The Bond of Blood
Isla wandered the halls of Kaelen’s sanctum, her every step echoing against the cold stone. The air was thick with the scent of age, and the relics adorning the walls seemed to hum faintly, their silent magic watching her. Here, in this labyrinth of her father’s making, she felt like an intruder—a child seeking answers from a parent she barely knew.
Kaelen made efforts to bridge the gulf between them. In the evenings, they would sit together under the stars, his deep voice recounting stories of her mother, Xyla. “She always believed in destiny,” he said one night, his tone heavy with emotion. “She saw the potential in every challenge, every hardship. It was one of the reasons I fell in love with her.”
Isla listened, her silver eyes fixed on the horizon. “Did that belief make it easier for you to leave us?” The words slipped out sharper than she intended, but she didn’t apologize.
Kaelen winced, his hands tightening into fists. “It didn’t make anything easier,” he replied, his voice rough. “But it made it necessary.”
The tension simmered until Isla could no longer hold back. That evening, she confronted him in a quiet chamber. The lantern’s flickering glow cast sharp shadows across Kaelen’s features, making him seem both larger than life and painfully human.
“You’ve been avoiding my question,” Isla said, her voice trembling with the force of her emotions. “Why did you abandon Seraphine and me? Why leave us to fend for ourselves?”
Kaelen’s golden eyes flickered with pain, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I didn’t abandon you,” he began, his tone heavy with regret. “Xyla and I made a choice—a terrible one—but we believed it was the only way to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?” Isla pressed, anger flaring in her chest. “From what exactly? All you did was leave us vulnerable.”
“There were forces hunting us,” Kaelen admitted. “Powerful beings who sought to use your connection to the Moon Goddess. Staying together would have painted a target on all of us. Sending you and Seraphine away gave you a chance to grow up hidden from their reach.”
Isla shook her head, disbelief and fury twisting her expression. “You call that protection? You left us to face the world alone. Seraphine… she never forgave me for what happened. She thought I had something she didn’t.”
Kaelen’s shoulders sagged, the weight of his guilt pressing down visibly. “Seraphine… she was different,” he said quietly. “But you two had to be sent away together, for the sake of the other child.”
The admission struck Isla like a physical blow. Her voice wavered as she spat, “So you sacrificed her. You made her hate me.”
Kaelen’s head bowed, his golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “We thought we were saving both of you. But I see now that we failed you both.”
