As much as I ever could

Epiphron's brows furrowed as something akin to frustration contorted her features. She was so used to feeling unbreakable, but her veneer had cracked, and tears threatened to fill her eyes. Slowly she felt less and less in control of her emotions, though it was entirely different from the passion she'd felt just two weeks prior. It was something quite different. Passion mingled with anger, but she contained the rage that seemed bound to spill eventually. This had not been Maverick's decision, and he displayed no kind of eagerness towards the thought of the arranged marriage. It would do no good to punish him; he was as innocent as she was. Nobody was at fault here. She would not even blame Collision -- she would be childish to whine and thrash about like a child in spite of her promotion to Alpha. The girl had much more dignity than that. She briefly wondered if she hadn't been promoted if she would've had the courage to eventually fight for Maverick -- against her sister. No, she knew over time her feelings for Maverick would dull, the pain slowly subsiding into a faint ache in the center of her chest. This too, would pass, but she was worried about surviving through the worst of it to that point in time.

He assured her he hadn't known about his betrothal to Chrysanthe, and while she had expected the news to make her feel slightly better, it didn't. She hadn't suspected he'd been toying with her emotions, using her. Not at all, it had never once seemed like that.

"My sister will be a good wife," she said softly, her voice cracking slightly. Chrysanthe was a strong girl -- no, she was a woman now -- and Maverick would not be disappointed. She wondered how he would react when he first met the girl, when he saw their strange similarities. Their features were polar opposites; would Maverick be reminded of her every time he gazed at Chrysanthe? Or would he grow fond of her, far more than he ever was of herself? While her sister was not necessarily the most beautiful creature, her strong personality and unwavering loyalty made up for it tenfold. "And you better treat her like a Queen." She had no doubt that he would do just that, but she said it seriously, as though she would never forgive him for mistreating her.

In any other situation, she would've been teasing him by stating the obvious, would've cracked a smile. But her face was still twisted in a slightly pained, confused expression, her eyes dancing from the ground to Maverick, never daring to linger too long.

"I don't either, Maverick." Her eyes fell on his own, staying far too long for her own comfort. She thought she might be sick, that was how intensely her stomach clenched and her heart beat in her chest. The feeling was unpleasant, but she couldn't run quite yet. She needed some kind of closure, if such a thing was possible. "I just... needed to be see you. I'm sure I'll see more of you in the future. I just... wanted to make sure things are okay." She was the leader of Valhalla, and Maverick would be the King before long, she assumed. They would be forced to speak, to make decisions, to act as though everything was okay when it was anything but.