Ashes to Ashes | ✓

21 || Cornered

Felix inhaled sharply and pulled his gaze away. "The guards I could understand—and some of these nobles may have been assassins in disguise—but why kill so many innocents?"

"The Core was disrupted. He must have... lost control."

"He's connected to it as well?"

A slight smile twitched at the corners of Aiko's lips. "All magic in Niveus is connected to the Core. Mae is a spirit of the forest. Or..." She sighed, shaking her head. "Never mind. Let's focus on. This way to the inn?"

He nodded and steered her down another street that was more empty than the last. The overcast sky darkened their path, but at least there were no ghostly shadows to reach out to them with long, vicious claws. All was quiet, devoid of the familiar pattern of a guard's rhythmic steps. It was their boots against the stone that filled the silence, keeping time with the anxious flutter of Felix's heart. It was peaceful in a way, but it grated against his nerves with wrongness.

Before setting off, they had agreed to first return to the inn where Felix had been staying. If he was lucky, his things would still be there—including the vials of poison he had never intended to use against Aiko but carried regardless. When he made the plan originally, he was betting on the idea that the guards would be clustered around the inner gate. It unnerved him to be proven right. It spoke to a shift in power.

Ameris would never have been so carefree. He watched the coronation ball like a hawk from his perch where he could see everything. He didn't seem like a man who loved to gamble and invite hostiles into his midst so easily if he knew it could be prevented.

But Dinah did. She fanned the flames of a kingdom in ruin, planting guards who would easily turn a blind eye to a murder that best suited her interest. She would place her pawns in such a way that invited Felix to come in, beckoning him inside with the promise that it would all be easy and over soon. Even the life of her late husband—taken by Felix's hands—was suspected to be a play on her part. He never knew who had commissioned him with the task, but her nonchalance coiled around his heart like a snake. She had been playing him from the very beginning.

Dinah was in Niveus, and she was already waiting for them.

All the more reason to fetch my things. Master's poisons are in my collection, and he was fond of anything that could get him out of a mess with ease. That's exactly what I need right now.

A chill brushed past him and he pulled his cloak tighter around himself, quickening his steps. Deep down, he knew it was a frantic last resort. He was grasping at straws, desperate to come up with a way to slip away. Poisons were not his area of expertise—he preferred not to use them, though his master had always been fond of them. If he could find one that would disperse into the area and allow him and Aiko to slip away, that would be ideal, but he had no clue what he had shoved into his bag before taking off. He was betting on his luck, and the very thought of that twisted his insides. Luck was never on his side, so why should he expect it now?

The sound of footsteps echoed down the far end of the street ahead of them. A heartbeat later, the shadow of a guard trailed across the buildings. Felix cursed under his breath. His body tensed as his gaze swept over their surroundings, searching for any place to hide the two of them. He pulled Aiko down the nearest alley, bathed in shadows and too tight for a man in armor to squeeze through easily. It wouldn't throw them too far off course, but it would steer them away from the guard's route.

Aiko glanced back, her lips parted though she said nothing as he pulled her along. When she faced him again, her brow was creased and she frowned thoughtfully. Heat flared beneath his hand as the familiar veins of fire rose to the surface of her dark skin. This time, it didn't force her to her knees, but her steps did falter slightly.