It was Saturday and the warm light of the sun through her opened balcony indicated that Leyla had slept for most of the morning. She slowly sat up on her queen size bed, pushed away a pile of pillows, and stretched lazily.

Looking at the clock it was already 11 AM. She stood up and went to her bathroom to freshen up. A while later she came out wearing a navy blue ensemble consisting of a cropped hoodie and shorts. She opened the door of her mini-fridge and pulled out a pitcher of orange juice. She poured it in a glass and drank contentedly.

She picked her RTPA and consulted her plans for the day.

Hmm…I need to go shopping for the date. Sigh, I don’t even know what to pick. I should just ask the employees there.

Having decided so, she dressed in a casual sleeveless one-piece red dress with white flowers prints. She wore a white gold bracelet with a purple hue on her wrist, and she was ready. After checking in the mirror one last time, she exited the room.

Downstairs, she didn’t see anyone, her mother had already left. She picked her keys and went to the garage. She started her car and headed toward the city.

She drove at a regular speed and reached her destination 25 minutes later. It was a clothing shop belonging to the luxury brand ‘Dorian Couture’. It was located on Parker Street, this area was filled with similar businesses, additionally, there were a lot of cafés and restaurants. All in all, it was an area often frequented by the young and wealthy.

She parked her car and entered the shop. She was instantly greeted by an employee who quickly became her guide through the various clothing style. She stated what she was looking for and the professional woman prepared an appropriate selection for her.

An hour later, Leyla decided on a black side split dress with long sleeves. It fitted her wonderfully, showcasing her figure while giving her an air of casual elegance.

She paid an embarrassingly high price for it before leaving for the café on the other side of the street. She sat on the terrasse and ordered a ridiculously wordy drink.

The server smiled while watching her trying to read the order with some difficulty. Used to this scene, he waited patiently. He was a good-natured young man with sandy hair and an athletic figure. He was interested in her and made it abundantly clear during their small talk.

Unfortunately, Leyla was preoccupied with her weird dream and the imminent meeting with that man, Celion Volare. As such, she was a bit absentminded. Thankfully he noticed her lack of attention and brought back her order before leaving her to her thoughts. As her eyes swept the crowd muddling about in the street, her RTPA started ringing. She looked at the unknown ID for a moment, it should be Cole Argent. The thought had come randomly. But reflecting on it, the number of people who knew her ID was very low. As such, she would rather believe it was someone she recently gave her ID to, than a stranger. She tapped the screen answering.

“Hi, it’s me. I mean it's Cole. The guy from the library.”

“Yes, I know. I recognized your voice.” She said a smile in her voice.

“Ah, you did…… I would like to invite you somewhere. One of my friends is singing live at a bar for the first time in this city and I was wondering if you would like to come. With me. Of course, if you can’t, it's ok too.” He blurted in a single breath nervously.

“When?” Leyla asked simply.

“Oh, uhm… Sunday night. Would that work for you?”

“It’s a date. Just send me the address.” She answered.

“For real? That’s great! I will see you there then.” He seemed happy. “Have a good day.”

“Yeah, have a great day too.”

After hanging up, she looked at her cup of coffee thoughtfully. Leyla hadn’t expected him to call her this soon. It seemed that she had made quite the impression on him. Well, it was a good thing. Her plan to get more ‘outgoing’ and ‘social’ was off to a good start.

Feeling good, she went for a walk. The weather was great, the sky was deep blue with large white clouds, it wasn’t too cold nor too hot. According to her, it was the perfect time for a long walk. Leyla pulled her earbuds in and tuned out the world.

Without knowing when she had left the busy streets for the less frequented alleys. She didn’t know how it happened, but she seemed to have lost her way or taken the wrong turn at one point. Looking around she couldn’t see anyone. Now that she paid attention, the surroundings were eerily silent. No traffic or crowd noises.

A chill crawled through her spine, and she turned around. A gasp of surprise left her rosy lips when she found a man dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt tucked in black pants behind her.

He looked to be 30-ish, had a plain face and cropped brown hair. All in all, he looked like someone that could easily be forgotten in a crowd if one didn’t look into his eyes. He had grey irises bordered in blue. A combination Leyla hadn’t seen before on a human.

