Chapter 21

My screams brought the attention of Jasper and Ash to me. I could see them running down the hall from my position on my side. I could clearly see the panic in their eyes as they neared the carnage I created. Before they got too close, I willed my body to stand. I did so numbly as I picked up my sword. Jasper and Ash stopped at the edge of the ring of blood and watched me. I flicked off the blood from my blade then sheathed it.

I started walking forward with no idea of where I was going. I walked past Jasper and Ash, staring straight ahead. I could hear their questions but none of them registered in my mind to reply. They kept asking what happened but all that I could think of was the pain and hurt in my chest. The tears started streaming down my face, taking some of the dried blood on the left side down with them. After a while, Jasper registered that I was not going to speak. So he let me just walk through the castle, leaving a trail of bloody foot prints behind me as I went.

At some point, Ash left and Jake came. He looked me over for a few seconds then with one look into my eyes, he nodded his head and let me continue. I heard all the screams as I walked past maids and nobles of the court. Many woman and men wailed or turned away when they seen me. I did not see my mother or Chloe on my way.

As I was passing the throne room, Annon walked out. She let out a blood curdling scream that was nothing compared to the screams that were ingrained in my skull. After that, I made my way to the entrance of the castle where Edward and some of his closest friends were entering. Once they laid eyes on me, they froze in their spots. All color was drained from their faces, similar to the men up stairs as the blood was drained from their bodies. I was feet from Edward when his instants finally kicked in and he ran around me with his friends.

I walked uninterrupted all the way to my lake house. Once inside, I dropped my belt and sword to the ground then stopped.

Jasper took my hand in his as he lead me to my closet and bathroom. We walked into the bathroom in silence. He let go of my hand to turn on the water in my shower. In the few seconds it took for him to turn it on and get it to temperature, my reflection in my mirror was burned into my brain.

Dried blood coated the left side of my face. There was a streak where sticky wet blood mixed with my tears from my eye to my chin. I could see the blood stain on my shirt as I peeled off my jacket; which made a hard thud when it hit the ground. I could see the dried and cracked blood on my pants and boots. All the blood on the bottom of my boots mixed with the dirt to create a thick layer of what looked like red clay. I could see flakes of blood on the floor around my jacket. Every time I moved my legs, more would fall down in a flurry.

I was force out of my thoughts as Jasper pulled me under the hot spray of water. He held me close as I started to sob uncontrollably. He tucked my heads against his chest, under his chin, and continued to rub his hand soothingly up and down my back. I watched through my tears, as best as I could, the water turn from a deep, dark, rich red to a light pink as a majority of the blood got washed from my clothes. As my sobs and tears stopped, Jasper pulled away.

For the first time, my brain registered his words enough for me to be able to rely. "Lia, you need to get out of these clothes." he said as he cupped my face and wiped away droplets of water.

I looked up at him and smiled a sad smile as I said, "My dad used to call me Lia."

He stopped what he was doing as he asked, "Do you not want me to call you that?"