Jules's pov
Mother was silent. On a normal day, she was always quick to comfort me whenever I was in distress. But now, there was no emotion on her face.
Instead, she grasped my wrist and muttered a spell underneath her breath and the waves of wind that engulfed me almost immediately indicated that we were being teleported.
When I blinked my eyes opened, I noticed that we were in my own bedroom. Mother was crouched on the ground, muttering a string of complicated sounding spells underneath her breath.
I remained perched on my bed, body trembling and mind numb as I stared at her.
I was yet to wrap my mind around the fact that Anya was dead.
How was I going to continue living without her? Without Dew?
I stared down at my fingers and the blood coating my fingers sent a wave of emotion through my veins, prompting me to scream as I burst into tears once again.
"Anya is dead, mama! She's really dead! They- they killed her, and Dew, and a lot of people in the ballroom, mama they…" I was still screaming when a look from my mother made me clamp my mouth shut at once.
Her eyes were glowing and all the color had drained from her face, causing me to whimper in fright as I stared at her. She was still crouched on the ground and I noticed that a circle of bright light had appeared right in front of her.
"Come here, baby." She whispered, hand outstretched to me. I found myself moving robotically until I was clutching her hand, and they felt extremely cold to touch.
"Step into the circle." She murmured, voice echoing eerily and I gulped emptily before doing as told, heart racing and mind numb.
I sat crossed legged in the circle and stared at Mother as she began to chant another advanced spell which made the light around me begin to glow brighter and brighter until I began to feel warmth right right from the middle of my chest.
"Mama… what's happening?" I whispered as I blinked at her in confusion. It was clear that she was using the last of her energy to carry this ritual out, a ritual which I clearly didn't understand. Blood was starting to pour from the side of her glowing eyes and her nose. Panic engulfed me and I made to reach for her but a firm shake of her head left me frozen in the middle of the circle which glowed brightly till I had to close my eyes from the force of it.
Now that my eyes were closed, the warmth inside of me increased drastically, rushing through my fingers and every inch of my veins till it was gathered in the middle of my chest. It started from tiny bubbles first, appearing in front of my closed eyes until slowly, it all flowed together until it was forming a single circle.
It took a few seconds for me to notice that it was my magic. A startled but confused emotion settled in my mind as I hesitantly tried to reach for it, it felt so warm and was practically begging for me to touch it. It looked so beautiful, and I felt my heart clench because I've never been able to stare at my magic before. Only well advanced warlocks and witches could stare right at their magic whenever they meditated.
I was currently staring at my magic even though I barely knew the complete basics of magic. When I tried to reach for the magic with my mind, it suddenly felt like it was concealed in a transparent box. I tried again and again but something was preventing me from touching it, and in that moment, it dawned on me that the warmth was no longer in my mind. A fleeting moment later and the space in my chest where my magic was supposed to be seated in, felt empty.
My eyes flew open in shock and confusion and a cry tore out of my throat as my eyes settled on my mother. Blood was pouring out from her ears at this point and I stepped out from the circle and caught her before she could fall backwards.
"Mother!" I cried out. Her eyes was no longer glowing but blood was swimming through them. She reached for my hand with a small smile on her face and I grasped her hand as tears slid down my cheeks.
"Please, mama." I whispered as my heart raced.
"Everyone is dead, baby." She whispered weakly and my eyes widened as my grip tightened around her.
"Your father, your siblings, everyone else who attended the ball, all dead." She whispered and I felt my heart come to an abrupt stop.
"Mum, let's get you some help, please." I whispered frantically but she shook her head.
"It's too late, child. They're coming for me." As she spoke, more tears fell down my face.
"For us." I whispered and she shook her head.
"Just me, baby. You're gonna be safe." She responded and I shook my head frantically.
"No, mama. I don't wanna be saved alone, let's be saved together, please mama." I whispered frantically through my tears.
"Labyrinth." She called and I grew still. Mother almost never called my name on a normal day. It was always pet names except the situation was serious.
"You're the last survivor of our bloodline, you have to remain alive at all cost." She continued, coughing out a little blood and my heart clenched even more.
"T- they don't wanna kill you, they wanna take you and use your magic." She continued and I blinked down at her in confusion,
"B- but, they won't be able to, because I've sealed up your magic." She continued and my eyes widened in shock, and that was when it once again registered in my mind that the space in my chest housing my magic was empty.
"I combined all of my magic, and that of your father and siblings into your magic… b- but, I sealed it up in order to protect you. You'd be safer for now with no magic. You might hate me for this but with time, you'd come to understand."
My mouth remained open as she spoke and before I could fully grasp what she had just said, my bedroom door was flying open and a bunch of men poured into the room. They aimed an arrow at mother and in a fleeting moment, the arrow was embedded in her chest. A scream tore out of my chest as I felt her take in a last breath before going still.
A scream tore past my throat and I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces as I was abruptly heaved off the ground by the men. One of them grabbed my hair and tilted my head sideways to sniff at my throat.
"His magic is gone." One of them growled. "That wrench has done something to it!"
The masked man's attention was on me next and he thundered. "What did she do to your magic? Where the fuck is it?!"
I trembled as I shook my head, unable to form any words.
Before I knew what was happening, I was being dragged out of the bedroom and down the long hallway where tons of bodies littered.
So, I guess this is the last of my life.
I thought to myself when I got thrown forward in front of someone whom I recognized as one of the men my father had asked me to select a husband from.
He gave me a dark smile and I felt anger churn inside of me as tears coursed down my face.
"The King is gonna like his present so fucking much." The man crooned while sizing me up and I felt sick once again, mind registering that this man right here who had clearly betrayed my father, was actually answering to someone else, who's definitely behind this entire thing.
But, who was the person?
Before the man could get another word out, a string of gunshots echoed through the room and in the next moment, the man standing before me dropped dead along with the rest of the men standing around us. I was trembling like a leaf when a man drew close till he was towering over me, and at the back of my mind, I noted that this stranger had arrived with a bunch of men armed with guns.
The stranger with a warm look in his eyes, held a hand out to me as he spoke softly. "Hello, Labyrinth. You're safe now."
The stranger helped me up and a blanket was laid over my trembling frame. A few introductions revealed that the stranger was a man who owed my mother his life. He revealed that mother and reached out to him tonight because she had felt like something was gonna go wrong.
Mother's intuitions were never wrong.
The stranger named Andrian, a man who looked like he was in his thirties, reassured me that I was saved and even though I still didn't fully trust him, at least he wasn't shooting an arrow through my chest.
As he helped me into a helicopter about thirty minutes later, I buried all of my past in that place, along with my name.
Labyrinth.