The walk home after Azure left me was a blur of thoughts and emotions. Was I making the right choice? Giving myself up and leaving all of them behind. I’d never seen Leo with friends; I doubt she has many. Maybe she wouldn’t lose as much as I am willing to give up. Has she even considered it? Perhaps Azure wasn’t entirely out of bounds when she told me to come back. She might have planned it, and it wouldn't surprise me. If she had caught the slightest whiff of our old legends and rites, she would have thrown runes over it.

  If she knew what was going to happen, why wouldn’t she tell me? What the hells is she playing at? This was a dangerous path to go down, the alcohol stirring my worries way bigger than they should have been. Doubting my friends was the last thing I needed tonight. If I were to survive the Krovposvet by some miracle, I would find Azure and ask what’s going on. She has to know more than she’s telling me; otherwise, she wouldn’t let me go like that. If she was one thing, she was protective; no way she would let me wander to my death just like that. I can’t keep thinking like this. I’m not gonna spend my last day alive sulking because my friends are probably hiding things from me. Not like I can judge, I’ve been lying to them my entire life. They don’t know anything about who I am or where I come from. To them, I’m just some stuck-up noble who doesn’t know how lucky he is to have wealth. They have no idea what we have to do to keep this up. Another unwelcome thought-spiral.

  Turning the corner of the house, I spotted something vaguely humanoid. Short, thin, carrying an oblong shape. I recognized her movements as Leo’s almost immediately. This was certainly one way to snap me out of my thoughts. I stopped watching her as she went. I couldn’t make out what she was carrying, but it looked heavy from the way she struggled to keep it upright. I watched her walk further from the house towards the woods.

  She always hated those woods. What could have her going out there? Drunkenly deciding that keeping tabs on my sister was a good idea, I decided to follow her.

  Trudging through the dense underbrush that made up our backyard wasn’t an easy task. It surprised me that Leo decided to do it, carrying whatever that was. The grass hadn’t been cut in years, so it reached over her waist like it was trying to tie her down. That she’d gotten out of the house unnoticed was a miracle by itself. Our parents usually had a thousand eyes looking for her. It wasn’t hard to catch up to her. The grass and her short legs made her pace quite slow compared to mine. I thankfully didn’t have the same issue with the grass, given my height. When she reached the wrought iron fence that kept us away from the world, she made a valiant attempt to throw the thing she was carrying over. It was a futile effort; I could tell she didn’t have her usual strength. Something’s wrong.

  With no effort to hide my presence anymore, I stalked over towards her; clearing my throat, I announced myself.

  “Leo, what are you doing?” I asked her

  She snapped around with a startled yelp. She dropped what I could now see was a rolled-up carpet on the ground with a heavy thud. I stared between her and the rug on the ground, confused as to what the hells was going on. The fact that I’m drunk certainly doesn’t help anything. Leo turned around, the look on her face a mixture of fear and anger.

  “For the love of fuck, Yann?k.” She yelped. “What are you doing out here?” She continued.

  I looked at her with my eyebrows raised, like her question was the stupidest thing I had ever heard. It was, she knew, that I would be out here, coming home from the party at some point tonight. The real question is what she’s up to. I crossed my arms and looked down at her.

  “I’m just trying to get home. What are you doing out here with~ is that my carpet?”

  Her face went pale, like I’d just caught her with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. It was all the confirmation I needed that this was indeed my carpet, and she was doing something she shouldn’t be doing with it. Classic.

  “I’m going to burn it, I spilled firewine all over it.” Leo sighed

  “Of course you stole my wine.” I rubbed my face in annoyance. I was planning on drinking that.

  “If you survive, use my savings to buy some more, that’s not important right now,” She groaned.

  “Help me get this fucking rug over the fence!”

