unfamiliar bedroom assigned to her when she joined the Shadow Corp. Dim light filtered through the single window, the world outside still shrouded in early morning gray.

Lira sat cross-legged in a chair near the door, arms folded, watching her. She wasn't smiling this time. Her usual playful energy was absent, replaced with something quieter, steadier. The Pooka's cat-like eyes were focused on her with an intensity that felt uncomfortably close to pity.

"You're awake," Lira said softly, but not weakly.

Frederique swallowed, her throat dry. She remembered the mission. The cultists. The blood. The screams. And then... the feast.

The feast.

The memory of it twisted in her stomach. Not from disgust, but from how good it had felt. How natural. How perfect.

"She told you," Frederique whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.

Lira nodded.

"Frideria explained everything while you were out. You've been asleep for a while... it took a toll on you, huh?"

Frederique looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. Her nails were short, clean... yet they felt like they should be sharp, painted crimson with remnants of her work. She felt... wrong.

"I ate them," she muttered, half to herself.

"All of them. Even the... "

"The Changeling too," Lira finished bluntly.

"Yes. You did."

The words hit like a punch to the chest. Frederique winced, but Lira didn't stop.

"Do you feel guilty?" Lira asked, her tone still calm but pointed.

Frederique's lips trembled.

"I... yes! Of course, I do! I... "

" Why? "

The voice was not hers.

Not Frideria speaking separately either.

It was inside her, part of her.

The echo Frideria left behind when they were truly one.

"Because I... "

Frederique blinked, voice catching. "It felt... good."

Lira nodded, as if this was the answer she expected.

"And it should. You're a Redcap, Frederique. What you did wasn't wrong. It was necessary. Corpses don't deserve dignity. They were a loose end. A threat. You cleaned the mess... like we're meant to."

Frederique stared, incredulous.

"They were people... "

"No." Lira's voice hardened.

"They stopped being people when they chose to slaughter our kind. Would you feel guilty for taking out a rabid dog? A plague-carrying rat? Or is it just because they looked human that it hurts so much?"

Frederique's breath hitched. It wasn't the words... it was how much they made sense.

" Yes. It makes sense."

The voice, warmer now. Frideria was listening, absorbing, learning.

"You're thinking like a mortal," Lira continued, leaning forward.

"You're not a mortal anymore. You're a Redcap. Your kind exists for this. You're not broken, Frederique... you're finally starting to understand your purpose."

"But it wasn't just the cultists," Frederique whispered.

"The Changeling. I... I ate them too. They were innocent."

Lira tilted her head.

"Were they?"

Frederique blinked.

"Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. But you were ordered to erase the evidence, and you obeyed."

Frederique flinched.

"I didn't obey. I... Frideria...she..."

" We did it together."

The voice was clearer now. No longer just a whisper, but a presence in her mind.

Frederique felt it... Frideria's quiet satisfaction, her hunger still simmering but calmer, fulfilled.

Lira's gaze softened.

"You're not two people anymore, Frederique. You're one. Frideria didn't force you. She showed you what you could do. What you are."

Frederique squeezed her eyes shut. The memory of that moment... the taste, the power... rushed back. And the worst part? It had felt right.

She wasn't the same girl who had been bullied, shamed for her body, mocked for eating too much. That girl had been powerless. A victim.

But now?

Her fingers brushed her lips. Lips that had consumed. That had ended.

"How do I live with this?" Frederique whispered, voice shaking.

"I... I don't want to lose myself."

Lira stood, crossing the room with fluid grace. She knelt beside Frederique's bed, meeting her gaze directly.

"You don't have to lose yourself," she said gently.

"You need to redefine yourself. The old you... the girl who feared what people thought... she's gone. Dead. But what's left? You can choose what that means. You're not shackled anymore."

Frederique swallowed hard. She wanted to argue. Wanted to scream that she hadn't chosen this.

But she had.

Somewhere, deep down, she had wanted this power.

" You're strong now. They can't hurt us."

Frederique's eyes widened. Frideria wasn't just learning.

She was growing.

"You don't have to like it," Lira continued.

"But you do have to accept it. If you keep fighting who you are, it'll break you. This?"

She gestured vaguely toward her body.

"This isn't a curse. It's an evolution. And you're already stronger than you think."

A long silence fell between them.

Then Frederique whispered, "And you? Do you feel like this too?"

Lira smiled faintly, eyes half-lidded.

"I'm a Pooka. My nature's different. I play games, lie, misdirect. But... yeah. I had my moment. Acceptance comes with time."

Frederique nodded slowly, heart still hammering. But the panic was duller now.

Fading.

She felt Frideria in the back of her mind.

Not looming.

Not controlling.

Just... there.

"Thank you, Lira," she murmured, voice steadier now.

Lira winked.

"Anytime. Now... how about we get you cleaned up? You smell like a charnel pit."

Frederique snorted, the first spark of humor breaking through the tension.

And for the first time, Frideria laughed with her.