Blood Ties

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

        Layla stood in front of the entrance, her eyes narrowed, calculating. The door was clearly enchanted, with no palpable way of undoing the enchantments. Unsure of how the magic would affect her, she didn’t reach towards it, but instead sank to the ground beside it to think.

        Her journey had taken her through Aurum, but she hadn’t stopped there at all, instead continuing towards Flammam Regis. She had ended up passing the princess and her companion, but her pace was leisurely; they soon caught up with her. She had fallen back and allowed them to pass her, then began to follow them like a shadow, knowing neither of them were observant enough to notice her. She was surprised at what route they were taking; Mons Draconis was hazardous and had not been traveled upon in years. But she had been even more shocked at the fact that they had not only attempted to go through the mountain, but also succeeded in entering the buried kingdom.

        Now she sat outside the door, and she mused. Her magic would be useless against the enchantment, for the binding was stronger than any magic she had ever encountered. Shaking her head dubiously, she reached for the doorknob, feeling rather stupid as she did so.

        Her fingers came in contact with the smooth stone knob, and she gasped as a sudden pain jolted through her hand and up her arm.

        Genus vincula…

        The whisper ran through her mind, and she translated it with ease.

        Blood ties.

        Her face abruptly went blank, and her eyes were emotionless; she pulled the door open with apparent simplicity and entered into the darkness.

        The door slammed behind her, but she didn’t react, one hand gripping her horse’s lead firmly and the other held high above her with flames licking around her knuckles. The flames cast a small circle of light around her, so that the darkness could not reach, but nothing could keep the voices at bay.

        “Princess Layla, the mistake.”

        Layla’s face remained empty, but her hold on her horse’s reins tightened.

        “You’ve taken lives, aliquid, you’ve taken many lives in cold blood. Your obvious regret matters naught.”

        She closed her eyes for a moment, clearing her mind of any distraction or thought. Her thoughts were often her downfall.

        “All the lives you’ve taken, all the blood you’ve spilled…do you really think you can be spared? You try and you try to please, all the while clawing for your goal. But it won’t happen, aliquid, because you cannot be spared.”

        Layla opened her eyes again, and while they were still dead, her lips quivered with terror.

        “Mortem thirsts and hungers for you, mistake. You belong in Mortem’s embrace. Won’t you just let go? We will devour you, princess of nothing, and we will be contented. Let go, aliquid, and be a mistake no more.”

        The temptation was strong, and she almost relented, her eyes stinging with tears and her breath coming in short gasps. But then, a half-memory flashed through her mind, of a boy with a scar and eyes filled with love, and she knew she couldn’t.

        But the voices went on.

        “You deserve death. Your wish would be a mercy, and you deserve none. Hear the truth of our words, and heed. You belong to us. It is our right.”