1001 Sins | ✔

covina trium

The House of Bones bear the sigil of a stallion bleeding red with three women kneeling before it and cupping red blood to their lips, mystery shrouds the most elite house of the Cassipan empire and many say that the tale of the stallion is a real one and the quote that upholds the house is one that is equally as frightening as the sigil — power must change hands.

Tonight, the killer that prowls the hallways is determined to carry out the prophecy. He walks with a dripping knife in hand, and he thinks of his victim, shuddering her last breath with a look of awe frozen on her face.

If he is being honest to himself, he did not understand the look on her face but then he supposes that death itself inspires awe, or maybe it was his face alone, his identity that made her look that way. After all, he is beautiful.

The House of Earth bear the sigil of a wild boar atop a mountain and they are the most ferocious house in the empire, known for bearing the most powerful war commandants. The quote that upholds the house is as strong as the sigil itself — to fight unto death.

Tonight, the killer that prowls the hallways is determined to uphold that quote. And when he enters the room of his next victim, she is sitting by the fireplace, a thick blanket bearing the House of Flame's sigil is draped over her shoulders with pride, Faye is every bit the queen she was born to be but tonight, she is no match for the killer.

She looks up when he enters, but she is not surprised.

He sheathes his bleeding knife and tucks it in his belt, he moves as gracefully and silently as a cat to stand behind her.

Faye flinches when his lithe fingers touch the nape of her neck and wanders to her shoulders, she shivers at his touch but she says nothing.

"You seem tense, my love." He murmurs in her ears.

She relaxes against his hold, but still she says nothing. Trust is a funny thing, the killer thinks. He has known Faye for years, but she does not know that she will die by his hands tonight and if he told her, she would laugh it off.

It makes her death all the more pitiful, because there will be no glory in it.

A thousand and one years ago, the Cassipan empire was found by the most powerful ones, consisting of a coven of three witches, from them others came, but they remained the kings, the emperors. For the first time in one thousand and one years, the coven are handing over their power to three witches from the empire; three who have proven their worth in the past hundred years, three who will be kings by morning.

The killer knows he will not be part of the three, he does not even want to be one of them, power is corrupt, power fizzles, no one is greater than power. But he is, and he will chose who will be kings, out of all seventy houses in The Cassipan Empire, the coven of three will chose three who will ascend them by morning.

The killer will not let them choose, he will do so himself by slaughtering sixty seven and leaving three who will be kings, sixty seven lives shall be his and he has all night to do as he pleases.

The coven are not a discrete bunch, they have made it clear who they favour — Atticus of the House of Furies, Kore of the House of Oceans and Oreva of the House of Wisdom — all of them from minor houses. The killer thinks of it as injustice, only the biggest shall rule, only the ones he chooses shall rule and he will rule over them.

The killer looks back at Faye, she does not flinch when he pulls out his knife, meeting her pale blue eyes and caressing her dark skin with his free hand. He hands her the knife and he nods.

She knows what she has to do.

Minutes later, when he steps back into the hallways, Faye lies dead at the feet of the her bed, throat slit open by her own hands, they make it too easy for him. His blood hums, seeking a challenge and when his eyes scan around, there is none for him.