CHAPTER TEN: BLOOD DOES NOT FORGET
759 Words
The message arrived in the morning.
In third person Elara was drinking tea near the window when the sound of the gate echoed through the house. Not loud. Not rushed. Just deliberate.
She felt it before anyone spoke.
In the first person my chest tightened.
This is not normal.
Marco entered the room with two guards behind him. His face was calm but his eyes were not.
There is a package he said.
From whom Elara asked.
Marco paused.
Not addressed to Dante.
Silence filled the room.
In the first person my fingers curled around the cup.
It is for me.
Bring it, she said.
Marco hesitated.
Elara.
Bring it.
He nodded and left.
In the third person she stood slowly. The room felt smaller. The walls are closer.
She had known this moment would come. Dante warned her. Peace never ends violence. It only redirects it.
Marco returned carrying a small black box. No name. No seal. Just weight.
He placed it on the table.
Do not open it, he said.
Elara looked at it.
I will.
Marco stiffened.
Dante needs to see this.
Dante is not the target she replied. I am.
In the first person fear whispered but I did not listen.
If they want me to see it then I will not look away.
She opened the box.
Inside lay a silk glove stained dark.
Blood.
Not fresh. Not dry. Somewhere between.
Under it a card.
Three words written in careful ink.
Blood remembers debts.
Elara did not move.
In third person the guards shifted.
Marco swore under his breath.
Whose blood he asked.
Elara lifted the glove.
My father used to wear these, she said quietly.
The room went still.
In the first person my breath shook.
They found him.
Or they want me to think they did.
Marco reached for his phone.
I am calling Dante.
No Elara said.
She closed the box.
This message is not for him.
He will know anyway Marco said.
I know she replied.
But this is mine.
Marco stared at her.
You are not just his wife anymore, he said.
I know she answered.
I am his weakness.
And his shield.
Later Dante stood across from her in the study. The box between them.
He did not touch it.
Which family he asked.
Elara met his eyes.
The Volkovs.
Dante’s jaw tightened.
They lost more than territory, he said. They lost sons.
Blood does not forget Elara said.
No it does not.
In the first person I felt anger rise.
They sent this to me because they think I am soft.
Dante studied her.
This means they see you as separate from me.
That is dangerous.
Or useful she said.
He tilted his head.
Explain.
If they think I am only a wife then they will come to me first she said. Not you.
Dante was silent.
They want to test your fear.
Then I will not give them that.
Dante walked closer.
They will try again.
I know.
And next time I will answer.
He looked at her sharply.
You are not bait.
I am already blood bound to this war, she said. Whether I want it or not.
In third person the distance between them closed.
Dante spoke low.
If they touch your family I will burn them.
In the first person my voice stayed steady.
If they touch my family then I will make sure they regret choosing me.
Dante searched her face.
You are changing.
No, she said. I am remembering who I was before fear.
Silence stretched.
Then Dante nodded once.
Very well.
That night the house doubled security. Lights stayed on. Guards watched shadows.
But Elara did not sleep.
In the first person I kept seeing the glove.
They know where to hurt me.
She sat at the desk and wrote one sentence on clean paper.
I received your message.
Nothing more.
She sealed it.
In third person she handed it to the quiet woman from the shadows. The watcher.
Deliver this she said.
The woman raised a brow.
To whom.
You know.
A pause.
Then the woman nodded.
When the reply came she asked.
You will bring it to me.
Not Dante.
The woman smiled faintly.
You are brave.
No Elara said.
I am angry.
The woman disappeared.
In the first person resolve hardened.
I am no longer invisible.
I am no longer protected by paper.
I am a name whispered in enemy halls.
And they will learn something important.
I remember too.
Blood does not forget.
Neither do I.
- Writer
