The rain had not stopped falling for three days. It streaked down the glass windows of Conner's mansion, tracing crooked lines like the cracks in his heart.
He stood before the hearth, silent, hands in his pockets, staring at the fire that refused to warm him.
A soft knock came at the door.
When he opened it, Lura stood there drenched, pale, and holding a small bundle wrapped in blue cloth.
Conner stared bewildered. She was uninvited and strange.
"Who are you?" Conner's voice was sharp, weary.
Lura bowed slightly. "I'm… your new maid, sir. My name is Lura."
He frowned. "I didn't hire anyone."
"You didn't need to." Her tone was calm, almost too calm.
Layra soon appeared from behind the door dressed in a red silk.
"Yes, yes you! You're here"
"Conner love, I hired her. We need a maid around the house. I don't like to see you worrying yourself"
She looked down at the child. For a heartbeat, Conner's breath caught.
There was something eerily familiar about that face, the curve of the nose, the softness around the eyes.
"Whose child is that?"
Lura met his gaze.
"A city folk's. She said she'd be coming this evening. Do come in child"
Layra said leading her inside without a prick of conscience. She knew it was he sister's daughter, the one she'd hidden away from Conner.
Well now she'd serve as a maid ignorantly in her father's house, thought Layra.
Conner froze. "Lura?"
"Yes," she said simply.
"Her name is Lura." Layra complied.
The name fell like thunder in the quiet hall. He stepped back, shaking his head. "Alright. Welcome Lura. I suppose Layra would show you your room"
Layra finished gently, a hint of false sorrow in her voice. "You'll be staying here"
She'd led her to the attic. It was a bit shabby and smelled of mildew.
Conner's chest tightened. "Are you sure you hired someone new? That girl looks familiar!" he shouted after them.
"Yeah, we'll see her parents tomorrow!" Layra's eyes glinted faintly, catching the firelight.
Conner looked again. The child stared up at him with the same shade of eyes that had once haunted him, Shaoline's eyes. He felt the world tilt for a moment, the ghost of her laughter echoing in his memory.
Layra smiled faintly. "She's quiet. Doesn't disturb much. You'll like her."
"Where… did you find her?"
"I put up a sign, her mother Mrs Lydia applied. They said she'd come today after I saw them yesterday" Layra's voice dipped lower. "I thought she ought to be here by now"
Conner didn't respond. His mind was spinning. She looked familiar, she looked like Shaoline. He soon phased it out,
"Coincidence happens" he told himself.
Layra took a careful step closer to Lura.
Conner nodded absently. "Yes… fine. Set her room upstairs!" he added.
"She'll stay in the attic! The rooms upstairs are for guests!"
Conner rolled his eyes slowly and sighed. She could do as she pleased with her, she was a maid after all.
Layra watched her make her bed. A satisfied smile curving on her lips as soon as his back turned.
"You'll bring your belongings tomorrow. Alright?" she whispered to her.
"Yes ma'am" Lura replied.
We'll make sure you never remember her again, Layra thought.
Far below, in the heart of the Abyss, I stood before a cracked mirror of black ice. The pale glow of the torches flickered over my face as I fastened the silver chains around my wrists, part of the uniform of Nephilim trainees.
My reflection stared back, older now, harder. Yet behind me, steady eyes lingered a softness I could never kill, the memory of the child I'd once held. I wondered how much she'd grown now.
I reached up, brushing a lock of hair from her face. My hand shook.
Lura…
The name echoed silently in my mind, heavy as a curse.
I tried not to think of it, of the night I'd hidden her daughter from Conner's eyes, wrapped her in the cloth of shadows, and whispered blessings into her tiny ear. Stay alive, I'd begged. Even if I don't.
Layra, my sister I remembered with a sigh had taken the child from her. Their child. The rightful heir to Conner's wealth.
But memories had sharp teeth. They never stayed buried.
Viridis's voice broke through the haze from the adjoining chamber.
"Shaoline!"
I turned sharply. "Yes, my Lady?"
"You're being summoned," the demoness drawled. "The instructors want you to assist in the Mirror Hall."
I nodded, straightening my robe. "Understood."
Viridis's wings rustled faintly. "And fix your bandage. You look half-mortal."
I managed a small smile. "Perhaps I am, my Lady."
Viridis tilted her head, almost amused. "Careful, child. Half-mortals rarely last long here."
I bowed and left.
The corridors of the training citadel stretched endlessly before me, veins of black stone pulsing faintly with crimson light.
Around me, Nephilims whispered, laughed, or vanished into shadow. But my mind wasn't in the Abyss anymore.
Is she safe?
Did someone find her?
Does her father know?
Perhaps, that had been the only memory Xuchiris spared me. At least, I could remember my child. That was the only feeling I nursed, that I had a child somewhere and a sister I'd given her to but I could hardly remember, the memory was like a dream.
I hated myself for wondering. I'd promised never to look back. Yet every night, when I closed my eyes, I saw Lura's face, the same silver eyes, the same fragile smile.
Sometimes, I thought I could feel her.
As though our souls were still connected.
At the threshold of the Mirror Hall, I paused. The great chamber was filled with a dozen black mirrors, each taller than a man and lined with runes that glowed faintly like dying stars.
Demons stood around them, their faces covered in masks of bone. Their voices rumbled like thunder, echoing ancient phrases in a forgotten tongue.
One of them looked up as I entered. "You. The new one. Fetch the Binding Chalice."
"Yes, my Lord." I bowed and moved toward the altar, careful not to meet their eyes.
But even as I worked, my thoughts drifted.
Lura must be two by now… maybe three.
She'd have my eyes. My hair.
Would she hate me when she learns the truth? Do I even have a daughter? Or was I making up stuff?
My fingers trembled, and the chalice slipped, clattering against the stone floor. The demons turned sharply.
I froze. "I...I'm sorry, my Lord..."
The tallest demon stepped forward, his tail twitching. His voice was cold. "Be careful, half-breed. The Abyss doesn't forgive clumsiness."
I swallowed hard. "It won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't." He leaned in close, his breath hot against my skin. "Or we'll see how much Nephilim blood your veins truly carry."
He turned away, dismissing me, but my heart continued to pound long after he was gone.
Above the infernal halls, somewhere in the mortal world, Layra hummed a lullaby.
Outside, thunder rolled again.
And far below, in the burning dark, I whispered a prayer to no god at all.
"Stay safe, little one. Wherever you are.If I have one"
The walls of the Abyss pulsed faintly in response, as if something ancient and unseen had heard my plea.