My Faithful Servant, Night.

•§• Drop Nineteen •§•

Onyx Awakened

"The curse is beginning, Night."

"Are you sure, Ivy?" Night gazed into my eyes. The blue pierced through whatever shields I had halfheartedly attempted to build. I looked away, down, averted his eyes; anything to avoid his unwavering attention.

For once, Ivy Nightshade did not want any.

"I'm positive." I took a deep breath. It shook slightly, just like my nerves. I did not know what this curse was doing to me. But I could feel it, deep within my blood, that the curse was changing me, altering my abilities in ways that I didn't know. I knew that my dependence on blood was gone, whether eternally or for the moment. The sensation of pseudo-immortality that all creature of other world had still lingered, and that comforted me. I knew I was not human. But I was not Vampire either.

I exhaled, slightly more composed. The air condensed into a smoky white cloud, eventually dispersing throughout the star speckled heavens.

She's coming.

The voice of the future-- Lumiére's pitch resounded in my mind, clear as a bell. It chimed a warning note. I knew they were referring to the traitor in our midst. They had tried not to pinpoint who it was, but there was only one person it could be.  Síhr had given me warning, Lumiére and  Noíre had both pointed to the culprit. Their motivation was unclear, but it could only be one person.

Be ready Ivy. This is your test.

It was Noíre's turn to give me fair warning. I felt my palms grow cold, and I clenched them with the force that I had garnered. Night noticed, and he pressed his hand atop my own. Deep down, he and I both knew that we had been fooled. How could we have allowed a traitor to come between us, and our goals? No matter the connection they had in a past life. That life was over.

Night didn't even need to speak. Sensing my discomfort, he squeezed my hand gently. His expression told me not to worry, that I'd be safe. That everything would be alright. 

If only.

"She's coming." I echoed Lumiére's warning.

"...Who?" Night shot me a confused look.

"The one we've been waiting for. The traitor is about to awaken." I simply laughed, allowing hysteria to overtake me. It filled up the emptiness in my soul. As if it had been waiting for a weakness, and a commotion to cover its tracks. The hysteria crept in during the commotion and nestled itself deep within my weaknesses. The only way for me to claw it out would be to confront my fears.

The traitor in your midst.

Lumiére's voice chimed once more in my mind. 

"Onyx is the traitor." I hissed through clenched teeth.

Onyx's eyes fluttered open in surprise. "I-I..." She paused, rubbing her temples. She seemed confused. "What am I doing here? What was I doing..." Onyx scrubbed at her eyes, fluttering her lashes like butterfly kisses. Poisonous, lethal, butterfly kisses.

I scoffed. "Darling, it's too late to play the angel now. I don't know your motivation, nor how long you had been planning a betrayal, but your intentions have been revealed to us. I should have known anyone who would come between Night and I would be bad news. Even if you are his beloved sister."

Night's expression contorted into one of pain. I knew I had hurt him, but he knew it was the truth. That night ever since I had met Onyx, something within me knew something was off about her. She was instinctively predatorial. A huntress. Though she acted bubbly and oblivious, Onyx was no stranger to the darkness. I glared at her, my eyes seething with hatred.

Onyx caught my eyes. Within her deep, espresso gaze, something snapped. The emotions boiled into a simmering explosion. Her eyes were set to kill as her face contorted into a snarl, forehead wrinkling with tension.

"So I don't have to play the part of your stupid dog?" Onyx mocked dusting herself off. "Good, that's why you have my idiot of a brother. Oops, did I say brother?" Onyx snickered. Night's aura dissolved into a murky, cimmerian darkness. "I meant half-breed." She jeered.

Night's aura deepened into a scarlet blackness. He held his tongue, in fact, his expression never once wavered. Yet pouring from every pore in his body was pure, utter hatred. Sadness. And disappointment.

"Did you have a charming little rest? You can thank Síhr for that." I winked, sticking my tongue out. I licked the canines protruding slightly onto my bottom lip.