  I picked up the rolled carpet and tossed it over the high fence. This was certainly one way to spend my last few hours alive. Drunken antics with my hellion sister. I turned and looked down at her, flexing my arms to show her just how easy lifting the carpet had been. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, like she didn’t find my display of muscles as fun as I did. Instead of entertaining my show, she grabbed onto the fence and hauled herself over the iron bars. The grace and agility I had come to expect from her weren’t there. She moved stiffly and carefully, like her body didn’t want to put in the effort. Something was clearly wrong, and I wasn’t going to let her go alone in this state. I jumped up, latching onto the top of the fence as I pulled myself over the spiked top. I wasn’t much better than Leo, inebriated as I was, my leg caught on one of the spikes, ripping open a gash the length of my calf. I toppled over the fence, landing face-first in the hard dirt on the other side. I heard Leo laugh as I picked myself up off the ground, dusting off my ripped pants. Bending down, I ripped my bloody pant leg apart and tied the scraps around the wound to try and stop the bleeding. That’s such great timing, right before needing to run around a giant labyrinth. Leo took off towards the edge of the dark forest, leaving the rug behind in a clear sign that it was mine to carry. With a sigh, I picked it up and followed her into the dense trees, away from prying eyes.

  Maneuvering through the dark woods with this huge carpet over my shoulder and a bleeding leg wasn’t an easy task. When Leo finally stopped in what she deemed to be a suitable clearing for burning things, I didn’t complain. Throwing the rug down on the rocky ground, I looked at Leo expectantly. If the thing was covered in firewine, it wouldn’t be hard to ignite. I knew she had a thing for fire magic, so this is her forte. I stood back, watching her cast a mote of flames onto the fabric, engulfing it in a whirl of amber flames. The cold night air was filled with the scent of burning grapes and heat. Even though the flames roared high, the air still felt cold; that kind of looming chill that creeps up your spine and you can’t escape. I could tell Leo felt it too. Her usually relaxed posture was rigid as she stared into the flames.

  She was somewhere else again, transfixed in the fire. What is wrong with her? Something is clearly off; she’s never this quiet, never avoids my eye like she’s done tonight. I walked closer to her, but she didn’t even notice my presence. When I got closer, I noticed more smells: molten metal and sulphur. Smells that had no place being here; yet the closer I got to Leo, the stronger the smells were. Why does she smell like that? This makes no sense. She smells like the hells themselves, and she’s acting strange. Has she had another one of her great ideas?

  Dear sister of mine, what have you done?

  I asked myself as I stood beside her, throwing my arm around her shoulders in a sideways hug, pulling her close to combat the unnatural cold. Leo turned to face me, looking at me like she had forgotten I was there. I squeezed my arm around her shoulders, trying to reassure her that yeah, I was there and I wasn’t going anywhere. Leo had her episodes acting weird, but I hadn’t seen anything like these last two days before. My brows furrowed with worry as I stared into the fire, reflecting in her glossy eyes.

  “Leo, what’s wrong?” I asked her, my voice mirroring just how worried I was.

  She looked at me like I had just asked her to reveal the secrets of the universe. I could see the cogs in her head turning, trying to come up with an answer. Her reaction just made my gut feeling about this even worse. I tilted my head and waited for her answer, which took too long to come.

  “I’m gonna die, what isn’t wrong?” She said with a melancholy laugh.

  I moved my hand up and down her arm, trying to comfort her as we watched the flames light up our last night. The sadness of our situation still couldn’t distract us from the stench of sulphur coming from Leo. She reeked of it. The stench burned my nostrils, and my nose scrunched, which she clearly saw by the way her eyebrows raised.

  “Do I smell?” She asked with a laugh.

  Had she not noticed? I asked myself. I wasn’t sure if I should point out the glaringly obvious; tonight was perhaps not the right time. Against my better judgment, I inquired anyway; dying with unanswered questions was nothing I was very keen to do. I also needed to set the record straight; did she think she was the one dying? Had she made up her mind? She can’t just spring this on me like it’s nothing. I could feel that familiar frustration churn in my gut, the kind that only Leo created with her antics. Why now of all times, the last night we had together, we’ll never have that peaceful last moment they write about in the novels.

  I pulled myself from my thoughts of a happier ending and decided to answer Leo.

  “You reek of sulphur, what have you done?” I asked her, giving her a scrutinizing glare in the hope that she wouldn’t avoid the question.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “I do? I hadn’t even noticed.” She obviously lied.

