Black Blood

-B2- Chapter 55

Novak's eyes shift from Micca to me, searching for answers and emotion.

My bare feet slide further across the wooden floor.

'Elien, go to your room.' My little brother looks at me, surprised.

'Why?'

'Because I'm telling you to.' Reluctantly, he pushes his chair back and walks past me with a disapproving look.

Micca has turned around and gazes at me with green-blue eyes. Green-blue, a color that holds even more significance now.

'How long have you been lying?' Micca scoffs.

'About what?'

'You know what.' He turns fully in his chair, resting his arm on the backrest as if he doesn't care.

'I could ask you the same thing.' My eyebrows rise, but I won't be easily shaken.

'When were you planning to kill me? Before the Blood Mountain? Soon or as late as possible?' Alisha and Novak continue to watch us in silence.

Micca pushes himself up from the chair until he's a meter away from me, standing right in front of me.

'When do you plan on telling me about your back or that we kissed? Our Novak here knows nothing, and if I recall correctly, you two were in a relationship.' My blood starts to heat up slowly, aggression growing.

The red eyes burn into my skin, but I ignore them as best I can.

'I thought you were sincere, a friend, but I guess a monster will always remain a monster.' Micca laughs as if I've made a joke.

'How do you define a monster, darling? Someone who has killed 25 people and monsters, or 100 innocent people?' Clenching my teeth, I dig my nails into my palms. It's the harsh truth I don't want to hear.

'I'll give you a chance to leave the house now and never return, or I'll put the dagger in your head.' The green-blue eyes remain calm, composed, and carefree as he takes a step toward me.

'You can't kill me. No Viante without me. Give me the Celeste stone.'

'I don't think so.'

'We wouldn't want little Elien to come to harm, would we?'

'You wouldn't do that.' A grin plays on his lips; his eyes dart to the hallway door before stepping away from me.

'No?'

'No.' He takes a step closer to the hall, an action that makes me think deeply again.

Sirens are monsters, dark beings without human emotions. Black magic can give them a human form, but feelings, thoughts, and compassion will always be absent.

He has nothing to lose, and the only thing I have to lose is Elien. He can torture me as long as he wants; he can't beat Novak, and despite her immense value, Alisha is the least intense option. If he truly wants the stone, Elien is his only option.

Maybe the choice I'm making now is wrong, and I'll probably regret it at some point, but there are worse scenarios I won't let happen again.

I pull the dagger from my sock and without hesitation, I throw the knife in a straight motion into the back of Micca's head. The iron pierces his skull before he falls silently to the ground.

Not fully realizing what I've just done, I stand silently and stare at Micca's lifeless body. The black magic fills my veins, tingling beneath my skin, making me fully grasp my action.

My legs give way, my wall breaks.

Novak manages to catch me just in time before I sink to the wooden floor with my head in my hands. Tears flow uncontrollably down my cheeks and intensify as Novak pulls me close to him.

Novak lifts me slowly and walks down the narrow hallway. Even with my head pressed against his shoulder, I see Elien in the doorway of his room, looking at me with a concerned expression. We both remain silent.

It's only when Novak places me on our bed that the tears seem to slightly abate. He says nothing as he lies down beside me, pulling the covers over us and drawing me against him.

For the first time in months, I feel his skin, his warmth, against mine. For the first time in months, I don't feel alone. The tears return immediately, falling onto his shirt as his fingers trace barely perceptible circles on my arms.

'I'm sorry,' I whisper, sobbing. It's the apology I should have given him months ago. An apology that goes beyond just my kiss with Micca. It's an apology for everything I've done to him, for the life I've asked him to live, the death he's had to witness, and the fear. That endless fear.

'I know,' he softly replies into my hair.

Novak's hands caress me lovingly until my breathing returns to its normal pace and the harsh voice in my head fades.

We lie still together, entwined, under the covers, lost in our thoughts. We understand what the other is thinking, yet at the same time, we have no idea. Two souls that resemble each other but are not the same. Two stories with very different beginnings. Two opposites who understand each other.