Dust to Dust | ✓

2 || Mother and Master

Despite his anxiousness to talk, Felix said nothing as he and Aiko made their way back to the room where she awoke. His silence was eerie, as was his single-minded focus on walking. One step after another, a determined, clipped dance with no free rhythm. At his sides, his fists constantly clenched and unclenched. Anxiety formed a tight knot in Aiko's stomach.

"I'm sorry about those men," he finally said as they turned into the east wing, startling her. He took her hand in his and spared her a quick glance. "When the castle and city fell, it became easy prey for thieves and other unsavory types. I've been keeping them away as best I can, but there's only so much ground I can cover by myself. I was focusing on keeping everyone away from this wing of the castle. From..." He trailed off, but the look in his eyes said all she needed to know. From you.

"It's okay, really." Aiko offered him a reassuring smile and squeezed his hand. The rough, calloused skin of his palm scraped against hers, but she didn't mind. She treasured the warmth and the comfort of his hold. "I guess the barrier went down with the Core?"

"It did."

Aiko paused as they passed a missing chunk of wall. Beyond, she could see the remains of Crocea. Blackened scars blanketed the face of what had once been her proud city. Now, it was a ghost of its former self. This was the curse, as the court advisors called it: the destruction caused by the Core at her failure to keep it under control. Her throat tightened and she turned away. "How widespread is the damage?"

"More than enough," Felix muttered. "We can't stay here. That's what I need to talk to you about." He paused. Then, with a sigh, he added, "I'm sorry, Aiko."

"It's okay." She lost count of the number of times those words had fallen from her lips; it was almost mechanical now, drawn forth before her mind had fully processed what she was responding to. "It's not your fault."

"Except that it is." Felix jerked to a stop, pulling her with him. His brow furrowed, glaring at the ground for a heartbeat before he lifted his head to meet her gaze. Frustration and anger swirled in the depths of his emerald eyes, as deep and drowning as a lush forest. "I brought Dinah here. I wasn't able to stop her. I used the Core's unstable magic to kill her when I should have done it with my own hands. Maybe then it wouldn't have discharged." Helplessly, he shook his head, raking his fingers through his tangled brown hair. "All of this is because of me. I should have stayed away from you."

"Felix," Aiko murmured. Hesitantly, slowly, she brushed her fingers across his cheek, cupping his face in her hand. He leaned into the touch with a heavy sigh. She skimmed her thumb across the curve of his cheekbones—her heart twisting at how prevalent they had become. "Please don't blame yourself. The Core was always going to explode if I... I couldn't cut myself free, and I couldn't. My time ran out. It's not your fault."

"Dinah," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. He laid his hand against hers, curling his fingers around her palm. "She said... she said she was my mother."

"What?" Aiko jerked, her forehead crashing against his. Pain tore through her skull and she pulled back with a hiss. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I need to sit down before I hear the rest of this."

"No, I'm sorry. I needed to—" He rubbed his forehead with a grimace. "Maybe you should try headbutting people in a fight. Seems effective to me."

She laughed. A dull throb lingered in her forehead and she pressed the heel of her hand to it. "As a last resort, maybe."

An inkling of a smile pulled at the corners of his lips, but it quickly rescinded as quickly as it had come. His eyes darkened once more and he turned without another word. Accepting that the moment was gone, she dropped her hand and followed him. Bitterness bloomed inside her—thorns that choked her as they made their way up to her throat. It's meaning escaped her, rooted in nothing that she could draw up.