Black Ice ✓ | Deathsworn #1

Chapter 13 ∞ Shadow

The boy sort of looked like Mistress Lamia—but not exactly. Instead of pure, snowy hair, he had locks that shone a metallic grey and reflected light tones of purple under the right light. I almost couldn't tell with all the blood caking it.

He was never left alone more than a couple of minutes in case he needed anything, especially during the first few nights. Kora said he wasn't in the green zone just yet and would need to be continuously monitored. I had nothing to do in the House of Oblivion save for my personal hobbies. Considering he was a new object of interest, I inquisitively hovered around.

Not to mention there was that weird moment when I found him. Strange and eerily cold shadows. If I had to describe them at all, I would name them the emissaries of death. They were a particularly familiar presence to me, considering I had to bear with their company for a while before eventually being reborn.

"Evyionne," my mother began softly. "Tell me honestly. How did you find him?"

I looked up from my seat in front of the table, lowering my fork and the piece of meat I pierced it with. All my mistresses were looking at me questioningly. "Something called me to him," I said. "I found him like that."

"Evy, what did we say about Oblivion and the entrance? You cannot just be blindly showing people a way in and out," Hellenia firmly stated. She wasn't blaming me for anything, but I knew she needed the truth. "It ensures our safe passage into Oblivion and it protects you."

"I know that," I said. "But something weird happened."

"What weird?" Mistress Veronika asked.

"There were shadows."

"What do you mean shadows?"

I shook my head, not knowing what to say next. "Shadows...I don't know. Of death."

Utter silence went around the room. The mistresses were dumbfounded—which rarely happened.

"The problem is already here. Stop the interrogation now. There's no use pursuing the matter further, " Lamia suddenly spoke.

She usually didn't bother embroiling herself in any issues, nearly always maintaining a certain detachment and leaving most of the trouble to the other mistresses. She was able to make impartial decisions that way and see things in a different light. However, I suppose this was the moment she had to step in as it concerned security.

"What we have to deal with now is deciding what to do with the boy," Lamia continued.

"He was gravely injured," Kora said. "A severed tongue, a punctured side. It looks like whoever did it was aiming for a vital point but missed. The assailant definitely wasn't inexperienced, but not too successful either. I assume they were interrupted, and the boy managed to escape somehow before they could truly finish him."

"Not to mention in a dress," Veronika interjected.

"Whatever this boy's story is, it definitely isn't a lighthearted one," Mistress Liane softly added. "Are you sure we're taking on this trouble? It might be something more than it's worth."

"You said it yourself," Lamia told them. "It won't be worth keeping a person who has been involved in such a matter. We can't set aside the possibility of the assailant trying to find a dead body. Considering how Evyionne's story went, it's not too strange if anyone saw her."

I hung my head. I knew I wasn't discrete, but I didn't know what else to do.

"So, what do we do?" Veronika asked.

"Don't throw him out," I blurted. All the eyes in the room were suddenly on me. I swallowed heavily. "I was the one who found him. I was the one who brought him in. If I have to be the one to be responsible for him, then so be it."