Cutting Connections

[Mari]

Amari sat with her back pressed against the worn wooden rails of a rickety cart, its destination, the Inner Sanctum. The collar of her black leather coat was lifted high to warm her neck against the cold. Her eyes furrowed in concern, as they focused on her hands, which were sprawled out before her. Amari wriggled her fingers which appeared to be stained an inky black, as though she had ran her fingers through the river of death.

“The hell is wrong with me….” She muttered as she brought them closer together, and linked her fingers. How long had it been since she had seen her Master? A week? Two? She was definitely overdue for a check in, that generally warranted some form of punishment, it made Amari nervous. She wasn’t often nervous around her Master, his emotional, or lack thereof persona didn’t bother her, nor did his mood swings, or his penchant for death. So why was she so apprehensive now? Was it because of Shinsou?

The cart drew to a slow halt, jolting Amari from her thoughts. “Right Miss, yer home.” The dwarf drew his arm across a bulbous nose. “Tell the Master next shipment O’ iron will be ‘ere in a few days.”

Amari stood and pushed herself off and over the edge of the cart, her feet landing in the thick snow. “Sure thing. Boaris.”

Amari turned to walk toward the large hall but was stopped by the gruff warning of the dwarf. “Aye, Red, he’s been mood lately.” The warning was meant to be nothing more than a friendly caution, but it did little to put Amari at ease.

“Great.” She muttered, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Just fuckin’ perfect.” Amari lifted her feet and trudged toward the large wooden mess hall. The sun had just fallen below the horizon, which generally meant it’d be full of the members eating and drinking and fighting. But, as Amari approached she couldn’t help but notice how unusually quiet the hall was.

Amari pushed open the doors and there, at the head of the table, sitting in an ivory throne of human bone and skull, sat a very unimpressed Lichensith Ulroke.

“Scarlett.” He said, his voice a stoic drawl, “So nice of you to grace me with your presence.”

Amari shrugged off the jacket and tossed it onto the table as she approached him, she unhooked a small pouch of 100 gold coins and shoved it on the table in front of him. Boaris was wrong, he wasn’t just moody, he was pissed.

“I suppose we have a lot to discuss, no?”

[Lye]

The winter chill stilled the empty halls. The long hearth in the center of the grand all remained black and absent of glowing embers. Even the sconces upon the walls sat motionless in the shadows. Tufts of fogged breath escaped over the knuckles of Lye’s fist as it propped his chin upon it. Even the washed green of his blind eye seemed to stare daggers across the length of the room. The moved from the spilled bag of coins back up to Amari.

“What is this?” he asked bitterly.

“Not a lot, honestly, 100 gold I was given by - “ She paused and cleared her throat, she knew he wouldn’t like the answer. “I inadvertently helped the people of Ettermire with some breathing problem they had. Noel - one of my men had family there.” She held up her hand, showing her blackened fingers to him before he could say anything. “I also procured a Crystal Sword, the Crystal Sword of the Snake. Noel should have already bought it to you yes?”

He moved his hand from his face and leaned forward in his seat with a look of interest.

“No,” Lye replied. “He hasn’t.”

The assassin lifted himself from his throne and maneuvered around the empty table toward Amari.

“What happened to your hands?” he inquired, eyes focused intently on the blackened skin.

Amari glanced down at them, she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. “That....that can wait.” She muttered. She rose her eyes, now containing more crimson shards than the last time he had seen her. “Noel didn’t? Fuckin’ hell…” She pushed her fringe back, and quickly explained the origin of the sword and how she had been swallowed by a basilisk to retrieve it. “It’s said to have some form of magical attributes, but having it appraised, I found it was worth very little. Still, definitely something odd about the ancient artifact.” Amari sighed. “I did it for you, yanno.”

“I see,” he returned dryly. “I haven’t seen Noel for months. He hasn’t brought back your relic.” Lye stood closer to Amari, threateningly so. “Despite your story, you’ve been gone far longer than expected and now…” He grabbed her wrist firmly and raised it up. “Now, this.”

