Ashes to Ashes | ✓

21 || Cornered

It felt like an eternity had passed since Felix first stood at the entrance to Niveus's capital city of Crocea. When he arrived more than three weeks ago, he came with a mission: kill Princess Aiko on behalf of Queen Dinah in order to receive freedom from the punishment of his murders. Now, Aiko was the queen of Niveus, and she stood at his side, facing the city gates with him.

Fate had turned his world upside down, but he was grateful for its escape. The scarlet cloak wrapped around Aiko's shoulders—its hood concealing her long, mahogany curls and its folds enveloping her small frame—was better than the image of her body bathed in blood. The image he would have seen had he been successful in his original task.

He clenched his fingers against his palms until his nails bit into his skin. Now isn't the time to be nostalgic.

No guards stood at the entrance and Crocea's gate was left hanging open. Storm clouds had gathered over the sky, swallowing the evening sunlight behind the thick, gray blanket and threatening them with the promise of rain. It was fitting for the ghostly silence that hung over the city, but it sent a chill crawling through Felix's body. The quiet was deafening, and he feared the cause of it.

Wind carried the stench of death to him. It was enough to drag bile to his throat, and he swallowed hard against it. He was no stranger to the foul scent, yet this was almost enough to knock him over. It was as if the whole city was bathed in it, its streets a river of blood and its walls painted the same. In that way, it wasn't too dissimilar to the towns left behind by Nova and her gang.

Perhaps it was her doing, or maybe it was a sign that Furvus had made quick work of the city upon arrival. Or maybe the Core had retaliated in Aiko's absence. His mind spun with the possibilities, and each one of them thickened the bitter taste of fear on his tongue.

He was an assassin. Why should he fear the sight of death?

Aiko's hand slid into his, her fingers curling tightly against him. When he looked at her, the flame in her eyes shrank back in fear, flickering dimly against the hazel of her eyes. She met his gaze and pressed her lips into a thin line. "We have to go inside," she whispered. "I have to get to the Core."

"I know," he said. With one last hesitating glance ahead, he swallowed hard and tugged her forward as he stepped up to the gate. "Stay close to me."

Her strength seemed to have somewhat returned as they grew closer to the city, but her hand still trembled against his. Whatever had been done to the Core while they were away still had its claws in her, and his heart ached to see her suffering. What hurt more, however, was the unknown that awaited them beyond the gates.

Together, they entered the city. What had once been a bustling entrance to the lively capital city of Niveus now lay in ruin. Blood pooled on the cobblestone streets; a crimson bed for the bodies to lay in. Townspeople and nobles alike lay dead in the streets. Among them were guards in Niveus's red and gold, as well as Furvus's blue and silver. Claw marks had torn through the bodies, marking every one of them with the painful truth. This was no weapon wielded by men.

"Mae," Aiko whispered, pressing against Felix's side. She stepped carefully away from a splatter of dried blood, covering her mouth.

"We don't know that," he muttered, though his stomach churned to think of what kind of monster it might have been if it wasn't her demon cat. "Why would Mae attack so many people?" He chose his steps purposefully, guiding her down a street with less horrific sights.

The abandoned marketplace sprawled out before them, still decorated with the banners for Aiko's coronation. Many had fallen from their perches, lying torn to shreds on the ground. Bits of glass littered the street, and the same deep gashes bit into the buildings that lined the street, as though Mae's rampage had been nothing but mindless destruction. Scorch marks blackened the street, trailing all the way down the path ahead of them.