The Arcane Rebellion- The Arcane Series #1

Chapter 20

Layla

Her screams filled the room as the knights held her down while Pliver cut her open.

She begged them to stop, begged them to just kill her. They ignored her pleads.

"Please, please stop!", she screamed, trying to kick them away but with no success- they were too strong. Pliver held the artifact close to her bleeding back and I watched all the power being drained from her. I watched all the color leave her skin and hair.

She lost consciousness and we all knew what was about to happen. We all wanted to look away but there was nowhere we could look. The last I heard was the clatter of the knife as it hit the cold stone floor. The last I felt was the knight's hands on my arms and the knife being dragged down my back.

***

I woke up with a jolt. Cold sweat was dripping from my skin and warm blood was running down my back. I was breathing heavily and I felt like I was going to faint from how much my back was hurting. I noticed my thighs were bleeding also. My bed was completely drenched in my blood.

I realized I'd screamed only when my doors burst open, revealing Xavi, Uriah and Amir, all with their weapons of choice. Xavi was holding a sword above his head, Uriah was pointing a revolver at me and Amir had a dagger in his hand.

"What happened? Are you okay?", they all frantically asked, hesitantly lowering their weapons.

"Yes, I'm fine.", I lied. "I'm sorry for frightening you, gentlemen. And I'm sorry for waking you.", I sincerely apologized. "Go back to bed, gentlemen.", I urged them. They all exhaled breaths of relief and Uriah and Amir left. Xavi, on the other hand, lingered in my doorway.

"Bad dream?", he asked, entering my room and closing the door behind him. I looked up at him and slightly nodded, not really wanting to admit it. He sat down next to me on my bed. "What- what was it about?", he hesitantly asked.

I sighed. "I think you can guess.", I told him.

"Aliyah? And the Great Abduction? The- the torture?", he asked as if he could read my mind and I nodded. I got up from my bed, going over to my dresser and taking out a clean nightgown. I leaned onto the dresser, looking at Xavi's reflection on my mirror. He had that look on his face.

"Xavi, I have told you countless times, I don't want your pity.", I told him and he gave me the most sympathetic look I'd ever seen.

"It's not pity, little raven.", he said softly, getting up from the bed and coming over to me, putting his hands on my waist and hugging me from behind, placing a soft kiss on the top of my head. He put his chin on my shoulder, looking into my eyes deeply through the mirror.

"Xavi, you'll get blood on your shirt.", I told him softly, noticing how close he was to my back.

"I don't care.", he replied. "I promise I'm not pitying you, Layla. I just- I want to help you, but I don't know how.", he said truthfully.

"I wish it would all just stop. The memories, the flashbacks, the nightmares. I'm getting sick of it all.", I admitted, looking down at my hands that were gripping my dresser, so tightly that my knuckles were turning white.

"I know.", Xavi said with a sigh. "You go clean yourself up and change. I'll change your sheets.", he offered and I nodded, going to the bathroom to clean myself.

I wet a towel, somehow managing to clean my back. I then cleaned the blood off of my thighs, leaving the towel completely crimson, soaked through with my blood. At least I wasn't bleeding anymore. For now at least.