His hand let her free. “I had you followed,” he stated. “Advencia tells me you’ve been seen with quite a few different people. We lost track of you for a great long while after another one of your portal jumping friends pulled you off to Thaynes know where.” His tone lowered. “Care to explain?”

[Mari]

Amari lowered her head, he had sent Advencia after her? Did he trust her that little? Everything Amari did, was fuelled by her desire to better the Crimson Hand and to drag its name out of the mud. She felt a pang of hurt knowing he didn’t reciprocate that same trust. A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“Explain?” She asked, refusing to lift her head. “I’ll do you one better.” With a small twitch of her lithe frame four large tentacles extended from her body. They whipped wildly about behind her casting the immediate area in an angry red glow. The wooden table beside her creaked and groaned with rot and decay. Amari lifted her gaze to meet his, shadows danced across her pale, cracked facial features. “This…” She rose her hands to show him the extent of the black cracks across her body. “Is presumed to be the bastardisation of my soul, theorised to be caused by acting in direct violation of my being's existence.”

The assassin took a step backward. Her display defied expectation, yet instead of fear, his eyes brightened like a child receiving a gift. The exposed skin on his arms prickled and rose at the sight.

Amari continued, “That’s why I have been away so long. I’m searching for the exact idea of what the fuck I am, I have a name.” The tentacles flickered and dulled before fading away. “I am an Ar’Tuel.” She hadn’t planned on telling him so soon, but she wasn’t entirely sure how he’d react, and she needed to address his concerns one by one.

“Ar’Tuel,” Lye repeated in an effort to commit it to memory. “Is that what took you so long? How did you come to learn this?”

“Someone found me, someone who claimed to be of the same race.” Amari furrowed her brows as she thought of Lucifer. “He had my birthmark. He knew my name. My old name.” Amari shook her head, “That….that doesn’t matter.” She quickly waved the thought away.

“I was in a library, trying to find any reference to it. There, I met a very haughty woman. High and mighty, was rightly pissed you had never mentioned her to me before.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Philomel.” Was Amari’s short reply.

[Lye]

Lye’s nose scrunched at the name. Less than fond memories swelled up in his mind about her vile drink and her independent sect of boat faring whores.

“I know of her,” Lye stated with obvious disdain. “She’s entitled, sloppy, and totes around some feral earth spirit in the form of a fox. We’ve lost contact for some time. I’m uncertain as to whether or not she’s a liability to the hand.”

Lye shook the look of disgust from his face.

“So,” he continued. “What is an Ar’Tuel?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. I didn’t get very far in the library, Shinsou showed up and-” Amari’s strong demeanor seemed to shrink, she lowered her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Distractions…” She mumbled.

The assassin’s jade eyes became slits both at the name and her change of tone. He heard the name before, in reports, of this Shinsou and his band of colleagues.

“So you had a run in with the Brotherhood.” Lye’s hand became a fist atop the table. “And something happened between you and him, didn’t it?”

“S-something like- I…” Amari shook her head pressing a hand to her temple. Tears began to dot her eyes. It was clear the mention of Shinsou was greatly bothering her. “I...I don’t….I mean….there was a kiss but that’s….” She trailed off and bit her lower lip. “I don’t understand what I am feeling.”

“Sure you do,” Lye growled. “You miss him don’t you?”


“I don’t know.”

“So you mean to tell me that while I spent weeks tracking you down, you were busy fornicating with a potential threat to the hand?” His voice became threatening, eyes fierce and angry.

“N-No!” Amari replied, looking up at him with glistening eyes. “I was in his company less than a day! I went off after that to kill a mark YOU had given the hand! Then..then this fuckin….” She shook her head, “Vincent just ...with his stupid portals and...Ugh...why do you even care!” Amari retorted.

