Chapter 2 Firstborn Daughter Of Blood

Lea laughed again, twirling as she walked down the rest of the path.

We reached the end of the trail—the unspoken signal that it was time to turn back and return to the comfort of our homes.

But I had another idea for tonight.

As we retraced our steps and reached the end of the path, I stopped in front of Lea, meeting her eyes directly.

"I'm going home alone tonight," I announced. "I just need a few moments to myself."

"Elara, that's not a good idea. It's getting dark. You can't walk back alone—"

"Lea, please," I pleaded softly. "I don't have much time left. Soon, I won't have these walks anymore. I won't have time for myself—not even to think."

The hem of her dress rustled against the gravel as she stepped forward, pulling me into a tight hug.

I let her comfort me, breathing in the sweet scent of violets lingering in her hair. I felt the tremor in her shoulders, and I knew she was crying. I fought to keep the tears from clouding my own eyes.

We had been friends our entire lives, and now one of us had to say goodbye forever—even if she didn't know my true intentions. She would never receive my letters. I was so terrified of my fate that I planned to run from it like a coward.

"There, there..." I rubbed her back in soothing circles. "Everything will be fine. I'll write to you and tell you all about my new home. It'll be like I never left."

The lie tasted bitter.

She pulled away, unable to hold back a soft sob. I wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks with my thumbs and offered her a small smile.

"I'll write you so many letters," she promised. "So many you'll get sick of me."

"That's impossible."

"I'll tell you everything I discover in my books. I'll tell you about Felippo, and anyone else we meet on our walks—"

"I want all the details of your wedding with Felippo," I teased. "You're blushing again!"

"You're an idiot!"

She hugged me one last time, ending our farewell with a little wave and a final shout.

"See you tomorrow!"

As she headed down the path, she glanced back at me several times. I stayed rooted to the spot until her vibrant orange waves disappeared from sight.

I released the breath I'd been holding and collapsed onto the ground, right into the dull, dry brush. I didn't bother gathering my skirts. It no longer mattered how dirty my dress got.

The sky slowly deepened into a dark, bruised blue. The only sounds keeping me company were the evening breeze, the lapping water, and the rustle of the treetops. The lake sat at the far edge of the village, in its most deserted corner.

The nearest inhabited house had to be hundreds of meters away. It wasn't proper for young ladies to come here, much less linger alone in such a remote, isolated place. My parents would never approve.

I slipped off my round-toed shoes, followed by my stockings. I felt the cold earth beneath my bare feet as I started toward the shore.

The moment the water touched my toes, a violent shiver racked my body, bringing an instant, biting numbness. I took another step, and then one more.

My body refused to adjust to the chill. The freezing December water felt like hundreds of icy needles stabbing into my flesh. But as painful as it was, I wouldn't stop. I had a goal, and I wasn't going to abandon it now.

My chest protested, my violent trembling pressing the rigid boning of my corset tight against my ribs. I kept moving forward until the water rose past my chest. My teeth chattered uncontrollably. I couldn't feel my toes anymore, and my hands were growing stiff and heavy. I waded out a little further, struggling to keep myself upright.

Every passing minute felt like a grain of sand slipping through an hourglass, marking my final countdown.

Little by little, my entire body went numb. The biting cold began to blur even my thoughts. Small clouds of vapor escaped my trembling lips with every shallow breath.

Eventually, my feet grew so heavy that I stopped trying to move them at all. I remained perfectly still, letting my head sink beneath the surface, inch by inch.

The last of my air escaped in a rush of bubbles as I fully submerged. The shock of being completely swallowed by the freezing water was brutal. But the suffocating calm beneath the surface was even more unsettling.

I sank slowly, suspended in the dark void. I watched my hair float wildly around my face, my arms and legs entirely stripped of the strength needed to swim back to the surface. The cold pierced me like jagged shards of ice.

My lungs screamed in protest. My chest burned, the pressure so intense I could have sworn invisible hands were crushing my ribcage.

I opened my mouth involuntarily, desperate for air, but found only freezing water.

I choked. A violent spasm racked my frame. My vision blurred, the dead weight of my body dragging me deeper and deeper toward the bottom.

More spasms tore through me, shattering the stillness of the water. No matter how hard I tried to thrash my arms, they refused to respond.

Even though I wanted to die, my primal instinct to survive fought back fiercely. I had to remind myself, over and over—this was what I wanted.

My fading vision played cruel tricks on me, flashing the faint outline of a face that vanished the second I blinked.

The edges of my sight began to blacken, curling inward like a photograph catching fire.

"You must live. You have to live..."

The words whispered through the water, echoing in my mind.

"You have to live. You must live."

The weight of my eyelids grew unbearable, accompanied by the sudden, eerie sensation that something was rushing toward me.

"This act of cowardice disappoints me."

Something in those words made my blood boil.

The harsh judgment invaded my senses, burning like acid through my veins.

A crushing wave of shame washed over me.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't do this to my parents. To my siblings.

The Libris wasn't sealed. Silas would have to enter the Crimson Auction because of me. I couldn't condemn him to that hell. This was my burden, and mine alone.

I tried to pry my eyes open, to fight against the crushing weight of the water, but it was too late.

No matter how hard I willed it, my body refused to obey.

"Stupid girl."

Blind hysteria forced my mouth open again. Water rushed down my throat, flooding my lungs and drowning my silent screams.

Strands of hair drifted across my vision, wrapping around my neck like a silken noose.

I looked up, but all I saw was an endless, suffocating black. I was too far from the surface.

That mysterious face drew closer, looming larger and larger in the dark...

I lost consciousness. When I finally came to, my cheek was pressed against the muddy shore of the lake, smeared with wet earth.

The heavy skirts of my dress still floated in the shallows, and my legs remained entirely numb.

I dug my elbows into the dirt, desperately dragging what was left of my body out of the freezing water.

My hands trembled violently. When I looked down, my fingers were tinged a sickly purple.

I rolled onto my back. The sky had darkened completely, the pale moon now hanging high above.

My breathing was jagged and shallow, every ragged gasp tearing a sound of sheer agony from my chest.

I tried to lift my hands to my mouth to breathe some warmth into them.

My legs still refused to obey my commands, and my bare feet shared the same lifeless, purplish tint.

The night breeze rattled the treetops, carrying a new whisper to my ears.

"Accept your fate."

I whipped my head in every direction, searching for the source of the voice, but only the swaying trees and the empty path answered me.

The crushing weight of those words finally broke me. My shoulders shook as I burst into violent, uncontrollable tears.

I had been so incredibly selfish—a terrible daughter and a terrible sister...

I had nearly condemned my siblings to my grim fate, and my entire family to utter disgrace.

I covered my eyes with my freezing hands, trying to stem the tide of tears, but they poured out relentlessly, refusing to stop.

I didn't know how long I sat there shivering in the mud before Silas finally appeared.

"Elara!" My brother's frantic footsteps pounded against the dirt, growing louder and louder. "Elara! What happened?"

The sudden, desperate warmth of his arms enveloped me. Instinctively, my numb hands reached up to fist his shirt, clinging to him for dear life.