vicious [d.m]

prologue

As Khione drowns, she hears the piano.

It's strange, she thinks even as she feels her lungs give way, the panic having long faded, that the piano is what she hears as she dies. She's never even touched a piano, much less played one.

But as she sinks to the bottom of that frigid, icy lake, it's all she hears, loud enough to mask the panicked pounding of her heart in her ears. A melody she knows she won't forget, even in death, weaving throughout every muscle and fiber of her being.

She closes her eyes as water rushes into her lungs, letting the music overwhelm her. She never did learn how to swim — her twin brother will be awfully disappointed that this is how she died. Calais is a brilliant swimmer, even at just the age of fifteen.

Khione, on the other hand, is not. She supposes it's obvious by this point.

The piano goes on, light notes that ascend higher and higher in a tune that has her mesmerised even as she drowns. She can't feel a thing now, frozen to the bone, water filling her lungs — and yet, there is no fear. There's only the music, swirling around her, in a song so perfect she knows it's being played by hands that learned it years ago.

Her eyes fall shut, the view of the surface of the water high above her fading away. She's too weak to do anything now and so she just lets herself sink, content to just let go. The water cocoons here in its frigid embrace — a cold, lonely grave with nothing but the weeds below her to witness her death. She should be terrified but she isn't. She doesn't know why she isn't.

Khione's heart begins to fail — and the piano suddenly stops.

She resigns herself to the absence of it, although she would've liked for it to be the last thing she heard, rather than the frantic rush of her blood. It's much less romantic to die this way. She supposes this is how fate meant for it to be.

Until something emerges from the darkness in her mind. Something small and indistinguishable, rapidly moving towards her, gaining speed and size as it does so. Something that glows in the never-ending darkness all around.

A silver thread.

Khione doesn't know why but she latches onto it without hesitation. It seems to weave throughout her soul, grasping parts that had begun to float away into oblivion and stitching them back together, silver shining at the edges where the pieces fit. She watches in awe — until there is one blinding supernova of light and even in her mind's eye, she flinches.

But then — strength fills her, pushing and pulling at her until she can find it in herself to move her arms. Then her legs, kicking to propel herself upwards. Her lungs don't feel so full anymore, the tightness in her chest having vanished — and Khione fights to get to the surface, no longer feeling like Death has wrapped her in its delicate shroud.

She breaks the surface, gasping and nearly retching, clawing for the ice around her, desperately trying to find enough purchase to pull herself up over the edge. But she can't — and so she settles for folding and resting her arms on the ice instead, keeping herself afloat.

Her teeth are chattering so much, she can't even call for help — not that anyone would hear her anyway. She's too far away from the house — and Calais had been inside helping their mother cook when she'd left. She doesn't even have her wand on her.

So Khione hums the melody she'd heard down under — her mind's attempt to calm her as she nearly died — and waits for someone to come get her.

———

short prologue — but if you guys really like this, i'll publish chapter one tomorrow!

reminder that khione is pronounced kee-oh-nay bc i'm sure i'll get questions about it LMAO. calais is cal-ay.

thanks for reading, my loves. comment and vote if you liked it!

kisses,

nyx