“I see you have forgotten,” Lye hissed. He snapped his fingers which echoed eerily in the dark, hallowed halls. “You are suppose to claim your place over the L’Olfsden estate, overthrow the other dukedoms, and seize political power in Salvar. I sent you on one mission. One. To test your ability to carry out command.”

From the darkened corner of the room, the musical sound of chains scraped across the smooth marble floors. The shadow of a figure, small and curvaceous emerged into view. Familiar lifeless eyes pierced through the dimly lit hallway and a demonic tail rest limply between exposed thighs. Between bare bosoms, a mark that only Amari would recognize was carved into the pale skin.

“When you become a liability, I don’t show any mercy in putting you in your place. You know this.”

[Mari]

Amari stood still eyes focused on Advencia, the sight only added to the turbulent emotions that were swirling within Amari. “Why the hell is she chained!?” Amari hissed, she pointed to the mark that plagued her nightmares. “WHY?” She screamed at him, her eyes flashed crimson, “WHY DID YOU PUT THAT MARK ON HER? She’s one of your MOST LOYAL fucking people!”

“Was,” Lye corrected. “The only reason I know where you were to a point was because she sent a kill squad after you. To take you out of the picture the moment you became a liability. Instead, she lost track of you.”

Advencia shambled beside Lye, her hands folded over her groin. She stood quietly, like a marionette upon strings. Lye’s gloved hand palmed the back of her skull and he shoved the succubus toward Amari.

“She acted out of line and instead of righting her wrongs, she spouted some nonsense about feelings as if I owed her a debt of gratitude. Go on. I know you two didn’t get along. That’s not a problem anymore. See for yourself.”

Amari shot him a glare. “It’s a tad hard to keep track of someone when some fuckin’ Tarot member throws me to the damn farthest corners of Althanas.” Amari grasped the shackles and pulled Advencia toward her. No one deserved the treatment that Advencia had received, she believed in earnest that the mark of absolute control was unnecessary. “This isn’t on, Master Ulroke.” Amari pressed her hand against the insidious mark, her hand flashed golden as she healed the wound, knowing it would release the demoness from the complete control of Lye. “I’m sorry.” Amari whispered to Advencia, “I’ll deal with this, hate me later.”

Amari then stepped between the two. “You want punishment, fuckin go ahead, but punish the right person.” Amari pointed toward his room, “let me give you all the answers you seek - then whatever damn judgement you bestow, I’ll accept. Deal?”

Lye bared his teeth at her defiance as the flicker of light found Advencia’s eyes. Her body collapsed at Amari’s feet with head hung low, shaking off the drunken daze of Lamont’s magic sigil.


“Th-thank you,” She stuttered in a weak, shaken voice. Her tiny hands clung to Amari’s ankles like a scared child. Her body recoiled into a ball, and she shook either from cold or fear. Amari ran a hand absently through Advencia’s hair, her eyes on her master.

“I’ve taken it out on her. I’m satiated. Besides, what am I going to do to you? Kill you?” Lye spat on Advencia. “Maybe next time you’ll think before you defy me, demon filth.”

Amari stepped over Advencia, shaking the shivering succubus from her legs. Amari wasn’t sure what she wanted to do more, slap him in the face, or the balls. He was being completely out of line, even by his standards. Amari took a deep breath and walked past him toward his room. “I’ll be waiting, once you’re done showboating come get your answers.” She muttered as she quickly strode to his room and sat upon the bed.

Amari shook with emotion, taking slow, deep breaths. She had to get a handle on her emotions and she only had seconds before Ulroke would come.

[Lye]

Amari’s defiant attitude only threw fuel on the fire. As she walked away, he glared at Advencia as she weakly reached toward Amari. His boot pinned her hand to the floor and his vice grip snagged a handful of hair.

“I hope you learned something,” he hissed. “Next time you try to kill her or wrong me, I’ll keep you imprisoned until you shrivel and die.”

