The familiar creak of the string drawing back filled the air. The seconds slowly ticked by as his mind replayed the scene he had seen many times before—only this time, he was standing beside the target, and when the bolt struck her and killed her, there would be no satisfaction to wash over him. Fear sank its frigid claws into his chest, numb beneath the surface of his blank.

Shortly afterward, the snap of the bolt shooting out from the arrow track filled the air.

"Get down!"

Before he could fully process what he was doing, Felix tossed himself between Aiko and the bolt heading straight toward her. The sharp tip embedded itself in his shoulder, pushing straight through to the other side. Pain tore through his arm like fire and he ground out a hiss as he stumbled forward. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision, but he managed to steady himself. Gritting his teeth, he took Aiko's hand and broke into a sprint once again.

Sixty seconds. There were sixty seconds before the raven-haired girl could reload and shoot a second time. From the way she cursed behind them, her boots slamming against the cobblestone as she leapt down from whatever ledge she had perched herself on, the frustration of missing had put a chink in her pride. To her, the real game began if she missed.

There wasn't time to stop. The wound wasn't serious—and even if it was, he couldn't find it in him to care. His mind was a buzz of adrenaline and nothing else. There was no room to think anymore.

Aiko squeezed his hand. This time, the pace of her steps matched his. "Thanks," she said. "I owe you one now, right?"

A strained grin found its way to his face. "Please don't throw yourself between me and any sort of sharp thing."

She didn't laugh, and although it was right, he almost wished she would. The sound would have eased the pounding of his heart and the thrum of anxiety in his veins, but he couldn't blame her. The agony tearing through his shoulder with each movement was nothing to laugh about, and neither was the shrill whistle that sounded from behind them—a sound that mimicked the cry of a bird. He had heard it time and time again when he worked with the girl and her gang. He knew what followed.

His shoulder throbbed painfully each time his movement shifted the bolt lodged in his skin. Blood dripped from his fingers as his arm hung limp at his side.

It was nothing to laugh at, and yet, he felt the urge to. His throat tightened and the instinct sat on the tip of his tongue.

Oh, how the tables have turned.

The worn path that zig-zagged out to the hole in the inner wall came into view as exhaustion began to pull at Felix's limbs. Darkness seemed to press harder against him, thicker and more difficult to see through. A figure moved across the corner of his vision, but he had no time to react through the haze of adrenaline before his wounded arm was clamped firmly beneath a strong hand. He bit down a yelp as the figure wrestled him to the ground. The same rough, calloused hand grabbed him by the hair and pulled up, holding him as a knife landed against his throat. His vision flickered and the world swayed; it took a heartbeat for everything to settle.

Another man had grabbed hold of Aiko, twisting her arm and pinning it against her back. She cried out and struggled, but the man didn't so much as budge. She was as tiny and fragile as a bird, caught in the jaws of a wolf.

"Aiko," he gasped. The knife dug into his neck, warning him not to speak.

She met his gaze and held it firmly. Her hazel eyes burned with that brilliant flame of her soul, strong and resilient despite the hands that pinned her down. It was comforting, yet it seemed to be a desperate attempt to bury her fear.

The moment was shattered as the raven-haired girl stepped through the hedges, her crossbow in hand, having been successfully reloaded with a second bolt. She strode forward, oozing pride with each step she took that brought her closer to Aiko. Once at her side, she knelt and lifted Aiko's chin, turning her head to the side. Stray curls slid free from Aiko's bun, framing her face in a wild fray of mahogany locks.

"So, this is what all the fuss is about?" The raven-haired girl scoffed and released Aiko. "I'm not sure I follow, but a job is a job, I suppose."

"It's only a matter of time before you're discovered," Aiko spat, her glare morphing into a sneer. "I will have your heads for the crimes you've committed against me tonight."

The raven-haired girl tsk, shaking her head as she came and stood by Felix. She threaded her fingers through his hair and slid her other hand beneath his chin, cupping his head in her hands. "Easy now, Your Highness. It's best not to throw out such empty threats while the life of your pet is in my hands. If you cooperate, perhaps I can strike a deal and you'll be able to get out of here with your life."

A shiver traced its way down Felix's spine. Biting his tongue, he searched for Aiko's gaze again and shook his head firmly. There were no deals to be made. The raven-haired girl played this game with every target she didn't kill in the first shot. She offered them the chance to walk away, only to shoot them properly the moment they turned their back on her. It was her way of shaking off the frustration that came with failure.

Nova the Perfectionist, they called her. In truth, she was simply another monster with blood-stained fingers, which she used to cradle that precious crossbow of hers. In Furvus, she was second only to Felix and his former master, and the knowledge of that left her seething.

She yanked his head back firmly, forcing him to bite back a groan of pain at the strain in his neck as well as the bite of the blade against it. "Wait your turn," she hissed. "There's a special place in hell for people like you."

He ran his tongue over his lips, letting out a dry laugh. "What, you didn't like that I left your guild? You had to build your reputation without my name, what a shame."

"You were a deadbeat anyway. Too mechanical: you did what you were told and never showed any sort of emotion about it." Her nails dug into his scalp. Her voice dipped into a malicious, wicked sneer, coated in venom as she added, "Nice to see you finally screwed something up."

