Ashes to Ashes | ✓

9.2 || The Ember Core

"Well then..." Cinere spun on her heel to face a large portrait situated in a blank section of the wall. No tables or trinkets were set out in front of it, and the gold frame had no plaque. The painting depicted a middle-aged man, cloaked in deep red and gold. A simple crown was placed on his head; the emblem of the sun was carved into the flat surface of the front of it. He stood in the painting, staring calmly ahead. Unlike Aiko, his skin was pale and his hair was raven black.

A different family, Felix told himself. Another family ruled before Aiko's.

Cinere slipped her ring from her pointer finger. Her hand slid along the rim of the frame, her lips pursed in a frown. She stopped at the bottom right-hand corner and inserted the ring into a round dip in the frame. The round, flat top of the ring slid in perfectly with a click. Cinere turned the ring until a lock clicked behind the frame.

The portrait swung open like a door, revealing yet another secret staircase, only this one led down, deeper into the castle. Felix chuckled a little to himself as he turned to Cinere.

"How many secret stairways do you have in this palace?" he asked. It was partially personal curiosity, and partially his assassin's intuition. Furvus's castle had many hidden passageways and an entire underground collection of tunnels, designed to protect the royal family as they attempted to escape from the palace should it fall under attack.

Slipping her ring back on her finger, Cinere shrugged. A slight smile curled the corners of her lips. "This is the last one you'll be forced to see, I promise."

"I hope so. I have a fear of stairs, you know."

"If that were true, why would you invite me to dance with you in the place of your fear?" Her hazel eyes glittered with laughter, furthering that childlike innocence of her blank.

His heart fluttered at the memory. It was only a few minutes ago, and yet it felt like an eternity had passed. The warmth of her hand in his, the lightness in his steps as he spun around her, the feeling of being momentarily free when he was with her. His gaze fell on her bracelet clinging tightly to his wrist, and his breath hitched. "I don't know. Perhaps I... let myself slip a little bit."

Cinere glanced away, twisting her ring. Once again, the slight flush had crept into her cheeks. "Well... let's get back on track. To the Core?"

"To the Core."

Taking in a deep breath, she descended the stairs first. The shadows quickly swallowed her figure as she stepped down into the darkness; the familiar tap of her shoes against the stone returned once again to guide him. He waited a handful of seconds before venturing in after her.

A steady flow of warmth greeted him the moment he stepped into the passage; it was reminiscent of the heat that radiated off the fire in the hearth. In the winter, his master would sit beside the fire while he wrote. Felix would kneel by the fire, staring into the flames, entranced by the flickering dance. The warmth that lingered in the passageway, growing thicker the farther down he went, carried the same nostalgic feeling as his memories. It was pleasant and safe.

Yet he found himself shrinking back from it. Each step became more of a chore. His legs grew heavy, and his chest ached painfully. When he stared down the length of the stairs, past Cinere toward the exit, the air shimmered with the haze of magic.

It wasn't long before the staircase opened up in a large, stone room. As if it was left unfinished, the floor was made of packed dirt and sand. It scraped the soles of his shoes as he stepped down from the last stone step. The walls rose up high enough that the ceiling was concealed in shadows.