With a slap, she fell to the ground. Advencia let out a soft whimper of pain as Lye pivoted on her hand toward his room and left the small succubus to the cold darkness of the main hall. When Lye entered his quarters, he slammed the door behind him. In here, the radiant warmth of the hearth lapped against his hardened features.

“What was that?” he roared, pointing toward the grand hall. “Now you’re stepping against me?”

Amari sat on the side of the bed, her body tense. “I don’t believe that mark should ever be used.” She met his gaze with her own. “I’d follow you to my death, but I will not see that mark used on a comrade.” She took a deep breath, and repeated herself. “Did you want to know everything, or not?”

“It’s quite useful,” Lye seethed. “Despite me knowing first hand how it feels.” He fondly recalled Amari carving it into his own flesh no more than hours after a debilitating fight with Elthas. The lack of vision in his left eye proved a constant reminder.

“I want all of the details,” Lye continued. “Enough time has been wasted.”

“I know a fast, efficient way.” Amari said as she pushed herself off the bed and breached the gap between them. She reached out and placed her fingers against his temples, and before he had the chance to push her away he was reliving key moments through her eyes.

He saw flashes of memories… he saw how Philomel and Shinsou cornered Amari. He felt the confusion and heartache she felt when she found out he was not after her head, but only wished for her wellbeing.

Lye was forced to feel the heated moment when Shinsou kissed her, and again, her confusion. Lye felt Amari’s loyalty waver, only slightly. As Amari longed to see Ulroke, he felt it. He knew her resolve and drive to continue to find out what she was, and to better the Crimson Hand.


Lye even felt the pain of being digested alive as Amari pulled the crystal sword from the basilisks gullet. He felt her pride for the Crimson Hand as she gushed about how he’d react. He noticed the sour look on Noel’s face as Amari spoke fondly of him.

Amari had brutally slain a child in cold blood and Lye saw first hand how hard she had fought against Vincent. He felt her frustration and desperation as she tried to reason with him before being thrown into Dheathain. She had wandered the continent, finding an odd cave of crystals which made her nauseous.

Unwittingly, Amari even shared with him her feelings right before turning up at the Inner Sanctum, turbulent feelings of longing and desire, mixed with the unknown element of Shinsou, and even then, the desire to see Lichensith Ulroke smile in earnest.

Amari broke away suddenly, sweat dripping from her forehead. “Fuck…” She swore, forgetting how much it had taken out of her, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. The assassin held his head, mind throbbing with the overload of sensory data. He staggered to the opposite side of the bed and leaned against the empty onyx basin.

“I believe,” he managed with a groan. “I believe an apology is in order.”

[Mari]

Amari decided to rest by the dying flames of the hearth, too sore and tired to move. She removed her black cotton shirt, which was damp with sweat. “I’m sorry.” She muttered, “but it was the best way to give you all the information you needed. This way you know I have not mislead you.” She paused as she rubbed her aching arms, she was shaking from the aftermath of her ability. It brought up memories and emotions she wished she didn’t have to relive. “There were things I’d rather you have not seen, but it’s a difficult to control ability.” Amari mumbled as she wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her head into the sheepskin rug. She blinked back tears, wishing she could shake the heavy feeling of heartache that had set in.

“Shinsou.” The name fell from Lye’s lips with a punctuated purpose. “Do I need to kill him?”

Amari lifted her head in alarm, “What? Why? No. No you don’t.” She wrapped her arms around her torso. “Why? Are you worried he is a threat to the Crimson Hand?”

Lye shook his head. Efforts to try and rattle the complexity of her own emotions as if they were his own had little effect. He righted himself and pushed off his temporary seat.

“He seems to be at the heart of the problem.” The assassin knelt in front of Amari and held out a hand. “That, and Vincent.”

Amari pressed her form back into the rug as she hugged herself tighter, ignoring his outstretched hand. “Vincent can die for all I care.” She muttered. “Smug bastard.”

