"The ravenous fire that crackled in your souls was one and the same, stoked by repressed fear and the overwhelming desire to survive in a world that only valued material power."
In their desperate battle to survive the harsh aristocracy, the desire...
Hyunjin made his way out of the cellar with an armful of firewood for his burner. He was sorely out of place, it was obvious in the wary glances that passing palace staff threw his way, but he couldn't risk ordering a servant to run the errand for him instead. He was yet to dispose of all his blooming creations.
All the palace's overground grandeur was a product of the work being done in the underground chambers. Food and resources were stored underground, alongside rooms for laundry, tailoring, and tapestrying. It was also where low-ranking staff found their sleeping quarters.
Though, beneath the bustle of workers, the underground chambers served darker purposes.
Hyunjin's steps faltered by a door wide open in a secluded area of the tunnels. No staff were in sight. He must've wandered there accidentally while trying to avoid drawing attention to himself.
The room was scarcely lit and barely a quarter the size of his bedchamber. Inside, three guards dragged a bound, blindfolded, and bruised man across a square of dark stone where an Azārāhi stood waiting, Kizāri gleaming in the lamplight. A human girl, Hyunjin noted before his gaze strayed to the side and his eyes widened in surprise.
The Ērmār was watching them, draped in shadow beside a figure he couldn't identify in the darkness.
The guards kicked the man to his knees, and he succumbed to gravity like a rag doll. A whimper left his bloodied lips, dying in the grim walls of the room. Unease trickled into Hyunjin's heart at the sight. He should leave, he knew, but his feet were frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the scene before him.
The guards had barely loosened their hold on the man when the Azārāhi unsheathed her Kizāri, a familiar swiftness to the motion, and raised it high. Before Hyunjin could realize what was happening, she brought it down in one great swoop, slicing through the man's exposed neck unhesitatingly.
Any sound he would've made was suffocated by the scream of wind.
Blood smattered the ground, a crimson crescent around the Azārāhi.
The man's head rolled on the stone.
Too late did Hyunjin realize the room he'd stumbled upon. His hand flew to his mouth, physically suppressing a gasp as his gaze snapped to the ground underneath him. That was an executioner's square. He had just witnessed an execution.
Breath stilled in his lungs like invisible pebbles that obstructed his airways. Death's grisly fingers ran across his spine, crooked nails leaving their unwanted marks on his skin. He couldn't move. He couldn't blink. His horror was a bottomless pit that suddenly revealed itself under him, and he was falling, hurtling, with nothing to stop him.
The sound of muted steps cut through the haze of his panic, followed by the Ērmār's taut voice. "Sapphirine are becoming foolish."
Hyunjin's ears perked at her statement, both intrigued and chilled. What had conspired between the two houses that he didn't know of?
"To even think of assassinating a head of one of our branch houses... They call for a war they cannot win," she spat, then, after a beat of tense silence, she said, "Leave us."
Hyunjin dared to raise his gaze then, just in time to see the Azārāhi sheath her bloodied weapon and turn around.
Your gaze slammed into him like a boulder.
No... The thought wriggled in his mind uncomfortably, bitter and broken with disbelief. What is she doing here? Why—
Your expression was blank, as if you weren't in that dim room but some foreign entity had inhibited your body instead. Even though you were looking at him, it felt as though you were staring at something far ahead of you. Something that wasn't quite there.
The firewood in Hyunjin's arm felt heavy and weightless all at once. He wanted to crumble and disappear. He wanted to run and outrun the sight that burned itself into his memory.
You killed a man — he saw you do it — and you seemed to care not.
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