At a Crossroad

In the castle's library, Rom sat at a table with a stack of plain parchments, ready to begin drawing the plans for the tunnels that ran under the citadel and the castle.

The sound of the door opening made him look up to see who had walked in.

He lowered his gaze when his eyes fell on his sister, unable to bear seeing her in that state. Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders as he felt responsible for her misfortune of having crossed paths with the witch.

Maya and Dak slowly approached Rom, her wounds were far from being healed, but the pain subsided as she took the awful-tasting concoction Ian had made for her.

" Rom!" she called him " Look at me, Rom!" her voice was pleading as her eyes began to water again. This time it was because her brother refused to look at her.

" You should go!" he sullenly said with his head down, still unable to look at her.

" No! I don't blame you for what happened, Rom. What it's done, it's done! We can't undo the past, so please, can you just look at me!" she begged, holding on to Dak as her feet were unsteady and she was still unable to hold her weight.

" Stop being a coward, and look at your sister!" Dak interjected, annoyed at Rom's refusal to look at her.

Rom raised his head and finally looked at Maya. His eyes shined with shame, and guilt filled his expression

" I don't deserve to be your brother. I have failed to keep you safe!" he said as he looked her in the eyes.

Tears streaked her cheeks " Don't say that, I'm here, and I'm still alive! Wounds heal!" she tried to help him see that she didn't hold him responsible for what happened to her or Sylus.

" Can we just leave in the past and go back to being brother and sister without the shadows of our mistakes haunting us." she continued to persuade him further.

She hoped to make him understand that she didn't hate him even if Sylus had already lost his life, and she almost lost hers.

Rom took a deep breath " I don't think that it is possible, Maya. Things will never be the same! You and I will never be the same again! You lost the man you held dear, and I lost a friend and all because I didn't think things through." he took accountability for his actions. He knew his sister was hurting, not just her body, but her heart was also wounded. He felt responsible for both of them, not just her.

Arrogance got him into that mess. He thought he had grabbed the witch by her neck, but he was bearly holding her by the tip of her finger. He fooled himself, and people that he loved got hurt because of that.

Maya closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath " You're being stubborn, blaming yourself and beating yourself up won't change the past." she tried one last time to get him to see that she didn't hold him responsible. She was ready to move forward.

Dak listened to the exchange between the two and felt hope slowly bloom in his mind. Her word meant one thing, one thing only. If she didn't hold her brother responsible for what happened, he still had a good chance to sway her heart and, with a little effort, accept him as her future husband.

Rom fell silent and looked back to his parchment, and continued drawing the plans that Ian and Iris requested from him.

Maya, on the other hand, frowned " Fine, suit yourself then; so that you know you can go wherever you like I won't come with you. I would rather take the witch or hideous monsters any day." now she was annoyed at her brother, and she was done trying to convince him otherwise.

If he wanted to live wallowing in his misery, he was more than welcome to do just that. If she had learnt something, it was that life was too short to live it like that.

Dak was almost jumping out of his skin with joy. He was bearly containing himself. He was ready to kiss Maya again, but he chose to clear his throat and straighten himself up when Maya looked at him.

Rom lifted his gaze as Dak and Maya made their way out of the library and heaved a heavy sigh.

" Fuck!" he cursed in frustration. He knew he couldn't force her to go with him, and now he had another problem.

He wanted to leave everything behind and start anew, but he wasn't ready to go with his sister. It would mean he would commit the same mistake again, which would be just plain stupid.

In the castle's kitchen, the conversation about Azra continued about his capabilities and their meaning.

"He is a Dumach. They are made just like Azra was, but I don't understand how Seth has successfully created one unless he used Ian for it since he had touched Mirin, and the sword turns its master into a soul collector! Clever!" Rhya was impressed by Seth's cunningness, but she couldn't possibly think what purpose he served.

Athan frowned. He was more confused now than he was before " I'm sorry, Rhya, what are you talking about! I've never heard of such a thing ever being in existence or the legend that you're talking about!" he was still doubtful of the information that she held. To him, it seemed a little far-fetched.

Tyla clicked her tongue and decided to put it in simpler terms since he was struggling to understand what Rhya was trying to say " He is a bit like Ian but a little different. When Ian's sword collects a soul, it goes into the Hollow, but when Azra collects a soul, he can keep it and use it to fuel his powers! He doesn't have to take it all. He can take just a small bit. Souls have a tremendous amount of energy. Azras can use it as he sees fit!" she dumbed it down so he could grasp the gravity of the situation.

Now that they had finally figured out what he was, she understood the price to pay for his existence. She knew this day would come, but she could still not see what purpose he served.

Surely, Seth didn't go through all that trouble just to rid them of the witch? Or did he?