Blood on The Dancefloor

Jules' pov 

 My hands shook uncontrollably and I tried to focus on the magic floating in my chest but I was too restless to even get a single grasp of the magic. I cursed over and over again underneath my breath, because this was all Father's fault.

After the little encounter I had had with him and his creepy friends, I had been able to stop my heart from racing or settling down. All that had been going through my mind was if I was indeed gonna be married off to one of those old men. 

Thinking about it alone was enough to make bile build up in my throat.

After letting out a slow breath, I let my eyes fall close as I tried once again to focus on reaching for the magic inside me.

After about a minute of trying, I let out a stuttered breath a fear engulfed me on feeling father nudge at my mind link.

'What the hell are you doing?'

He demanded through the mind link and in that moment, I felt like breaking down in tears from frustration. He felt very pissed in my mind, and crippling fear engulfed me at the thought of what he was gonna do to me tonight, like he wasn't the reason I was currently unable to reach for my msgic. If he hasn't informed me about some dumb marriage, I wouldn't be struggling this much right now.

'Byrinth, you okay?' Anya asked as she carefully nudged my mind. I granted her access immediately because I was already feeling lost.

'No, Anya. I can't grasp my magic. This is all father's fault!' I cried out to her through the mind link as I tried to focus my attention and to reach for my magic once again.

'Father? Did he say something to you?' Anya asked but I chose not to respond because I knew that was only gonna throw me off balance even more.

The ballroom was completely silent and I could feel everyone's eyes on me, waiting for me to begin to play the piano. Mortification washed over my body at the fact that the entire crowd tonight is currently witnessing me embarrass myself this way.

The thought of that was so bitter that I almost let out a sob but I forced it down at the last moment because I knew that was only gonna worsen my plight.

A murmur began to flow through the crown almost immediately and I let my eyes fall close in embarrassment, because I was certain they're all gossiping about me right now. This is what father hated in his entire life, embarrassment being brought to the family, and that's exactly what I had managed to do tonight.

I suddenly wished I could disappear into thin air.

My eyes remained closed and the noise through the crowd slowly began to increase. In a fleeting moment, a piercing scream filled the air and my eyes flew open at once, eyes turning in the direction of the scream. My eyes widened and I inched backwards and fell off the seat in shock as I stared at Dew who had an arrow embedded into the middle of his chest. 

The arrow went up in flames at once and a second later, he was falling into the ground, face first, which completely sent the arrow through his back. A scream tore past my throat along with everyone else right as the ballroom erupted in chaos. 

From the side of my eyes, I noticed masked men pouring into the ballroom through the now broken windows and roof at once, and I could do nothing but watch as arrows kept flying around.

I reached for Anya through the mind link but because of how unstable my mind was, the connection was too weak too hold. Panic flooded my mind and I began to crawl through the ballroom, searching for my sister as my entire body trembled in fear.

Who are these people? Why are they suddenly attacking everyone?

They killed Dew! Dew!

Tears poured down my face and blurred my sight for a few moments but I wiped them away almost immediately because I was determined to find Anya and confirm that she was safe.

'Byrinth…' it was soft and fragile in my mind but a shrug of relief engulfed me on feeling Anya in mind and I instantly followed the direction of the mind connection. My steps flattered in no time and my mouth fell open as I came to an abrupt step.

Right in front of me, underneath a fallen table, laid Anya, with a arrow embedded in her chest. 

My hands shook as I crawled towards her. "No, no. Please no." I whispered frantically through my tears as I reached for her bloodied hand and grasped it tightly.

This couldn't be.

Anya tried to smile at me but the pain etched over her face sent a knife through my mind. 

"A- Anya, please, stay with me." I whispered through my tears as I grasped the arrow and tried to pull it out but it didn't give, but only seemed to be hurting Anya more because she let out a scream as more blood oozed out.

I could already feel the mind link we shared starting to sever and I grasped her hand once again, pleading for her to stay with me through my tears. 

I tried to look through my mind for a spell which could stop her from bleeding or a spell that could get the arrow from her mind, but I couldn't come up with anything, because my knowledge on spells was almost non-existent.

The only person who could save her was either father or mother, and both were nowhere to be found.

I couldn't do anything, I could only watch as the life slowly drained from Anya until she was lifeless in my arms. I cried over her body, pleading for her to wake up. The entire place was in chaos around me and bodies were scattered everywhere. 

I was still crying frantically when I felt a hand grasp my wrist and panic flooded me at once but I noticed it was my mother and the panic melted into pain as I took her in. She had blood trailing down the side of her head and the paleness of her face indicated that she had been using her powers to fight. 

"Mama, they killed Dew and Anya, they're dead!" I whispered violently through my tears.