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The room was deadly silent as Guinevere and Viago stood over the body of their previous head of the house. A mix of the Talon’s and her own blood covered Guinevere. Toppled furniture and shattered décor littered the room.
Everything felt numb.
Guinevere had expected some kind of sick joy or catharsis at having the head of House De Riva dead at their feet. That they would feel some kind of relief. Instead, there was nothing. She thought that was almost worse.
“We need to get you out of here,” Viago said. “I will have the room cleaned and take care of the body, but you can’t be seen like this.”
He moved towards the door, but stopped when they didn’t follow. Viago turned back and grabbed their arm, dragging them to the door. He told them to take their boots off and she complied, holding them against her chest as he pushed them into the hall.
He shoved her forward, past portraits and curtained windows. Viago’s head was on a swivel as they moved through the house, listening for anyone approaching them. Guinevere moved where directed, stumbling along. She had never felt the carpet of the house beneath her feet. It felt like such an odd thing to fixate on, but she could feel the texture through her stockings.
“We will burn your clothes and cover this up. I can call in some favours to put you away from here and we will move you around the south for a while. We can find jobs for you down there to make it look less suspicious. We should wait at least a month. Perhaps after the funeral,” Viago said. His voice was low as he pushed them up the stairs. He stopped outside his bathroom and pushed them inside. “Hand your clothes out when you’re undressed. I will clean up his study and recreate any ruined documents.”
“Viago,” Guinevere said, voice cracked and raw. Had she been crying? Her face was wet. “Why are you doing this?”
He was still for a long moment. The pair stared at each other, silent as the grave.
“You’re a valuable asset. I won’t cast you aside,” he finally said, looking away. “Go get cleaned up.”
Guinevere stepped into the room and stripped off their bloody clothes. They handed their clothes out to Viago before turning on the water, filling the tub. They sank into the water, scrubbing the blood from their skin and hair. Viago would figure it out, he would protect her.
And that bastard would never hurt them again.