I told you to come in the morning, SO YOU CAME AT THREE A FREAKING CLOCK. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS. I'm already thinking how. I'll let you live until I've taken over this damned kingdom, then you're dead.

"You're too harsh, Nocri."

"You're not pissed? I'm freaking tired."

"I want to sleep, but I don't think it's their fault for being here so early."

"Even so, I'm still angry. More so at that feline who made them come in the first place. I've always hated cats. Especially their eyes."

I'm starting. The faster I do this, the sooner I can sleep.

I woke up to Meralf staring at me from a distance. I got out of the blankets and stood up. He stood up as well, walking in my direction.

"Why were you staring at me?"

"I haven't anything better to do."

"Take a shower or something. You could've just looked somewhere else."

"I was waiting for you to get up," Meralf explained, his grin on his face.

"Why's that?"

"When are we going to destroy everything? The army's starting to starve."

"We can tomorrow. I need to find Svi."

"Why can't we tonight, then? You should be finished up with talking," Meralf complained, his stomach growling. It made me unsettled, as he clearly was craving flesh.

"I haven't seen her since I died. She IS my girlfriend."

I was getting annoyed with his questioning. Meralf could tell, giving out a larger smile.

"Call me out when ready. I'm giving this body back to Flarem."

Meralf closed his eyes, opening to the blues of Flarem. Strangely, the black blood returned after the transformation. His demons were still out before he changed over, only returning when he wasn't in control.

Flarem started looking around. He had a perplexed look on his face while he searched for answers.

"What's going on?"

"You gave Meralf control. We went to the tavern."

"Oh, yeah. After we pick pocketed. What's up?" Flarem said, appearing enlightened.

"I need to find Svi. Are you coming with me?"

"What else do you suppose I do?"

"Good point. Let's go."

I used my arm to motion our leaving. Flarem nodded, following me out the door.

"How will we find her?"

"The piece of paper has the address of the target. It mentions a lot of details about them as well."

"Are we going to stalk her target?" Flarem asked, looking uncomfortable.

"No. I'll just kill them. She's probably stalking as we speak if the target hasn't been killed yet."

"Why would we kill them?"

"It's sure to pull her out. Just follow along," I insisted. I knew she'd come out, as she'd try to kill me if I took her mark. She's killed other assassins for killing her targets.

"Fine."

"Also, when I tell you to, put the rings on, except for the ring of deft hands."

"Okay."

We walked through the busy stone walkways until reaching the address. The street the house was located on was surprisingly busy. The house itself was disheveled; the wood it was erected from, rotten. The windows had webs of spiders and dust.

"Would someone actually live here?"

"I've seen worse houses. I'm sure someone lives here," I replied, knowing the paper wasn't wrong. The instructions were rarely ever wrong.

"Why would anyone want someone who lives in these conditions to die?"

"It could be for anything. A slight offense, maybe. It could simply be because they live like this. Someone could hate how pathetic they are."

"Why would they do that?"

"This job isn't righteous. Neither are humans," I admitted, thinking back to all of the people I've slaughtered.

After I made my statement, Flarem stopped his questions.

"Put on the rings. Be careful."

Flarem nodded, slipping the rings on his fingers. He disappeared from my sight, but I could feel his breath.

"Follow me, but stay to the walls."

I carefully opened the door, slipping within. I accidentally hit my wings against the door, forgetting my size. I had to slightly adjust how I snuck around the house, used to doing this featherless.

I stuck to the sides of walls, looking for the target. It was a man in his forties. He had black hair and brown eyes; a foreigner. Brown eyes don't occur naturally in this kingdom.

While searching for the foreigner, I looked around the house. It was filthy, dust covering the floors. Other than muck, dust, and grime, not much existed. It was disgusting.

I looked around corners, searching for the man. While looking one of the bedrooms, I found him. He was lying in a bed, dying. His bones seemed like they were going to poke from the flesh at any second. The bed wasn't covered by anything, just being a mattress. Chains bound the man to the bed, preventing him from leaving. One of his eyes had a dagger in it, the eye separating to either side of the socket. Blood had leaked from the socket, drying on his face.

This was Svi's work. She has always acted like this. Half the time, it's a fast but excruciatingly painful and bloody death. This was the other half; torture and starvation. She's worse when it comes to foreigners, which explained the levels of dust. I thought she must've been giving him just enough food and water to live, causing him to suffer longer.

As I stared at the man, a cold blade ran through my neck. I turned around, shaking the blade from the killer's hands. The dagger was stuck in my neck, so I pulled it out. The wound closed up before I could look closely at the culprit.

It was dark, but I could still see her. She was in black jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. Her blond hair was tied in chains for a ponytail, falling to the center of her back. Her green eyes stared at me with bloodlust. Another dagger was in her hands, ready to strike. Small bottles of poison were strapped to her side. Another chain was wrapped around her waist.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she questioned. Her voice is calming for a murderer. It soothed me. It's a little deep for a woman's.

"Look closer."

Svi's eyes widened as she looked. She appeared as if she saw a ghost. She took a few steps back, putting a hand on her head. I had a slight smile on my face, as I was happy to see her.

"Nocri? Is that you?"

"Yes. How's the house doing?"

"You're buried in the backyard... You aren't Nocri. Who are you?" she claimed, looking extremely pissed and depressed at the same time. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

"You buried me? How'd you get the body? It should be in that dragon's lair."