Amari hugged herself tighter. “Master. Her voice was small. “My ability….” The tendrils slowly lifted from her curved back with an angry hiss and the tell tale red glow of her corruption. “People say I should not be like this, that this...ability, it’s only going to cause my own downfall.” There was a pause in her words as her voice wavered, “but I’m so much stronger this way...I don’t - I don’t know what to do. People say such vile things about you. I wanted to prove them wrong.”

“They said the same about mine.” His voice spoke softly. “And maybe they’re right. I’m still trying to prove them wrong. It’s why I need you. Why I need your help.”

Those words seemed to cause a stir within Amari. This...this was the Ulroke she liked, the one she admired, she adored, and wanted to see more of. So why? Why was the resurgence of it causing her pain now? Advencia...she had admitted her own admiration and feelings to him, and look where she ended up. Amari knew she had some sort of feelings for the silver haired demon, but she wasn’t sure what they were. Shinsou made things more complicated. Once again the tentacles flickered and dimmed out of existence as Amari sat up.

“You -” Her eyes were bloodshot from tears. “You were so furious hours ago, how are you able to kneel there now, so calm and stoic?” Her head tilted to the side and strands of crimson fell in front of her shattered eyes. “You always have my help...But I need yours...Would you take away my emotions?”

[Lye]

“You’re surprised?” he asked her. “After that, I can imagine most would be a blithering mess. At least I know the truth. Your defiance still goes unpunished but I can see you’re doing that to yourself.”

His offered hand fell slack and he stood.

“And I can’t help you.” The statement was finite, with the faintness of empathy. “Even if I were to make you a puppet like Lamont, you would still feel. And you would resent me for it.”

“Like you resent everyone and thing around you?” She had wiped her face and pushed herself to her feet. Her question was pointed, but spoken with curiosity. “If you feel I should be punished do it.”

“I told you that if it were warranted, I would.” He gestured to the grand hall. “Her’s was warranted. Yours… You were a victim. Besides, my ire is a product of years of betrayal. It might only be a matter of time before that betrayal comes from you.”

“Did you learn nothing from what I showed you?” Amari asked as she took off the remainder of her clothes, leaving herself in her floral undergarments, she padded over to the far side of the bed.

“If you could see through my eyes, you’d understand my apprehension.” Lye watched as she fished under her pillow till she pulled out a plush nightgown. Amari took off the last of her attire, and pulled on her sleepwear.

“Did you want to call Noel here so you can inspect the sword?” she asked.

“No, I’ll leave that to you. I find Noel useless to me,” he replied.

She still seemed shaken up about something, she avoided his gaze and was busying herself with the menial task of smoothing out the wrinkles on the bed cover. “Anything else you needed from me Lye?” She finally rose her eyes up to meet his as she asked, her hair disheveled and her stance completely unguarded. Amari was, despite whatever was going on inside her, comfortable here.

“Master,” he corrected. Just then, the faint scrape of metal on metal sounded from the door. At first, it drew the assassin’s attention. Then, it happened again and again in a sorry rhythm. He turned to Amari, arms folded.

“Seeing as how you released her, what would you have me do with Advencia?” His gaze watched for her reply, studying it carefully.

Amari responded without hesitation. “Take off her binds, let her resume her duties under close watch. If you need, place her under my ranks, I’ll get Noel to keep a watchful eye on her. Despite what you feel, she’s an asset to the hand, no?”

The flare of disgust writhed on Lye’s lips before he made for the door. It opened outwardly and as the groan of iron filled the air, so too did the scrape of chains along the ground. Collapsed on the ground and wedged half against the door, Advencia reached her bloodied hand to his boot.

“Get up,” he ordered.

“I-I can’t…” Quivered her voice, frail and vulnerable. “S-so hungry…”

Lye scoffed at the remark. She stood moments ago under Lamont’s mark. He knew she possessed enough strength to stand. At least her body did. Lye knelt down beside her and with a key he produced from his side pocket, he unlocked the thick iron shackles from her neck, arms, and legs one by one.

