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"When the days are cold and the cards all fold"
Teren crouched on the roof of The Inquisition Axis’s headquarters, his cloak whipping in the wind. Below, malfettos mixed with the bustling humans, both oblivious to his gaze. He smiled, a hunter among sheep. Every life he took was redemption. Every scream, a hymn to the gods above. He was their salvation, even if they didn’t understand.
"And the saints we see are all made of gold"
Raffaele slipped through the crowd, his head bowed. The weight of his weapon was a familiar ache, a reminder of his purpose. He walked past the Axis, heart steady, but his beauty was his shield. They saw gold, never the cracks beneath. He was untouchable, or so they thought.
"When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail"
Queen Giulietta lounged on her throne, lips curling in disdain. Her husband’s promises were sweet lies, his devotion a tool. She loved the power she wielded over him and how easily she could twist him and their so-called ‘love’. Her dreams were no longer fragile, they were a noose, slowly tightening around his neck.
"Are the worst of all, and the blood's run stale"
Gemma sat on the floor of her room, watching her balira soar above her. Her wings whispered comfort, but she couldn’t ignore the ocean's pull anymore. She didn’t belong to Gemma, she never had, she just followed her. Tears stung her eyes. Gemma wrapped her arms around herself. “Not yet,” she whispered. “I can’t let you go. Not yet.”
"I wanna hide the truth, I wanna shelter you"
Violetta squeezed her eyes shut, hands clamped over her ears as her father’s shouts echoed through the house. For once, he wasn’t yelling or hurting Adelina, and relief flooded her. She couldn’t keep protecting both of them forever.
"But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide"
Adelina’s fists clenched as her father berated the staff again. She burned to fight him, to end his cruelty. It wasn’t their fault he was drowning in debt. At least, she thought, it wasn’t Violetta this time.
"No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed"
Magiano grinned as he darted through the streets, the stolen goods jingling in his bag. The Inquisition wouldn’t catch him, not today, not ever. He wasn’t just a thief. He was a legend, a star that vanished into the night.
"This is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come"
Enzo slumped into his chair, frustration clawing at him. There were no new leads, no victories for the Dagger Society. The news was full of powerless malfettos, those he wouldn’t save; he was the prince of the elites, not them.
"When you feel my heat, look into my eyes"
Lucent sat on her bed, staring at the blank page in her hands. She should write to Maeve, explain it all, Tristan’s death, her regrets, but what could she say? "I’m sorry" wouldn’t fix it. It was far too late.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Maeve ran her fingers through her tiger’s white fur, her focus sharp on the notes spread before her. Tristan’s salvation was near, she could feel it. The tiger rumbled softly, but Maeve didn’t waver. Nothing would stop her now, she was so close to having her brother again.
"Don't get too close, it's dark inside"
Adelina winced as her father stormed away, leaving her finger bent and throbbing. She bit her lip trying to stay silent. Violetta crept to her side, wrapping her arms around her. No words were exchanged from the two sisters, but none were needed.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Teren wandered through the nameless town, his cloak dragging behind him. He marked malfettos’ homes with steady hands, ignoring the frightened stares of humans. Soon, all the malfettos would be gone. If the gods were willing, he’d purge of his sins, and the world of their sins, allowing it to go back to what it once was.
"At the curtain's call, it's the last of all"
Leo sat silently, shivering as his sister paced around him, her words tumbling over themselves to soothe him, but it wasn’t working. The cold of Beldain bit into his bones, making him feel sick. It was better here for malfettos, but that didn’t mean he belonged there any more than in Kenettra.
"When the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl"
Raffaele traced the bruises on his skin, his reflection was quiet and the only witness to his pain. Enzo couldn’t see him like this, not now. He ignored the concern in Dante’s, Sergio’s, and Gemma’s eyes earlier, they didn’t see the bruises but they knew something was wrong. Weakness wasn’t an option for Raffaele, rubbing some ointment on them.
"So they dug your grave and the masquerade"
Queen Giulietta pressed Teren against her chamber’s wall, her lips on his neck, her smile sharp against his skin, her hands in his hair, her nails sharp against his scalp. He was a tool, just like her king, but he was so much more fun to wield and use. He was so much easier to bed to her will, all he needed was attention, and then he was like a dog to a bone, he followed her everywhere. The chaos they made together was intoxicating, and she loved every second.
"Will come calling out at the mess you've made"
Lucent stood at the edge of the Dagger’s roof, her blood fever marks on her arm seemed to glow faintly in the dying light. Her eyes closed, and the world quieted around her. She stepped forward, surrendering to the abyss below, but she focused on her power right before she hit the stone ground.
