Chapter 90: Number Seven chamber
A frantic pounding on the door jolted Eren from his restless sleep.
"Wakey, wakey, little bird!" Kiran’s sing-song voice pierced through the heavy door. "The day has come! The TUNA waits for no one!"
Before he could respond, the door burst open. Kiran stood in the doorway, her mismatched eyes wide with manic excitement, practically vibrating with uncontained energy.
"Two days have passed!" she squealed, clapping her hands in rapid succession. "TWO DAYS! Do you know what that means? Of course you don’t!" She laughed, the sound brittle and sharp as breaking glass. "It means it’s time for your TUNA with Number Seven!"
Eren sat up, immediately alert. "What about Viva? Is she alright?"
Kiran’s face contorted into an expression of exaggerated irritation. "Viva, Viva, VIVA!" she shrieked, throwing her hands up. "Always worried about your precious silver-haired princess! She’s FINE! Better than fine! The ritual cleansed her of that nasty little enchantment. She’s resting comfortably... for now." Her lips stretched into a disturbing grin. "Master has special plans for her later, but that’s not YOUR concern right now."
She lunged forward, grabbing his wrist with surprising strength. "Seven has been waiting ALL MORNING! She’s in one of her MOODS, and if we’re late, she might just decide to remove someone’s fingers!" Kiran waggled her fingers in front of his face. "Wouldn’t want that, would we? Not when you need all your parts for the ritual!"
She dragged him into the corridor, her grip painfully tight as she hurried him along the winding passages of the palace.
"Seven is TERRIBLY jealous, you know," Kiran whispered conspiratorially, leaning in so close her breath tickled his ear. "She’s been watching you from the shadows. She thinks Master favors you above the rest of us." She giggled madly. "As if anyone could replace those of us who wear the marks!" She traced the scarred pattern on her skin with her free hand, her touch almost reverent.
"I’ve been watching you for YEARS," she continued, her voice dropping to a hushed, intimate tone that somehow felt more threatening than her shouts. "Even before you knew we existed. I saw what you could become when you were just a tiny thing with those big, sad eyes. Master saw it too—your potential. That’s why she sent me to bind your mother." She cackled, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "Such a beautiful binding! My finest work!"
Eren tensed at the mention of his mother, but before he could respond, they arrived at an ornate door decorated with intricate carvings of thorned vines. Kiran rapped on it with what seemed like deliberate disrespect, her knuckles creating a chaotic, arrhythmic pattern.