  She had this little tell whenever she lied, and I don’t think she knew about it. That little twitch in her nose as she figured out the right words to use. Like a little bunny using too much power to think. She’d have killed me years ago if she knew I thought of her like that.

  “Yes, you do, don’t lie to me. What have you done?” I kept insisting.

  “Sit down,” She commanded as she pulled away from me and motioned to the ground.

  I stared at her for a moment while my stomach dropped. She was never this serious unless something was really wrong. I sat down on the frozen leaves, letting the still blazing fire warm my legs. Leo crouched down next to me, letting her head rest on my shoulder. Her cursed ram-like horns dug into my back, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her to move. This was clearly important to her. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to speak and explain what was happening. She was quiet for a long moment before she spoke.

  “I want you to kill me.” She said bluntly.

  “No.” I blurted out before she had even finished her sentence.

  “I knew you were going to say no, but I need you to listen to me. I have a plan!” She insisted, almost frantically.

  I didn’t believe her for a single second, and she must have noticed. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions.

  “You have to believe me, I did this for you!” She smiled, like she had solved all our issues.

  “What have you done?!” I tried again.

  “I followed tradition, made a deal.” She grinned, showing off her sharp teeth. “All you need to know is that you’ll be safe, I’ll finally get my way.”

  “I need to know a lot more than that, Leo,” I groaned, running a frustrated hand over my face.

  “The details aren’t important. I was never going to survive. Might as well get something out of it,” She explained.

  The more questions I ask, the fewer answers I get. None of this makes any sense.

  “The hells do you mean you weren’t going to survive?! Did you know?!” I freaked out.

  This is not making any sense. How could she have known? She looked at me; the confusion was glaringly obvious in her eyes. Clearly, there’s something I’m supposed to remember. She untucked the hem of her blouse from her skirt and pulled it up to reveal her abdomen. Over her left kidney sat a blood red rune, glowing faintly against her light purple skin. Sharp scarlines formed a hideous symbol. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it. Its sickly glow pulsated a dark red, in and out like it was beckoning me in.

  “Who did that to you?” I asked her, trying to keep my voice calm.

  “You really don’t remember, do you? You did.” She nodded, her voice almost solemn.

  My eyes went wide. How could I have done that to her? I would have remembered carving symbols into my own sister. How could she sit here and tell me that I had done this to her? There’s no way.

  “No, no, I didn’t.” I denied.

  “Remember how you used to sleepwalk when we were kids?” She asked me, and I could tell this was the start of a story.

  Leonora

  Waking up to banging on my door wasn’t entirely uncommon. My parents usually had something to barge in and have a quote-unquote civil conversation about. Only this time, it’s two in the morning, and I really want to sleep. Dragging myself out from under my warm and comfy blanket was worse than hell itself. Fuck it’s freezing. Vesgrad winters will be the death of me. Up here in the north, winters get brutal. Of course, my parents are too stingy to keep a fire running. To no one's surprise. I can’t imagine how the poor have it downtown. Or even worse, the people up in Kostryn. Ironic how it’s always winter up there.

  I at least have thick socks to walk on my freezing floor with. The boards creaked like screaming goats under my tired steps. There goes my plan for pretending I was still sleeping. As silently as I could, I crept towards the door. Picking up the chair I used to barricade my room, I mentally chastised my mum for now allowing a lock on my door. I placed the chair aside, careful not to make a noise. Pressing my ear to the splintered wood between me and whoever was on the other side, I listened for any sign of who it could be.

  All I could hear was heavy breathing. Rhythmic, like when you’re asleep. That made sense, since that day we snuck into the chamber, she had been sleepwalking. Several times a week for the last three years. He never showed up at my door, though, that was a first. Not wanting to wake my parents to get him back to bed, I thought I’d do it myself.

  I carefully opened up my door, just enough to poke my head out and see that it was really him. Like usual, my instincts were right; there was Yann?k, standing fast asleep outside my door. He stood there, still as carved stone with his hands behind his back, like he didn't even know he was there. I took a deep breath and opened the door a little wider.

  He moved before I saw him move.