“Hello, miss, truly sorry to interrupt your walk. As things happen to be, we have a matter to settle. Be assured that it won’t take too long. I’ll make sure of it” His voice was cold and emotionless giving rise to goosebumps on her skin.

“Excuse me, do we know each other?” Leyla was puzzled but more than that she had a hunch that this was no ordinary man and that she wanted no part in the so-called ‘matter’ he mentioned.

“No, of course not. But it seems that my employer knows you and wants you gone, permanently.”

As his last word dropped, Leyla took a step backward. She was ready to run as fast and as far away as she could. She seemed to have landed in quite the dangerous predicament.

“I guarantee that you won’t be able to take two steps before I twist your pretty neck. So, would you spare us both some unnecessary efforts?”

Somehow judging by his contracted pupils and his tone, she believed without a doubt that she wouldn’t be able to escape him. Still, she had to try. Begging had low chances of working against someone like this. After all, he was a hired killer, the people in this line of work had naturally let go of their compassion since long ago.

Having made her decision, she hesitated no longer. Leyla turned and started sprinting away from the lunatic.

“Why do they never pay heed to my warnings?” His voice was getting distant when he began speaking but by the end, it sounded as if he was speaking right next to her ear.

The following event confirmed this assumption as a hand filled her vision before grabbing her by the throat. The sudden shift between motion and inertia cut her supply of air making her go blue.

He turned her toward him, still holding her by the throat. Her feet were dangling a few inches above the ground. The pressure on her throat and her weight made her vision swim. She held his arm while swinging her feet. Dread filled her heart.

“Why d-does so-someone wants me dead? I didn’t do … anything, to anyone.” She struggled to say. Despite her despair, what she was unconciliated with, was the randomness of the murder attempt.

She didn’t remember ever pissing someone off to the point where they would want her dead. She didn’t even have the intention of interacting socially with people until recently. She just couldn’t understand.

“Now, since you’re a pretty little thing, I will send you away quickly.” He said in an almost singing voice ignoring her question, a deranged smile adorning his previously expressionless face.

He started applying even more force to his grip. He didn’t notice that the bracelet Leyla was wearing had started glowing since a moment ago too focused on her.

…………

A couple of minutes ago,

Regal Tech.

In the large office, the twins had stopped what they were doing. They turned in the same direction with astonishing synchronicity, their eyes alight with an eerie purple glow.

“Someone is courting death, isn’t this so, brother?” Magnus spoke his tone calm but chilling, followed by the temperature in the entire office dropping precipitously.

“Indeed, some fool is courting death alright.” Seiren echoed his voice also devoid of any warmth.

They both stood up and went before the huge glass window. From this position, they had an impeccable line of sight over the whole city.

They raised their arms, seemingly mirroring each other. A monumental pressure surged from their figure. If someone was standing near them, they would have the distinct impression that the entire building was vibrating, impacted by an unseen force. They opened their mouth together and whispered obscure words.

“………Hell Flame!”

“………Hell Flame!”

After which, their eyes flashed abruptly.

…………

In the alley.

The man had just started expressing more strength when he was distracted by a brilliant purple light originating from the woman's right wrist. His gaze fell upon the source of the unearthly light which was a bracelet and his pupils contracted abruptly.

Before he could react, a charred odor reached his nose. He turned toward the hand holding the woman's neck and was startled to see that it had caught fire.

The flames were purple, but weirdly enough they didn’t seem to affect the woman who had already passed out, a moment ago. He promptly let go of her body which slumped powerlessly on the ground.

He took a few steps back, retrieved a vial of what seemed to be drop water, and poured it on the burning hand.

He let out a surprised and fearing gasp when the fire surged in intensity as if he had expected the waterdrop to douse it. Before he could let out a scream of agony, the flames suddenly grew in size before devouring his whole body.

Nothing was left of him, whether it be his clothes, his flesh, his blood, or his bones.

…………

“She is safe,” Magnus said with relief.

“Thank God, we had put a safety measure in the form of the bracelet. If not, we wouldn’t have been able to know that something bad had happened, much less cast a sortilege from so far away.” Seiren spoke uncharacteristically, his countenance was dark. He who cherished his words had spoken so much.

It was normal, after all, someone had just attempted their sister’s life. He couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with the mission they had been entrusted so long ago when they discovered their heritage.

The brothers exchanged a gaze full of meaning.