The Black Lotus | Vol.1, The Eldenarian Artifacts ✓

11.

Makaela's entire body shuddered as she bolted out of Olivier's study.

Her head spun as she stared at Thorian's back as he and his son dueled within the study. She watched as the boy threw a spell at his father. Her eyes couldn't comprehend what they were seeing. A million questions raced throughout her psyche. It was him. Her first crush. The first, and only, boy to break her heart. Sebastian Lazarus Obscurin Tedorof. The son of the Black Lotus, heir to the Order and House Tenebris. Out of all the people in the world, he was the one to save her. Lumi must've been playing some sort of sick joke on her. If it was a joke, Makaela didn't find it funny.

As she watched them duel, all her questions melded into a single thought:

What the hell is going on here?

Part of her felt like it was a trick. One big ruse to get her to lower her guard and relinquish the Illumio. But as she watched Thorian and Sebastian battle, she knew they weren't faking it. They were fighting to kill.

Her head started to spin a little faster. This time, she attributed it to the blood leaking out the back of her skull. 

Pressing a hand to the leaking wound, she moved toward the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Sebastian told her to leave, but she couldn't just yet. Not without her bag. She wasn't going anywhere without it. The clothes didn't matter to her; it was her father's spell book she needed.

After arriving in her room, she snatched her bag full of clothes. Then she rushed over to the bed in search of her book. She went stiffer than a statue. It wasn't there. But it had to be. She went to sleep with it in her arms. Where could it have gone?

No, no, no...

The book was all she had left of her father. She couldn't leave it. She wouldn't leave.

Her eyes scanned the room for the book. As she stumbled around the room, her foot got caught on something hiding near the corner of her bedframe. She nearly cried tears of joy after seeing what it was.

"Oh, thank the gods," she mumbled while planting kisses on the leather cover. After stuffing it into the bag hanging from her shoulder, she prepared to leave the room.

As she stood beneath the doorframe, she gave her bedroom one last look. Her hand tightened around her bag. Ten years of her life had been spent in that room. Nights full of tears and anger lingered within those four walls. A sob rose in her throat, but she pushed it down.

The time for grieving would have to wait.

Releasing a breath, she closed the door behind her and made her way back down the staircase. Reaching the foot of the stairs, she whipped her head around, searching for any enemies. She found none.

One of the three Shades the dark lord arrived with was unconscious in the living room. Xander had defeated Owl Face before he was slain by Thorian. Sorrow slammed into her out of nowhere. With her throat closing up, it took everything within her to stop from collapsing.

Xander was dead. He died protecting her. His death was on her hands.

Just like all the others who fell to the Order because of her.

It was all her fault.

Her eyes widened. Remy. He was still alive. At least, she hoped he was. Her cousin had run off a few minutes earlier. Rabbit Face went after him. She had to find him before the Shade did. And when she did find that rabbit, she would kill her.

With a nod, she raced for the backdoor. After stepping out into the frigid night air, a crash sounded in the house behind her. Olivier's study and living room had gone up green flames, burning the wallpaper and furniture. She found Thorian's body laid out on the dining table, his face pointed upward. Sebastian was nowhere to be found. Her heart stopped.