The Dagger

The altar she lays on is cold, not that she feels it much. Her runes, glowing softly, are matched by ones on the wall. Shadows move about, milling around in a circle around her. All but one, who is clad in red with a pale mask. His lace ascot, pinned with a ruby and gold brooch, is pristine which means he hasn’t eaten tonight.
He watches.
Her eyes fix on his. She needs to be brave. She needs to show him how worthy and how devoted she is. If he knew, he might regard her as more. He might, in death, revere her.
Everything sounds as though it’s underwater, the footsteps, the chanting. She can hear the dull buzz of the runes as they activate, on her skin and on the walls, filling the room with light. She is still fixated on him, her father.
Just as they flash, the knife is plunged into her chest, again and again. And again… until her heart stops. She is awake for just a little while longer, watching him as the light fades from her body and her eyes.
He lifts a hand and the mask is pulled away to reveal…
Pandora. No, Lucretia. No… Pandora? Staring down at her, expression hard. Like the night…
That night…
“I will always –”
Cass’ words are cut off as Volatia sits upright in bed, covered in a sheen of cold sweat. She can’t breathe, her gasps for air feel like she’s dragging water into her lungs. Drowning. Her hand moves to feel the bed beside her, all she wants are those words.
V, I am here…
Her heart races, its erratic beat makes her dizzy. She pushes herself toward the edge of the bed and tries to stand, but her vision begins to blacken and she falls in a twist of sheets to the floor.
Curling into a ball where she fell, she’s too weak and tangled to move. Like a fish caught in a net. She can’t hide her sobs, her cowardice, the pain of the broken oaths. She’s promised so many things and the ones that weren’t shattered completely now seem impossible.
She’d promised to protect him always, but the dagger..

Authors

• Volatia Oleander-Dolore