Ashes to Ashes | ✓

22 || Cold Reunion

"Oh, Aiko," Dinah went on as her laughter finally began to subside. She rested a hand against her chest and rose to her feet. "You are quite amusing. It's no wonder everyone is so enamored with you. Such brave and beautiful words, spun together with glittering threads of lies. You must learn to hold your tongue. After all, I haven't touched Felix. I have done nothing to hurt him."

"You're the one that sent him here!" she snarled. Sparks flared to life at her fingertips, flashing dangerously close to the ropes that bound her. "You started all of this. It's all your fault!"

Behind them, the doors swung open unannounced. Two sets of footsteps entered the room, muffled by the plush carpet.

"When will you learn to stop blaming others for your failures, Aiko?" a deep male voice sighed, the sound of it thick with disappointment and oozing with venom. He breezed past them with proud, determined steps—almost calculated, as though this was a walk he had practiced many times over. His back was perfectly straight and he carried himself with an air of authority. Even the way he turned toward them was rigid. He looked down on them with the eyes of a hawk, lips set in a perfect frown. There was no blank to hide his thoughts, allowing them to roll off his expression in waves of pent-up frustration and spite.

Felix straightened unconsciously in his presence, despite that it sent another wave of pain over him, rocking the world beneath him. Stiffly, he glanced behind him, searching for the second set of footsteps.

Nova limped into the room, covered in wounds and missing tufts of her raven-black hair. One eye was hidden beneath a bandage that covered half her face, but still she carried her head high as she strode past him. He set his jaw, glaring at her. She never once turned to look at him, content—it seemed—to pretend he wasn't there at all.

"Nova has been such a dedicated and loyal servant to me in your absence, Felix," Dinah tittered as she slowly descended the steps of the dias. "Even after facing near-death at the claws of Aiko's demon, she still serves me well. And yet..." Dinah sighed, coming to a stop at the final step. "After all I offered you, still you betrayed me."

Even if he wanted to reply, all Felix could find the energy to do was grit his teeth. His head throbbed and a small trickle of blood oozed past his ear, plastering his hair to his scalp and flooding his nose with a coppery scent. He ran his tongue over his dry lips, sliding his gaze toward Aiko. There was nothing he could say; he could barely think through the haze.

Aiko's gaze was pinned on Nova, and she shook her head in disbelief. She snapped toward Dinah. "Mae... what happened to Mae?"

Dinah hummed and turned to the guard at her side once more. All it took was a nod and he went jogging out of the room, leaving the door hanging open behind him.

"To answer your question," Dinah began, "how about I start with a story, hm? All children love a good story, don't they? Even cursed brats like you must appreciate them."

Aiko drew back, clenching her jaw. Even though her expression burned with anger, eyes watering as she was forced to wait for the answer they both already knew, she kept silent. Waiting. The sparks died from her hands and the barrier around her flickered.

Satisfied with this reaction, Dinah smiled fondly and strode forward. Ameris and Nova stepped out of her way as she took slow, deliberate steps away from the throne. Her path led her toward Felix, on his knees at her feet, glaring up at her. She trailed a finger along his jawline. He jerked his head away.

"It all started with a game," Dinah began as she came to a standstill, looming over Felix the way the night sky overtook the mountains in the north. "You see, I couldn't stand the thought of some little Niveus brat holding the key to more power than I could ever hope to have in my hands. It kept me up at night. When a woman loses sleep over envy, it is no pretty sight for the world. So I devised a plan."