CASSIAN

The streets of Eldorium bear a blue-haze, one that beckons the march of death. A strange winter, as if the world is freezing over for the final time. As if it's all coming to an end. The glacial early morning air grasps at my exposed skin, turning my breath into hot mist before me. The metal thump of the royal guards' boots follow close behind me, tramping through the dirtied paths of the town square.

Most of the houses are closed, quiet and locked with the likes of sleep. A few villagers wander about in the early wake of the morning, starting their errands. They glance at us nervously, behind their matted shawls and cloaks. They scurry off into the corners, the dark alleyways. My heart wrings itself out - where Azael would lurk. His place beside me is empty, and it's been days now.

Days.

I haven't been without him before. I don't know how to be. And he's not dead, I know it. If he's not dead, and he's gone, then did he choose to leave me? Perhaps it would be easier on my heart if he was dead. But even I know that no one is capable of killing my shadow.

"They're supposed to be hidin' out in Remus' barn," one of the generals tells me, suddenly by my side.

I stare ahead at the barn, straws of hay falling from the unsealed windows. Its wide, tall wooden door closed with a sense of heaviness, like they're protecting something. It's quieter than everything else, even though the other buildings make no noise.

I wonder if he's hiding there. With the rebels. But why would he?

"Have six of our men station themselves at the back of the barn, making sure no stragglers attempt to escape from any other exit. The rest of us will go in through the front," I instruct, drawing my sword, the metallic hiss slicing through the slumbered silence of the village.

They don't even know what's coming.

Some of the soldiers head towards the back, their boots quiet against the ground now, and their silver drawn to be stained crimson.

The general looks at me, his thick brows furrowed. "And what will we do if they're in there, sire?"

My heart strings tighten like a vice in my chest. Azael didn't want the rebels to die, and I still don't know why. But it's too late, it's too late. He's gone.

"Kill them," I command. "All of them."

The soldiers form ahead, smashing the metal lock with steel. The doors burst and break open. Screams fill the town center, and the barn turns into a slaughterhouse.