  A flash of steel caught the moonlight, then he was on me. The air punched from my lungs as we hit the floor with a thud. I tried to scream, but the sound came out as a strangled yelp, pitiful and useless. He was heavy, his body moving like he wasn’t even thinking. His eyes were closed and peaceful, while his hands were anything but. The blade scraped against the floorboards beside my head. His hand raised high, and in it, a dagger. The ritual dagger we had seen when we were fourteen and exploring the tunnels.

  “Yann?k!” I gasped, a strangled sound stuck halfway between his name and a scream.

  Nothing. He didn’t hear me. Didn’t see me. His face was calm, serene, almost holy in its stillness, while he tried to kill me. For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe. My own brother, blade in hand, eyes closed. Sleeping. And yet every motion was precise. Deliberate. Like some dark instinct had taken over. The blade caught the moonlight again as it came down. I screamed, sharp, breaking, hoping someone, anyone, would wake. But the house stayed silent. Of course it did. Of course, there was nothing. I kicked, writhed, every muscle burning. My breath is coming in sobs; wake up. Please, wake up. His weight crushed me, his strength unyielding. Neither of us could stop what he was doing.

  Whatever god was listening in that moment must have taken pity on me. I saw a tiny opening and threw a weak punch to his wrist, sending the knife clattering across the floor. He scrambled after it. I barely had the time to get up before the blade was back in his hand.

  I hurried over the floor, scooting towards the window in a desperate attempt to escape.

  In two steps, he was on me again. Pushing my shoulder into the wall as he pressed the knife, hilt deep, into my side. I screamed in agony, the curved blade ripping through me like I was nothing. The cold didn’t bother me anymore when I felt that warm liquid dripping down my stomach and down my leg. I cried and cried, thinking I was going to die. I saw my mother come to collect Yann?k, like she had finally heard what was going on, not that she paid me any mind. Fully prepared to die, I crawled back under my blanket; at least I would die warm.

  Yann?k

  “When I woke up, the wound was gone, and this rune was there.” Leo continued speaking like it was the most normal thing in the world. I was completely mortified. I’d stabbed my sister, and I didn’t even know about it. Here she was, explaining it all back to me like I hadn’t tried to kill her just three years ago.

  “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know.” I apologized, pulling her into a hug.

  “Shut up! I’m not done yet!” She berated as she pulled back enough to keep talking.

  “It wasn’t until recently that I learned what it means. They never gave us a choice, Yann?k. Somehow, they drugged us. It could have been any of us who woke up.” She spoke slower now, like she was still coming to terms with what had happened.

  “The books I’ve been reading, they write about Allathorne root. It’s what they gave us to predetermine the result of the Krovposvet. This rune it’s a wicked treasure map, she laughed, but there was no humor in it.

  “It’s where you’ll stab me when we’re down in those tunnels tonight. So don’t worry about me. I’m not angry. It was never your choice.” She said, almost like a goodbye.

  I didn’t know what to say. This can’t be true. She’s lying; this is some cruel prank, but her face was deadly serious. No sign of lying, no twitch in her button nose. We sat there in silence for a long time. Neither of us knew what to say; if there was even anything to say anymore. We’re doomed, and we never even had a say in it.

  “I’ll miss you.” I eventually said. They were the only words that came to mind.

  “I’m sure we’ll meet again,” Leo whispered into the dying flames.

  It was easier to speak into the fading fire than to each other. I didn’t want to say goodbye to her. Saying goodbye to Azure is one thing; saying goodbye to my sister after learning how I doomed her to die is completely different. This is all my fault. Why was I the one who woke up that night? It should have been her; why wasn’t it her?! I berated myself inside my mind as I stood up. The fire had been reduced to embers, and the usual spring cold was creeping back in. Pulling Leo to her feet, we began walking back towards Morn?ngstar house. The walk was silent, only the sound of our boots crunching the leaves beneath our feet. I helped her up over the fence before hoisting myself over, careful to brace the landing on my good leg.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. Pack a bag.” Leo said before she took off towards whatever way she would sneak into her room. I didn’t have the chance to answer before she was gone in the darkness, so I made my way through the back door, through the empty halls, back to my room, and locked the door behind me. The air smelled faintly of smoke, but nothing was burning. The house did that sometimes, whispered warnings no one else seemed to notice.