"You're speaking weirdly. It's not your body. This is your body. You can't be Nocri."

She looked as if she was questioning everything. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Can't you hear my voice? I can show you my body if you'd like. How'd you get my corpse, though?"

"The dragon dropped it in the center of town as a warning. Your bones were snapped, and your skin was cold. I grabbed you and put you in the backyard."

"Are you accepting me as Nocri? You're saying it's my body now."

"No. I can't accept that. How would he be alive?"

She clenched the dagger in her hand, pouring poison on it.

"Hold on. Don't stab me again. It hurts."

"If you're Nocri, prove it."

"Remember when we first met? I ripped open that bastard's stomach, pulling the intestines from the body. You gouged both eyes and chopped off his tongue. We ended up making out while drenched in blood. I tasted the iron on my tongue," I recollected, smiling as I spoke.

"Can I test if it's you?"

"Sure."

Svi dropped her dagger on the ground, walking into my arms. I held her close, conjoining our mouths. I felt the scar she had on the roof of her mouth. Her eyes were closed, but tears streamed out. They dripped onto my chest, absorbing into the fabric. Her arms were straight down to her sides while I had mine around her body.

Her face moved from mine, but I stayed hugging her. I used one of my hands to wipe her tears, the water running down and between my fingers.

"How are you here? I thought you left me forever."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't think of you when I went to the dragon's den."

My eyes started to water up while I pulled her in close. She felt the droplets falling onto her cheeks with her palm, sobbing herself.

"Why didn't you take me with you? If you wanted to die, you should've brought me."

"I didn't want your life to end. I'm sorry for taking that job. I'm an idiot," I wept. My teeth were clenched, tears falling within and giving me a salty taste in my mouth.

"Am I an idiot for loving one? I've been trying to drown the pain in blood. It doesn't fill the void. You tore my heart out when you left."

"I didn't mean to cause you pain, just end mine."

"Don't leave me again."

"I won't. It was a mistake."

I held onto her, kissing once more. She put her arms around me, flinching when she felt near my back. She moved back, confused for what she felt.

"What did I touch?"

"Can we get out of here first? I'm renting a room at one of the inns."

"If you must. I'm killing this scum, first. I've left him alive long enough. His expression isn't entertaining anymore."

"Can I help?" I asked, cheering up.

"Of course."

She had a smile on her face, though her eyes were red and irritated. I wiped away my own tears. I missed her more than I had initially thought. I should've gone to get her when I first came to the world. I can't stop regretting.

The man started to gesticulate rapidly. He was in a panic, trying to escape. Tears were streaming from his good eye.

"Why isn't he speaking?"

"I hate when they beg," Svi growled, scowling at the man.

"I love you."

We kissed quickly, then looked at the man. We had grins on our faces. Svi had a bit of drool falling from her mouth. The man shook rapidly, unable to change his fate.

I didn't feel like taking out my dagger, so I used my hands. Svi enjoys using her dagger, so it's always used. She carved up his face, dragging the metal against his dark skin. I grabbed a handful of flesh in each of my hands. I pulled my hands apart, ripping apart the meat and exposing the ribcage. I pulled the skin off, throwing it on the ground. His heart was faintly beating.

I looked at his face, seeing a horrible mess. The good eye was now out of the socket. The corners of the mouth had been cut, making it open more. Teeth were rotting inside his mouth. His nose was chopped off, leaving a bloody, bone exposed stump.

"You can end this, Svi."

"Thanks."

Svi reached into his ribcage, ripping out his heart. She placed it over his face, the beating ending. She likes doing weird and cruel things to her victims. I've done a fair share, too.

Blood covered the two of us. It soaked my fingers, gore underneath my nails. She had blood in her blond hair, streaking it. It ran down her fingertips, gliding down her nails.

"You've always looked beautiful in red."

"You've always looked handsome."

We walked toward each other. Some of the hair came lose from her ponytail, falling into her face. I pushed it aside, spreading blood on her face. We kissed, iron strong on my tastebuds. It gave me nostalgia.

We ended our kiss, Svi walking away with me. I was almost out the door when I remembered Flarem had seen everything. I could tell he was behind us, footsteps left in the dust. I gave a slight signal to continue following. Svi looked directly at my hand as I gave the signal, facing me.

"Who's following us?"

"I didn't think he'd slip by you. He's a companion. I'll introduce him when we get back to the inn. For now, he'll stay with the rings. Let's leave this dusty house."

"Okay. I trust your decisions."

I stepped out of the house, the sun reflecting off my black hair. I looked at Svi, blushing now that I could see her clearly.

"We should travel in the shadows. We're covered in blood. We can wash off once we get back, Svi."

I looked at Svi, her eyes staring at my hair. She was madly annoyed.

"What did you do to your hair? I liked your dirty blond... You look paler, too. Are you eating properly?"

"It's part of my explanation. I'll clear this up. Don't worry, I'm eating. I'm not sick, either."

"Must you make me wait?" Svi whined, pouting at me. It was cute like a puppy.

"Yes. We can't be in public, and I didn't want to be in that house longer."

Svi gave me an understanding look, though it was slightly sad. We walked the back streets to the inn, traveling in shadow whenever anyone was near. We're both good at hiding in plain sight.

We snuck past the innkeeper, hiding away in my room. I opened the door long enough for Svi and Flarem to enter.

"Can you explain everything to me now?"