"Leave him alone," Aiko cut in. Her voice was steady and firm, edged with anger and a hint of that coldness she had shown him back in the Ember Core room. "You came here for me, right? Let him go."

Clicking her tongue against her teeth, Nova released Felix and rose to her feet. The velvety black of her cloak landed at her knees, deep and dark like the night that surrounded them in its thick embrace. "I like to do things a little differently, you see. Have to keep my men entertained somehow."

A round of laughter rolled through the group of men that surrounded them. Felix counted five voices, though it was getting harder to tell with each moment that passed. The steady flow of blood trickling from the wound in his shoulder was rapidly sapping his strength away—Nova seemed to know it, too. If she could kill both the target and the traitor who had sided with it, her reward would most likely double.

"If you didn't know, the kingdom of Furvus is quite pissed at Felix here. He was given one shot to make things right and, unfortunately, he missed." Nova shook her head, feigning hurt as she lifted her crossbow. Her steely gray eyes glanced down at him, brimming with anger and amusement. "I think our client would understand if you were willing to trade his life for yours. An eye for an eye and all that."

This time, Felix's burly guard held his head firmly to keep him from shaking it. The knife sank into his flesh, drawing fresh blood and leaving behind a cold sting. It didn't stop him from shooting a pleading gaze Aiko's way.

No, he tried to say. It's not true. Dinah wants you dead more than anything else. Regardless of what you decide, we'll both be killed unless we can get out of here.

"So," Nova prompted, her voice edging into a smile. "What will you decide, Your Highness?"

Aiko was no fool, nor was she a pawn. She drew herself upright and lifted her head high. In the dark, her eyes seemed to glow with a warm light. "Actually, it's Your Majesty, but I'm willing to overlook that for now if you could answer a simple question for me."

"Of course."

At her side, her arms shifted as she tried to twist them free. A sly smile lifted the corners of her lips—the same mocking one she always wore when she turned to the mask of Cinere. "Have you ever heard of the Ember Core?"

The moment the words left her lips, a flame sparked in her hands. The man holding her leapt back with a scream, dropping her as he fumbled away. Fire licked at his hands, crawling up his arms as it devoured his flesh. It illuminated a golden sash across his chest, pinned with Niveus's emblem of the sun, before it quickly swallowed that too. His cries cut off as his body was consumed by the heat, set completely ablaze in amber flames. He fell limp at her feet and breathed his last in a choked gasp. Aiko rose steadily from the ground, as poised and innocent as if nothing had happened.

Nova edged away from her, as did the other three men. The knife at Felix's throat dropped, but the hand in his hair gripped tighter.

"Stay back!" the man with the knife hissed, pointing the blade at Aiko. "Or I'll cut his throat."

"It's just like we were told," another gruff voice chimed in, more muted than the knife-man. "She truly is cursed."

Aiko raised her un-cuffed hand, a cruel smile twisting her face. "The Core is displeased with your presence here, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't treat my wounded friend as a bargaining chip." With that said, she snapped her fingers.

Mae leapt out from behind her, cloaked in blue flames and bearing the form of the demon cat. He lunged straight for one of the men, throwing him to the ground and sinking his fangs into his throat. The man never got a chance to scream before death claimed him. Scarlet blood pooled on the broken cobblestone, seeping into the dirt through the cracks.

As the others scrambled away, pulling Nova with them, Aiko rushed to Felix's side. Exhaustion dragged him down and, with nothing to support him as his attacker fled, he collapsed into her arms. She hauled him to his feet, looping his uninjured arm around her shoulders to steady him. The scene blurred into a meaningless jumble of shouts and searing pain in his neck and shoulder. Nova's whistle filled the air once more, mingling with the screams of her men as Mae wrestled each one into death's sweet embrace. It was all a blur in which Felix could only cling to the warmth of Aiko's hand clamped around his wrist. She was tiny, barely supporting him as he stumbled after her, and yet she never uttered a complaint.

The twang of a second bolt being fired followed shortly afterward. It sliced Aiko's cheek, tearing a curse from her lips, but she didn't stop moving.

The world fell silent. Risking a glance back, Felix found that the hole had been sealed shut, with only a faint wisp of blue lingering around it to signal that it had once been there at all. His breath snagged in his throat as he clamped his jaw shut.

Together, he and Aiko escaped the palace of Niveus, leaving Mae behind to deal with the destruction they left in their wake.

And with that, Act I has come to a close! I have to say, this chapter was rough for me because I wrote it over several days in short, sporadic blips. I usually sit down and try to write in long chunks, but I just couldn't do it for this chapter for a couple of reasons. I hope it brings out that angst feeling anyway :D

How are we feeling so far? Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Stabs?? I don't know what to expect, but I thought now would be a good time to check in.

Before we move on, however, I did want to note that Ashes to Ashes will be going on a short break (about 2-3 weeks) while I prep Act II and settle some life stuff. I fully expect to be good to go by the end of the break period, but I didn't want to start posting and then have to stop in the middle of the act. I figured now was a better time for a break xD I appreciate your patience with this delay!

Thanks for reading! See y'all in Act II ;)