"Ooh, definitely not what I was expecting." Zahra said to herself as she looked at Layla walk down the golden rug towards the end of the table.
"Please do take your seat." Asim smiled gently.
Layla smiled gently before sitting comfortably on the pillow on the floor. For a second, her necklace peeked out under her usek and Kissa caught a glimpse of it and immediately, she was pulled into her vision.
Kissa appeared in a dark void with Layla there. Layla had a sly smirk on her face as she faced Kissa.
"Who are you?" Kissa asked with curiousity.
"Layla of course." Layla replied. "I see you've got shackles around your wrist."
Kissa looked down at her wrist and saw the same shackles leading into the darkness.
"What are you doing here? You're not human." Kissa raised her brow.
"I am not. I'm a siren." Layla smirked in a way to show her upper teeth.
"A siren?" Kissa asked in shock and Layla nodded.
"Why is there a shackle around your wrists?" Layla asked.
"I don't know." Kissa rolled her eyes. "Why are you here?"
"Since Cairo wouldn't tell you himself, I came here to help him." Layla replied making Kissa facepalm.
"You're trying to kidnap me?" Kissa asked and Layla laughed.
"Why would I? You yearn for freedom so much Kissa, we'll help you escape Asim if you cooperate." Layla hummed.
"How do I trust you? How do I know where you're taking me?" Kissa asked with a raised brow.
"That makes sense." Layla rubbed her chin. "Well, Cairo is a prince from one of the neighboring kingdoms. He is the crown prince actually. He is here to prove to his father that he is ready to take over his kingdom."
"Why will I believe you?" Kissa asked.
"Because you can see clearly that I'm not lying. You can't be lied to if you want to focus." Layla replied.
"How did you know?" Kissa raised a brow.
"When you get to your room, you'll find scrolls on your bed. I got them from that room in the temple for you." Layla checked her nails before looking at Kissa.
"How were you able to enter the room?" Kissa asked.
"I can take form of water which I did and entered the room with no one noticing while you were in there." Layla replied before looking around them.
"I'll give you a way to find favour when you leave this place. You don't know where you're going if you escaped on your own so sticking with Cairo is the best. Your job is to make him fall in love with you." Layla said. "I wish you good luck. Snap out of it."
Kissa opened her eyes and she was back in the dining hall, holding her spoon. Kissa looked at Asim who was looking at her with a raised brow.
"Kissa, are you okay?" Asim asked and Kissa nodded before looking at Layla who was busy eating as if nothing happened between them.
Kissa looked at her wrist then noticed there was burn marks there. A scream escaped Kissa's lips as she let go of the spoon with her.
"What's wrong?" Asim asked her and she showed him her wrists. Asim's face darkened as he took her hands to examine her wrist.
"Who did this to you?" Asim asked and Kissa looked at him with a raised brow.
"It just appeared around my wrists now. I don't know how it got there." Kissa replied.
"Lapis, examine the burns and apply some ointments on it." Asim stood up and gestured to Layla to follow him.
Layla stood up and followed Asim as she looked at Kissa. "It's the shackles around your wrists that caused the burns." Layla's voice sounded in her head and Kissa looked at Layla who turned her back and walked away.
"And again, dinner was ruined because of you. When will brother get rid of you?" Zahra stood up angrily and stomped out with her maids following her.
Lapis knelt before Kissa as she examined the burns. She looked quiet surprised she suddenly got burn marks but she didn't say anything.
"Do get some rest Lady Kissa. The doctor would come check on it tomorrow morning." Lapis stood up then bowed before walking away.
Kissa looked up at Cairo who stepped in to help her back to her room according to Lapis'orders.
"Make him fall in love with you." Layla's words rang in her head.