Melody of Blood and Night

Fifteen

The night sky seemed to bleed as the darkness spread, creeping forth through the swirling void that had opened onto the beach. Aedlyn's heart skipped a beat as a woman clad in white stepped forward.

Her flowing snow-coloured robes brought out the colour of her eyes. They glowed like pearls, rimmed with black that crept towards her pupil like branches of a snag standing in the middle of a snow-covered field.

Her unbound hair fell to her hips in a straight sheet of glossy silver. It reminded her of cobwebs weaved from the spider's silk to ensnare its food. "Your magick is strong as it is tasteful, sister. Almost like wine to a drunkard." She spoke. "And you've managed to retrieve the Key. Marvellous!" Her sister exclaimed, eyes trained on the glass Orb in her hand.

"Now, be good and hand it over without any hindrance." She demanded. Aedlyn's fingers curled around the Key tigher, her knuckles turning white as she forced herself up, leaning into Caelan's firm grip on her forearm.

"No." She refused, assessing her twin.

"I thought you'd say that." Aerilyn sighed, making a beckoning gesture with her finger, but not towards her. Then, a boy with dishevelled mahogany hair staggered out, a glazed look glistening in his emerald eyes.

-----

"Aedlyn! Are you alright!? I saw the light...." Zaivian trailed off, panting as he jogged over. Halting as he beheld the young Queen.

"Ah, Zaivian, how kind of you to join us." Aedlyn's twin said, dragging the boy by his hair to the front and forcing him onto his knees.

"Kaius!" The Prince shrieked, advancing towards his brother. "Uh-uh. Not so fast Prince." Aerilyn spoke, pulling on the boy's hair, causing him to tip backwards.

"Leave him alone!" The Prince fumed, hands balled into fists, barely restraining himself.

"I will, once my dearest sister hands over the Key." Zaivian's gaze darted to her, brows knitted together, eyes wide with fear and pleading. Aedlyn knew that whatever the boy had done, he was still a boy and above all a victim of her sister's magick. She knew what the right choice would be. Yet, she found herself hesitating. Her face remained blank as she eyed her twin. She had no other choice.

"Fine." She felt the weight of Caelan's stare, burning through her back. She spied his face with a slight turn of her head.

He had turned to look at her, eyes bulging and crinkled in shock and disagreement but Aedlyn simply whispered, "When I say run, I need you to take go and hide."

"No." Caelan protested as Aedlyn began to turn, gripping her forearm tighter.

"I'm going to stay with you. I'm not lea-"

"Caelan," Aedlyn cut him off, dipping her head a little as her unrelenting stare bore into him, "Trust me." She exhorted, a request swirling within her ocean eyes.

Caelan hesitated, his gaze softening before he loosened his grip on her arm. She squeezed his hand, conveying what she couldn't with words.

"Ghislaine, hand me the sword when I say so." She added. The Vampyress gave a barely perceptible nod.

"Are you going to continue whispering amongst yourselves or will you hand it to me before I kill him?" Her sister demanded, impatience seeping into her voice, brows slanting with annoyance as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, still holding a fistful of the boy's mahogany hair.