“You can stand,” Lye growled as he removed the last of her bindings. “I saw you do it before Scarlet graciously set you free. Now, get out of here.”

Lye stood and tossed Advencia’s chains into the onyx basin within his quarters. As he loomed over her, the succubus reached for the door and tried to use its banding for leverage. Thin fingers slipped from the ridges and slapped to the ground. Her head hung and she tried again. Lye shook his head before reaching down and lifting Advencia by her wrist. Her head bobbed and fell slack like the rest of her body.

“I could carve that mark into you again,’ he stated before turning to Amari with a narrowed gaze. “But you would only undo it.”

“P-please,” whimpered the succubus.

Lye drew in a deep breath. Amari made a valid point. Despite her transgressions, Advencia served amicably and with high success. To let her wither away into nothing would be a waste. Regardless, he knew she’d never be the same.

“Fine,” Lye stated. “You keep an eye on her. Until I feel she can listen to orders correctly, she’s under your watch. Not Noel’s.”

Lye brought the demoness to the bed and hefted her into a crumpled mess at Amari’s feet.

[Mari]

Advencia slowly wrapped her nude form around Amari’s feet, whimpering she pressed her forehead into Amari’s upper leg. “P-please...not a-again…” She muttered weakly.

Amari wasn’t sure what to do at this point, with a demoness at her feet, and her Master watching her every movement. Every action had some form of discourse with the man. No matter what anyone did, he never seemed to be satisfied. Amari lowered her gaze to Advencia. “I won’t be placing such a mark on you.” She reassured, ruffling a hand through golden curled locks.

“So that’s it? She’s my problem now?” Amari asked.

“I don’t want to deal with her. So yes.” Lye muttered dryly, his eyes focused on Amari’s actions, assessing her words and reactions.

“Right, well...Advencia.” Amari kneeled to the demoness. “You’re feeding off me now, aren’t you? Through skin to skin contact?” Amari didn’t mind, but she had to be certain, and she had to, as much as she hated it, instil some form of authority over the girl. “Don’t you think it rude to do that without asking?”

Advencia whimpered and clambered off of Amari, “S-sorry...I’m...I’m so hungry…”

The broken demonesses actions tugged at Amari, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Advencia and reassure her that it would be fine, but she couldn’t. Instead Amari reached out and placed a delicate finger underneath Advencia’s chin and rose her face so Amari could stare into her eyes. “Ask.” Amari commanded.

“P..please...Scarlet can I?”

“Who?”

Advencia whimpered, “Please M-Mistress…c-can I? J-just a small kiss? A t-touch...please?”

Amari inwardly flinched at the title, she felt uncomfortable with Advencia using it, the exchange was difficult, and Amari wondered how it must appear to Lye. “Better.” Amari said as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Advencia’s.

To Amari, she felt nothing more than a tingle, the sensation of pins and needles. For Advencia, it was like fire, an eruption of heat that exploded and flowed into her, one that she so sorely needed and desired. Advencia pushed forward in an attempt to pry Amari’s lips open, Amari pushed her back, drawing away from the contact.

“Enough.”

Advencia’s cheeks were flushed, “B-but I want more.”

“If you want more, you have the strength to bed all the men you want. I’ll even escort you there myself.”

“You...will?” Her tail flicked back and forth with interest, like a curious cat.

“You seem fine enough to escort yourself,” Lye chided to Advencia. He threw her a sheet of cloth and pointed toward the door. Something didn’t settle right with him and it showed subtly in his expression. He expected more conflict. The lack of it worried him.

Advencia pouted as she picked up the cloth and wrapped it around herself. Instead of listening to Lye she turned her eyes to Amari and waited for her answer.

Amari gave Advencia a quizzical look. “What?”

