Fallen Ashes |✔️

Fallout

I couldn't even hear what he whispered in my ear, only remembering the sensation of his hot breath on my skin, making my body tingle.

I should have killed him. Wanted to kill him. Or did I? Why didn't I?

"Quite a show isn't it?" He purred to me again, so quietly that I could have sworn the entire chamber stopped moving to listen, to see who this man of shadows was.

I felt everything I'd once imagined for myself in that moment... being the only one that mattered, not subservient to the man I claimed but an equal. A queen in my own right.

But I knew living this life was nothing more than a fantasy.

But fantasies weren't real.
And what isn't real never lasts.

"Get the fuck out of here." I hissed to him, but my body begged for him to stay, to feel his breath, his touch one more time.

"And leave you to these animals?" He noticed the stares, the way they searched us both as if we were not a pair of dark angels, but caged animals.

"I should kill you for even being here." I murmured as I avoided the harsh stares of the audience that had formed.

His spare hand slowly moved to my neck, his grip much stronger than it appeared to be. His lips were already against my ear, the phantom touch of his words sending waves of anticipation through my body.

"Don't forget princess, I've spared your life enough times. But that doesn't mean I can't spill your throat across your floor If I wanted to."

"I'll come back for you." I didn't know why I made such promises. After all, he was another mafia man. Another killer. A deceiver. A brute like the rest of them.

But he was different. And I knew the vultures that surrounded us would kill anyone different. That didn't stop me from wanting to kill him- or to use him as an ally perhaps.

His touch sent a wildfire across my body, my insides turning to jelly. I did my best to ignore the growing warmth between my legs, my body and mind in contradiction with eachother.

"I'll see you soon." His grin was enough for me to step back, out of his warmth as he strode towards the exit, emanating a sense of danger tinged with his own effortless confidence.

I almost called out his name, as a group of men chased after him. Shouts across the room to grab him, the loudest of those cries coming from Vero as the rage in his eyes turned them into a dark hell.

I remained standing in the centre, cold in the absence of his warmth. But I felt a trickle of that warmth again as I almost cried in outright triumph as he weaved between men like a shadow, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

I was lost in the absence of his direction. I felt trapped but with him there was a way out. I knew it was foolish to hope. After all hope killed more good agents than weapons had. To hope for a life other than the one that was dictated for me the day I was born, the moment my father gave me away to Vero. I was a queen without a crown.

Not for long.

Next time I would seek him out, damning the consequences. A predator himself, walking into the enemies den as if he owned it. Surely he knew more than his cryptic words and mysterious appearances let off. The ball was nothing but a distraction, I assured myself. I needed to return to reality; surely Ash would know about this Prince of Scars, about how to access the Italian mafia. Who knew what an enemy of ours was to him. But something told me he would help me kill this target, ideally before the wedding that I would never go through with. Not when I proved to father I was meant for so much more, regardless of his decision.

Seeking out the Italian mafia was a place to start. Definitely easier said than done but it was something. Everyone in the mansion was either an enemy of the Italians or too afraid of my father to do anything other than what he dictated. And Ash, an enemy who wasn't invited making his way inside- there was a brain behind that pretty face of his. Not to mention what I couldn't help but imagine was under his clothes.

Perhaps father had meant to send me after an enemy I knew next to nothing about. To scare me into submission, to make me beg for help or guidance. Whatever game for power he was playing, I'd play along. And maybe find my crown along the way.

I was snapped out of my reverie at the sight of the bulging vein in Vero's forehead as his rage-stricken face bombarded my line of sight.

"Who was that man?" his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I have no idea." I said plainly.

"Don't lie to me." He roared. This time I showed no sign of fear. Never of him, or anyone else. Even as my father stared at me from afar, his stare enough to send me running.

I didn't run.

"Don't fuck with me." I spat at his shoes- an action enough to make his face contort with murderous fury.

He reached to grab my hand, a polished dagger in his hand within seconds. His bulging arms could have choked me as he held his dagger dangerously close to my throat, in an attempt to humiliate me, threatening to cut off my access to air.

I made sure it was the last time the bastard ever tried that with me again.

I was sick of them all, the near-silent chuckles of men and women across the chamber who knew nothing about me. Nothing.

Make an impression, my father had told me. And I was going to make one hell of an impression. Not as a prize for Vero or my father, not as an agent to be wary of. I wanted them to fear me in the way they did my father, to know Venus Castellanos had killed more flawlessly than all of the jeering idiots. And would do it again. And again.

Vero was much larger than me, taking advantage of the pure strength in his honed body, pinning me to his chest. He laughed as I noticeably struggled against his grip for a moment.

That cursed smile disappeared as I stood on his foot enough to make him groan, his grip loosening on me as my elbow struck him in the jaw, hard enough to spray blood. As ever, my own blade was strapped to my thigh and in seconds it was in my hands, inches from Vero's throat.

"You little slut." he hissed at me, blinding moving his hand to strike me with his dagger.

Blind, brash, arrogant fool.

I went hot with murderous anticipation, making a manoeuvre that had my hand gripping his wrist, compelling him to drop his own blade as I turned, forcing him to suffer under the pressure of his own weight. I kept turning.

"Stop." he almost whimpered.

I didn't stop. Not as the laughs turned to gasps around the chamber, with guests watching intently as Vero's bride-to-be handed him his ass.

I didn't stop until I heard his growl of pain, his stream of cursing drowned out by more gasps from the crowd. They didn't dare speak as I continued.

Finally, I smiled as the only sound was the crack of his wrist as I let him slump to the floor, lunging out for me but it was futile.

I was already gone, my name nothing more than a whisper upon the lips of unsettled guests.

Venus Castellanos