Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
All puzzle pieces of the past few months fall into place. The dreams, the nightmares, it becomes painfully clear to me all at once. My knees slowly sink further into the ground, my arms fall still behind my body. I could have known, I should have known.
I have lost all my words while the boy next to me squats in the grass and cuts the rope in one motion. All I can do is stare at the totally black eyes. Not a single glimmer of white can be seen through the darkness and I know exactly how, I have seen it. I have seen everything.
Even with my cut wrists, I do not move or stand up. Although the black cloak covers his neck, I see the black veins running as I have them on my arms. The only thing that is as I remember is the black hair. The pale sunken skin, totally black eyes, and black veins are all new.
'Elien,' is the first thing that leaves my mouth in a whisper as my once small vulnerable brother stands up from the grass. Slowly I put my feet in the grass as I push myself up.
The once defenseless blind boy of fourteen is completely gone. There is a boy standing in front of me who is taller than me, seventeen years old, and has just killed two men without a hint. I have so many questions but none leave my mouth.
'Run,' is the first thing he says to me. The once high-pitched voice has also disappeared over time to a male lower version. However, I look at him confused while raising my eyebrows. I try to capture the image of the young, slightly muscular man standing in front of me in my brain.
'What do you mean? There's no one to see?' I ask as I look around. His posture doesn't change, his emotionless gaze doesn't either. The only thing I see happening is his hand wrapping tighter around the handle of the knife.
'Run, now.' The darkness in the tone of his voice sends a shiver down my spine. The alarm bells in my head go off and as much as I would like to ask him everything and hug him, I don't. I take a slow step back as I look into the dark eyes. He doesn't look like he's going to repeat his words, let alone take them back.
For one last time, I let my eyes scan over my brother before I turn around and run into the woods.
My heart pounding in my throat, my head confused about the past half hour. I feel stupid, so stupid. I should have known it was Elien. It crossed my mind once but it was too far-fetched to be true. Somewhere in my heart, I still had hope that my father would spare his blind son. If I get my hands on that lunatic, his death will be anything but quick.
The dark trees rush past my body as I try to find my way back to the house. So many thoughts run through my head, so many questions. In the distance, the lights shine through the windows of our house. It's my clue in the deep night. I count myself lucky as soon as I am a hundred meters away from the house.
The moment I slow down my pace, a bird shoots past my head from the upper right side. The black wings of the raven beat like iron through the cold air. Startled, I look at the black raven that, a second later, changes into none other than my brother.
The amount of questions I already had has doubled with this sight. It was never clear whether Elien had seen magic, given his missing sight. However, I am certain that he was not a shape-shifter, let alone a raven.
I stand frozen in place. I don't know what to do, what to say. Why is he telling me to run? How can he know where I was heading?
Before I can realize what is happening, my back slams against a tree, followed by my head. For the second time tonight, stars dance before my eyes while a knife is held against my throat.
The second my eyes understand how to focus, I look into Elien's totally black eyes. With my back pressed against a tree, there is a knife against my throat.
'W-What are you doing?' I ask with my heart pounding in my throat. The boy's hood has slipped back slightly, making his face more visible. Not only are the black veins in his neck visible, but also at the edge of his jawline. His left cheek is marked with a large scar, as is his right eyebrow. The only thing I recognize is his black medium-length hair.
'I told you to run,' is all he says before pushing the knife harder against my throat. Unlike with the two older men, I don't dare to move. Despite the black darkness in Elien's eyes, I see emotions in the distance. Stress, confusion, but above all, intense aggression. The combination of those emotions is a recipe for unpredictability.
In one fluid motion, the knife leaves my throat, my arm starts to ache, and I see blood leaving my skin. I grab with my left hand at the deep cut in my right arm. Elien throws the knife a few meters away from me while he walks back with his hands in his hair. His hands pull on the black hair while his jaws are pressed together.
'Run,' he repeats as if it is difficult for him to speak the words. As if he is trying to stop himself, as if he is fighting with himself.
This time, I don't know how quickly I have to push myself away from the tree and start running. My hand covers the large cut in an attempt to stop the bleeding. My heart pounding in my throat, my head too confused to understand what is happening. My frozen legs bring me to ten meters from the house before my right leg is grabbed.
Gravity works against me with a bang. With my hands, I can prevent my face from hitting the ground directly, which doesn't do much good for my wrist. A sharp pain shoots through my wrist, causing me to pull it away from under me. In one motion, I am turned around until my back hits the ground.
My eyes can focus just in time so that I can duck away from the knife that lands in the ground less than five centimeters from my head.
'Elien, stop,' I say as I feel the knife pressed closer to my throat. The sharp edge cutting into my skin. The knife presses harder and softer against my skin, its hand trembling as if trying to hold itself back. He shakes his head a few times before pushing the knife harder into my skin, cutting deeper into the wound that's already there. I feel my skin split again for what feels like the umpteenth time until suddenly the feeling disappears.
Elien is pulled away from me and thrown brutally against a tree. My whole body is sore, and the stars dance before my eyes. The lack of sleep, food, and drugs are taking their toll on me, along with fleeing from three people. Before I know it, the world goes black.
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