The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

24. BLOODY COVENANT

It had been a long time since Two woke up to the sun beaming in her eyes, to the chirps of birds dancing in the morning haze. Actually, it had been a long time since she had woken up in general, so when her eyes opened to reveal the ceiling of a foreign room and when her senses cleared enough to feel the silks of a strange bed, surprise became an understatement.

On instinct, she shot up, scouring the terrain for enemies, when she spotted an unfamiliar face: a girl with snow-white hair. Two raised her hand, ready to strike, but was cut short by a chain that dug into her wrists.

Her wrists were confined to two separate chains fixed into the ground with thick metal pins. Of all the situations she had been in during her short life, this was the most unfortunate. Not for her, no. For the imbecile who believed that two measly chains could detain her.

Flexing her fingers, she waited for power to run through her blood and wrinkled her nose at the white-haired girl to buy time. "What did you do to me? Who the hell do you think you are, strapping me to—"

When Two couldn't feel the rush of power, she abruptly paused. Blinking at her hands, she clenched her fists and tried again. Nothing happened. It wasn't the first time her elements had failed her, but the hollowness in her chest made apprehension curl and rise like a provoked snake.

Her elements were not dormant. They were not sleeping and waiting to return. They were dead—gone—and with more panic in her voice, Two demanded, "What did you do to me?"

A sigh. Feet shuffling around. "I—or should I say we—healed you. We saved your life."

Healed her? Saved her? Thinking about it, how did she get here? The last thing Two remembered was blacking out someplace in Hiemura. She was running from something, looking for something. For what? No, wrong question. She shook her head, retracing her lost memories.

Lucius had sent her to Umbra on a mission, and did she complete it? She must've been heading back to Lux when—

Like a smack on the head, the memories of the Royal Council returned, and if it weren't for the chains around her wrists, she would've covered her mouth in horror. The seven sovereigns were dead, and she was fleeing the scene when. . .

She groaned, leaning against the headboard. Her head was throbbing, a distant pain pulsing in her abdomen. There was—a girl. Shoulder-length, white hair. Fast. She stabbed Two many, many times. Two reached for her stomach and felt the cotton bandages wrapped around her waist.

So the white-haired girl wasn't lying. She—or whoever we were—saved Two's life. "Why did you help me?"

"I assume you remember what happened to you," the white-haired girl said, crossing her legs as she leaned against a table across the room. "Emilia was afraid you had lost too much blood."

Emily—Who? Shaking her head, Two waved her hand for the white-haired girl to stop. Before she spoke, she took some furtive glances around the room, searching for a weapon just in case this white-haired girl happened to be the same one who stabbed her. "Let's start with this. Who are you, and where am I?"

The white-haired girl only stared at Two in a moment of silence before saying, "My name is Snowalaine Quintess. I am an ambassador of Umbra."

So Two was still in Umbra. That meant she was screwed, considering she was at the scene of the crime and was an assassin of the Dark Lotus. Now, she was probably in the hands of the Umbran guard. She sighed. It had to be that guard she had ambushed. What was his name? Nefrin Antaro? She should've killed him when she had the chance.

But there was no time for regrets, so she feigned interest. "Why did you save me?"

Snowalaine pursed her lips. "Someone wanted to save you, but if it were up to me, I would have left you dead in the streets."