The sight before Sera was something she would never be able to erase from her memory.
Blood pooled across the floor, and at its center lay her stepfather, eyes tightly shut, face serene, as though he were merely asleep.
Kai's grip around her hand tightened. Only then did Sera realize that he was standing directly in front of her, as if shielding her from the nightmare unfolding beyond him. She winced in pain, yet Kai seemed unaware.
"Kai, we need to check on your father. Let go of my hand," she pleaded, her voice strained.
As if he hadn't heard her at all, Kai did not move. His eyes were cold, sharp with vigilance.
Terror crept into Sera's gaze. She struggled with all her strength, trying to break free from his grasp but it was useless.
"You'd better remove your filthy hands from my daughter, Kai."
Kai lifted his head. From within the shadows, a figure stood watching. His gaze hardened, turning glacial.
"This is your doing, isn't it?"
Sera followed the direction of his stare and froze.
Her mother stood there calmly, dressed in a wedding gown now stained with blood. Her face was blank, nearly emotionless. Behind her, the curtains billowed wildly in the wind, while the distant screams of guests drifted faintly from the garden.
Her mother gave a light shrug.
"What would you like me to say?" she replied coolly. "That I'm pleased to see your kind finally wiped out?"
Your kind?
Kai scoffed in disdain. His grip tightened once more and before Sera could beg again, a dagger flew through the air.
Thud.
The blade sank straight into Kai's chest. His hold on her broke instantly.
"Kai!" Sera screamed.
She turned to her mother in disbelief. The woman had just thrown a dagger and she didn't look shaken in the slightest. If anything, her calm was far more terrifying than the night itself.
"What have you done, Mother?!" Sera cried.
She caught Kai as he staggered and collapsed to the floor. A groan escaped his lips.
"Don't move too much," Sera ordered desperately.
"Your knowledge of medicine won't help him much, Sera," her mother said coldly.
"Please… stop talking," Sera begged.
It would be dangerous to pull the dagger out.
She laid Kai flat, then checked the pulse at his neck.
Nothing.
She moved to his wrist.
Still nothing.
She pressed her ear to his chest.
His heart was not beating.
"Where is my phone at a time like this…" she muttered shakily. "An ambulance…"
Sera's body trembled violently.
"Calm down, Sera," her mother said lightly. "He won't be killed that easily."
It did nothing to calm her.
Sera stared at her mother sharply.
"Mother…" she whispered. "What have you done?" she asked, clinging to hope for even the most absurd explanation.
Her mother glanced about with boredom—from the corpse of her new husband, to Kai, and finally to Sera.
She sighed softly.
"You were never supposed to come here," she said. "If Kai hadn't found you first… you would never have known any of this."
"Then just tell me why you killed them!" Sera shouted, forcing herself to stay lucid.
"Isn't it obvious?" her mother replied flatly. "I killed them both." A faint smile curved her lips. "What did you expect, Sera? Leave. Go back to your dull little world. You don't need to know more."
"Stop dodging the question!" Sera screamed.
Her mother looked momentarily surprised, but quickly regained her composure.
"Should we erase her memory?" a soft voice murmured from the shadows behind her.
Her mother turned slowly.
"Should we?" she mused. "Hm… yes, I suppose so. There's no use in her remembering them."
"It would only be a nuisance," she added coldly.
Someone stepped out of the darkness.
A woman.
She walked slowly toward Sera's mother and bowed respectfully.
"Martha?" Sera whispered in disbelief.
Martha looked at her with an unreadable expression, then stepped closer.
Suddenly, Sera couldn't move.
Her body was frozen.
Her mouth sealed shut with no sound would come out.
"Don't hurt her too much," her mother said, half-heartedly.
Martha knelt before Sera. Sera tried to shake her head, to resist, to flee—anything.
"This won't hurt, Sera," Martha said gently. Her slender fingers, coated in red nail polish, reached slowly toward Sera's head.
"It would be far more painful if you knew too much," she whispered.
Just as those fingers were about to touch her—
Martha's body was violently flung aside.
An arm wrapped around Sera's waist, turning her, pulling her into a crushing embrace. Another hand covered her eyes, shielding her from the horror ahead.
"Never dare to touch her," Kai snarled.
Then Sera heard Martha's agonizing scream.