---
The air was thick with incense and intrigue. In the heart of the throne hall, Queen Adana reclined on her silver-veined seat, her fingers coiling around a goblet of darkwine, her posture relaxed—but only a fool would mistake it for comfort.
"Four days," she murmured. "And still no body."
Around her, the court buzzed like a nest of well-fed vipers. Generals, high priests, and council lords traded glances, each wondering if they'd be next in line should the throne falter.
Lord Halrix stepped forward, gauntleted hands behind his back. "We found scorched earth and splintered bones, Your Majesty. It's likely the princess burned with the others. A clean end."
Adana swirled her wine, watching it spiral like blood.
"And yet," she said softly, "reports from Birthmere speak of a pale woman with eyes like winter and a tongue like a whip. Wounded. Unregistered. Traveling under false names."
The court stilled. That did not sound like just anyone.
"But," she added with a cold smile, "this stranger had dark hair."
Xander stepped forward, his voice calm. "Hair can be dyed."
Adana's gaze snapped to him.
"So can loyalty," she replied.
Levi's hand subtly moved in front of his brother, protective. "You're chasing ghosts, Mother."
"No," she said. "I'm hunting one."
Silence hung heavy—until she tossed the goblet aside, wine splashing onto the marble like spilled blood.
"If my dear stepdaughter thinks a new face makes her safe, she's forgotten who taught her to lie."
---
The cloaked figure stepped closer, boots silent on scorched stone. The ash stirred in their wake.
Laraine staggered upright, bloodflame flickering at her fingertips—burning low now, more ember than blaze. Her vision blurred at the edges, her knees trembling, but she held her ground.
"Who—" she rasped. "Who are you?"
The hood lowered.
And Laraine's breath froze.
Vienna.
Cold, elegant, and lethal. Her silver eyes glinted beneath the moonlight like steel drawn too quickly from a sheath. A long blade rested at her hip, her black assassin's garb unmarred by ash or blood. Her expression was unreadable.
Laraine's heart lurched.
The voice that had haunted her final moments… stood in front of her now.
Alive.
And unaware.
Vienna tilted her head. "You're not from around here, are you?"
Laraine swallowed thickly. "I could say the same."
Vienna's eyes flicked over her—hooded, blood-spattered, cloaked in shadow. Her gaze narrowed.
Too pale.
Too quiet.
Too… familiar.
But she said nothing. Instead, she gestured behind her with a jerk of her head.
"Looking for someone?"
Laraine's breath hitched. "The girl I came with. Elise."
Vienna stepped aside, revealing Elise unconscious—propped awkwardly against the side of the broken wagon. A dart lodged in her neck.
"She'll wake. Eventually." Her tone was clinical, almost bored.
Laraine flinched forward a step. "You attacked her?"
Vienna shrugged. "She was in the way."
'Just like before,' Laraine thought bitterly. Her throat tightened.
{Oh, this is delicious.} Vi's voice cooed, far too pleased with itself. {She doesn't recognize you. I could cry. I won't, but I could.}
Laraine clenched her fists. "Why are you here?"
Vienna met her gaze. "Official business."
"And knocking out villagers is standard protocol?"
"No," Vienna said softly, "but neither is dragging cursed fire through the middle of a plague-ridden village."
The accusation hit like ice.
Vienna took another step forward, eyes locked onto the fading flame coiling around Laraine's wrists.
"You're not a local," she said again, more certain now. "And that magic… doesn't belong to any school I know."
"I could say the same about your hospitality," Laraine snapped, voice cracking. She kept her hood low. "I didn't ask for trouble."
Vienna's lips curled in a faint, mirthless smile. "You look like it follows you anyway."
Laraine flinched—but she didn't drop her gaze.
'You killed me,' she wanted to scream.
But not like this.
Not yet.
Vienna stared a moment longer. Then turned. "Stay out of trouble. Birthmere doesn't need more fire."
She vanished into the fog, her cloak trailing like smoke.
---
Laraine dropped beside Elise, checking her pulse.
Steady.
Vi's voice slithered back into her thoughts.
{So. That was fun.}
'Shut up.'
{I mean it. That's the assassin who stuck a dagger in your gut, correct? Wow. The tension. The betrayal. The sexual repression. Just wow.}
'I said shut up.'
{Do you think she'll still want to kiss you when she finds out who you are?}
Laraine didn't answer.
She couldn't.
All she could do was sit beside the girl she'd barely saved—and tremble from the weight of the girl who hadn't recognized her.
But Laraine wasn't the same girl she'd been.
Not anymore.
Let Vienna wonder.
Let her stare into her own reflection one day—and see the monster she helped create.
---
[QUEST COMPLETE: SOMETHING STIRS IN BIRTHMERE]
• EXP +150
• Skill Unlocked: Bloodflame Surge Lv.1
• Trait Unlocked: Fear Resistance (Basic)
• Elise Affection +3
• Vienna Suspicion +5
'You're annoying'
{And you're still useless~}
---