"Don't wanna let you down, but I am hell-bound"
Maeve entered the locked room, the guards parting without a word, as she used her key. She knelt beside Tristan in the dim light. He was a shadow of himself, broken and silent. “I’ll fix this,” she whispered, her voice laced with desperation.
"Though this is all for you, don't wanna hide the truth"
Violetta gazed at their garden, a rare smile gracing her face. Adelina sat beside her, calm for once. The two of them were barely ever outside and they were enjoying it. In this fleeting moment of peace, Violetta vowed to hold on to and protect her older sister’s innocence and happiness for as long as she could.
"No matter what we breed, we still are made of greed"
Enzo clenched his fists, his patience wearing thin. Gemma, Dante, and Lucent were always full of plans that never seemed to be well thought out. Raffaele’s soft-spoken advice grated on him, he was always waiting for something that he never shared with Enzo. He couldn’t help but wonder, what if he had just run away with Daphne?
"This is my kingdom come, this is my kingdom come"
Sergio paced, his steps uneven as the storm inside him brewed. He couldn’t lose control, not now. If he unleashed his power and created a storm, the Dagger Society would exile him just like everyone else did. He had nowhere left to go, and no one else to turn to; he would need to run away to another country and hide.
"When you feel my heat, look into my eyes"
Enzo’s glare bore into Raffaele, daring him to flinch. But Raffaele stood firm, unyielding. Anger boiled within Enzo, why did he protect those who hurt him when they paid to love him? Without a word, Enzo stormed out, slamming the door, leaving the tension burning and crackling in his wake.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Michel stared through the bakery window, his focus sharp. With a flicker of concentration, the loaf vanished from the counter and appeared in his hand. Smirking, he slipped it into his bag and disappeared into the shadows. He didn’t know how long it had been since he last ate actual food.
"Don't get too close, it's dark inside"
Dante’s frustration simmered beneath the surface as he walked the hallways of the Dagger’s current hideout. Raffaele was absent again, sleeping around with whoever would give him a coin. Enzo’s schemes for the crown grew reckless because of this, and the weight of their chaos pressed on Dante and the other members of the Daggers He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to stop his leader from doing something unforgivable.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Queen Giulietta strolled through the castle’s dim corridors. Her parents were long dead, her husband dull and useless in bed, and her brother gone. In his place stood a malfetto, a sin. Some of her people would say it was a twisted reminder of everything she had given for her crown, but for her, it was just another person she would need to kill, and she didn’t mind killing someone.
"They say it's what you make, I say it's up to fate"
Magiano woke with a start, his heart racing. The Girl of Mensah haunted his dreams, her one radiant smile as they talked and joked, turning to a piercing scream, as they held her down and killed her like an animal. If only he’d left with her sooner, maybe she’d still be alive and with him.
"It's woven in my soul, I need to let you go"
Raffaele moved silently through the Dagger’s hideout. The hallway was quiet, and heavy because of the fellow Daggers’ burdens. He stopped when he saw Enzo slumped asleep outside his door. Sighing, he gently helped the former crown prince back into his room with a soft smile.
"Your eyes, they shine so bright, I wanna save that light”
Violetta rifled through her chest, searching for something simple, something inconspicuous. When the time came to escape with Adelina, she needed to be ready, but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on, every day was draining her more and more.
"I can't escape this now, unless you show me how"
Adelina stood in front of the mirror, brushing her white hair away while letting strands fall over her scar, hiding it from her sight. Her reflection stared back, it was fragile, and angry. She wanted to run away, but who would ever help a cursed malfetto like her?
"When you feel my heat, look into my eyes"
Gemma grinned as an eagle perched on her shoulder, regal and steady. Raffaele shook his head, unimpressed, while Dante, Lucent, and Sergio gaped. Enzo smirked, leaning forward in his seat ready to explain his newest plan to the Dagger Society and set it into motion.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Adelina froze, her father’s voice cutting through the room like a blade. Something clawed inside her, desperate to be unleashed and attack the person in front of her, but she stayed still, her eyes on the floor. Nearby, Violetta sat on the stairs with her eyes shut and hands covering her ears, retreating into silence.
"Don't get too close, it's dark inside"
Enzo smirked as the plan solidified in his mind. It was perfect, calculated, and ruthless. The Daggers could pull it off: the king, the queen, and the nuisance in her bed would fall to his fire, and Enzo would rise as a rightful king but not of humans but of the malfettos, the elites.
"It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide"
Teren stared out of his window, the knife cold in his hand. His hatred burned, a fire stoked by the existence of malfettos and the love that his queen gave him. "The malfettos don't deserve this world," he muttered, his voice shaking with conviction. Pressing the blade to his arm, he hissed through clenched teeth, "I will cleanse this land, even if it costs me everything.”
— An Old Folk Song