Advencia shuffled awkwardly on the floor, her voice small. “I-what do you want me to do?”

Amari blinked, surprised. “Uh…” She shot Lye that same confused look before glancing back to Advencia. “Go feed on some men and head back to your quarters?”

Advencia gave Amari the slightest of smiles before standing and heading out the door, it clicked lightly behind her.

[Lye]

The assassin watched as the nude succubus left them in solitude. His face wretched in disapproval, but he sighed a sense of relief. He then turned his attentions back to Amari.

“Mistress?” he asked.

“I wasn’t exactly expecting that either, I was expecting her to call me by insult, or Red, certainly not Mistress.”

“Likely an effort to upset me,” Lye added with a scowl. His eyes narrowed on Amari. Her odd form of kindness garnered the affections of Lye’s men quicker than his iron fist. To him, it showed weakness, but was it? The assassin noted to watch Amari more closely. The possibility of her becoming a liability still weighed heavily at the back of his mind.

“We never finished discussing this Shinsou,” he added to change the subject. “He’s in your head, and that’s a problem.”

Amari shifted uncomfortably beneath the bed covers, she knew her next words would anger him, but she wanted to be truthful, regardless of the consequences “You asked me earlier, if I missed him. I said I didn’t know. That’s only half true. I do miss him, I mean - I did. I loved him, I think a part of me still does, but there is nothing there. He is as he always was, cold and aloof. I don’t need to waste my time on that. I don’t need to waste my time on such emotions.” She kept her gaze lowered to the bed. “I’m just going to steel myself from such foolish notions as romance, it’s a waste. A distraction.” Her words wavered despite her deposition it was clear she was still hurting.


Hearing her talk of him felt like watching the dying embers of a one mighty blaze. From the woman he fought and broke for seven days, she grew in power but not resolve. Her advert gaze and curled posture spoke volumes of the battle within. If her forced memories were any indication of her true feelings, Amari struggled to shed this man’s influence.

“So we kill him,” Lye stated finitely. “We have no room for distractions.”

Her head lowered and her hands gripped the furs that covered his bed tightly, he could hear the heartache in her small voice. The crushing sound of a defeat steeped in a drowning loneliness that resounded in her shattered, glistening eyes. “As you wish, Master.”

“Or…” he droned on. “Do you think Shinsou might support our cause? If you can convince him, then we can spare his life and you can pursue…” His hand gestured to her entirety. “Whatever it is you feel for him.”

Amari slowly shook her head, “I very much doubt that, he’s as stubborn as you.” Amari glanced up at Lye and offered him a half hearted smile. “My feelings are a moot point, I’ll get over him, I’m already on the way there. Maybe I just need a good hard wake up call.” She joked half heartedly.

“Think on it,” Lye stated. He moved toward the door. “I’ll give you some time to reflect. If you decide to cut your ties, we’ll make the first trip out to pay him a visit. Afterwards, we need to get you in position before the dukes take over your family’s estate.”

“Wait.” Amari crawled out from under the covers in an attempt to stop him from leaving. She was, in this state, broken and fluid. Her heart ached for something to fill a void that had been created. “Stay.” She said. “Please?” She asked.

The assassin’s hand fell from the door, body rigid as he turned back to her. Given the events of today, he truly questioned her loyalty despite seeing her memories and intent. With a brief hesitation, he walked back to the bedside.

“As you wish.” He brushed her hair from her cheek with a light graze of his hand. “In the morning then, we’ll have your answer.”

Amari pressed her cheek into his touch, she went as far as to boldly climb into his lap so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders. Her cheek grazed against his and he felt the cool, wet touch of her tears. “Thank you.” She breathed.

“Shh,” Lye hushed as he ran his hand through her hair. “I’m here.” As Amari wept into his collar, Lye’s stoic expression broke into a wry grin. Whoever this Shinsou was, he had made it easier to entangle Amari in the assassin's grasp.