UNBREAK | D.M (UNRAVEL BOOK 5)

[ 31 ]

"I'll go on ahead first, okay?" Hermione tells Aine who was still surrounded by bubbles and foam. The girl gave a small hum as a response, she was staring ahead at the portrait of a mermaid on the stained glass window, trying her best to diffuse the noise in her head.

Hermione gave her friend one last look, frowning slightly when she saw how out of it Aine had seemed. She gave one last sigh before walking out of the prefects' bathroom, still patting her curly brown locks dry. 

When Aine was finally alone, she ripped her sight from the moving image of the mermaid on the window. She swam deeper into the middle of the tub, her eyes trailing towards the hundred golden bath taps surrounding her as she twirled in the water, each had a different jewel set in each tap. As she was about to reach for the largest faucet with the aquamarine stone, another shrill ringing pierced her eardrums and she winces.

Those voices have been coming and going constantly these days, sounds of screams and cries, whispers and hissing noises. Some she could recognize but most were a still mystery to her. She didn't know whether they had belonged to the people close to her or something else, either way, it felt ominous. Like a warning.

Aine closes her eyes, trying to calm herself through the raging chaos in her ears and head. She took one deep breath before she slowly submerged herself beneath the rectangular pool. The tepid water eased her tense muscles and the feeling of drifting inside the water made her thoughts of the voices float away. When she was underwater, the voices weren't as loud as before, they could not hurt her as much as she was above the surface. 

Her long raven locks were swishing softly in the water, and her eyes were opened but they did not sting. She allowed her body to sink to the bottom of the tub as she gazes up above the candle-filled chandelier that was rippling from the water. The flame flickering and whenever the wind whistles by. The moonlight was flowing in from the windows, hitting the crystals as they bounced and reflected around the room, creating rainbow shards on the walls like stars.

She blinks, once and twice, falling into a state of daydreaming again. Aine kept thinking of the voices, his voice— calling so very tenderly but yet with such desperation. She cursed inside her head, closing her eyes out of frustration. Even whilst underwater where sounds were all pretty much muted and muffled, his voice was still evident. 

Calling out to her again.

"Aine... Aine..."

There she saw him again, appearing from the darkness of her closed eyes. His back was facing her, his black robes fluttering when the wind blew by. He grips the balcony's ledge, looking out of the Manor while a woman lurked behind him, a younger man next to her.

"Do you bring good news, Bella?" he whispered without turning around to see who it was, his voice colder than ever.

"They are performing their duties well, my lord. Very soon, we will be able to break through the barrier and reign over the castle," Bellatrix relayed, a grin plastered onto her face. The excitement gushes through her veins when she pictures herself dominating the school with her master for their cause. She couldn't help but convulse from the thrill.

"Good. I trust those children won't fail me..."

"They know what will happen should they fail, master! Though if I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind seeing them fail. I want to see their faces when we punish them! Especially that sweet child..." Cal said, chuckling to himself. An ecstatic grin flashed on his face as he fantasised about it. 

Aine balled her fists, her brows twitching at Cal's remark. She recalled his punishment, it was still fresh in her head. Fresh as if it happened only recently. The white hot flames scalded her flesh, burning her blood and blinding her completely but she could not do anything to break free. She was under his command; every move, every expression— Controlled.