𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𖥸 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨

01 | Eye of the Dullest Fires

♥︎ — EDITED — ♥︎

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They said that every storm ran out of rain at some point.

     Pythios didn't believe that. In his eyes, some storms never ceased, like a hurricane over an island, gaining strength from the water around it as it devastated the land it hovered over.

     He couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. What was he? A dog? Clearly that was what he had been reduced to. Nothing but a common mutt waiting for orders from his master.

     About two days prior, he had brought the names of the suspects who were supposedly rumored to be fueling a rebellion, half expecting them to be taken down by Luca. He was their assassin and the one who did all the dirty work after all.

     But instead Asteria herself had come along and brought the entire court with her. Now he had to either stand watch for three hours or participate in the murder of countless citizens. He had never enjoyed getting his hands stained with blood.

     In fact, Pythios couldn’t help but wonder why of all days Asteria decided to monitor Luca’s progress today. Why did she have to choose his break of all days? There was nothing more he wanted than a long rest at this point.

     Apparently, sleep was for the "weak".

     Plus, being a member of the queen's court, he hardly ever got the chance to lay down and sleep for a little bit. He stayed up all night with the other members of the court, guarding his Queen because she didn't trust the guards as far as she could split them. Earlier that day, she had gotten one executed because she suspected he poisoned her food.

     Maybe, if she were bloodsworn to the guards as well, he could get some sleep.

     “Pythios, could you hand me that dagger please?” Luca requested, snapping the spy out of his thoughts as he turned to look at him with a furrowed brow.

     “What dagger?” He had asked stupidly, gaining several looks in return.

     “The one that is in your hand,” Answered the obnoxious seventeen year old who had only become sworn of the Queen because she was family to him. “Are you okay? You seem distracted.”

     The response he had said in return made him sound stupider. “Fine. Perfectly fine. Just thinking

     As if he were sensing the tension, Gabriel cut in to speak upon the matters at hand. “How many citizens are left on the list?”

     Pythios took a moment to unfold the parchment, flicking his tongue in a serpent-like fashion as he read off the remaining names. “So about thirteen I guess.”

     Luca groaned loudly in irritation and stumbled back dramatically, earning a half-glare from Ciaran who shoved him away. “Watch where you’re going, and thirteen isn’t that much. If we all put effort into this, we can leave early.” The comment was obviously directed to Gabriel who hadn’t done any of the slaughtering yet.

    A roll of eyes was all he got in return as Gabriel shoved his heavily scarred hands into his pockets. “You know how I feel about killing the innocent. These people have probably done nothing. Besides, someone has to watch the queen.”

     Pythios’s emerald green eyes flickered over to the queen, furrowing a brow as he watched the woman stand a good pace away and observe the citizens passing by. They obviously didn’t recognize her since she was dressed in a hood and commoner’s clothing. It was for her safety after all.