Aurelius just stood there in shock, the feeling of crying clawing at his mind, but his eyes were unable to muster a single tear. The golden one just looked back at him with disgust that he concealed as soon as he turned to his partner.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice gentler than he remembered.

The golden one smiled at her as he moved his mouth. Aurelius couldn't hear anything. He wasn't even making any sound. Still, she smiled back at him as he wrapped an arm around her as they walked away.

"No," Aurelius whispered under his breath. He gritted his teeth and reached out a hand to the pair that made their way away from him. But they couldn't, right? They couldn't just abandon him in the filth. But as he tried to reach them, the firm, white fingers of the hands of the dead pulled him back. He wrangled, trying to break their grips but they pulled him down as he watched the pair leave him to his misery. "Don't leave me!" he roared, but his voice ran out.

Then fingers wrapped around his face. They covered everything except a single eye that was left to watch the golden one. He had never been so full of emotion, and his emotion was single. An unbridled, absolute hate. "I hate you. I hate you! I HATE YOU! IHATEYOU! IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!" His screams were muffled by the hands that covered his mouth, but he screamed until the words became just noise, and didn't stop until it devoured him and he became death.

***

He woke up, his body twitching with violence. In an instant, he found himself holding Amadeus against the foot of his bed. Amadeus put his hands up quickly but struggled to get a word out. Aurelius let go in shock and withdrew backward.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, I—" Amadeus apologized while Aurelius was unable to think. "Are... you okay?"

Aurelius ran his hands over his face, shaking his head as he steadied his breathing. "Get out," he said quietly. Amadeus didn't seem to hear, so he repeated it louder, "Get out!" Too loud. Amadeus flinched and scampered out of the carriage.

Aurelius sighed and rubbed his eyes as his expression twisted in pain.

***

Morning had come and everyone was already out, sitting on stones, sharing breakfast when Aurelius made his way out, adjusting his gloves before cracking his neck. He walked over to the group of four, stone-faced and talked about the only thing he wanted to talk about. "I hear we're going to be in the capital by evening," he said as he glanced around before looking at the coachman.

"Yes, sir," the old coachman said with a firm nod. "It has been a pleasure working for you. If you ever need my services again, I am yours."

"I see," Aurelius said with a light nod in return and turned to upbeat Damian who seemed to have grown closer with the others in the past few days. "When will we launch the operation?"

"As soon as we get there," Damian responded promptly with a confident smile. "I'll gather some information on the sight first. Then we just scout the personnel and figure out an opening to get Amadeus inside."

"Good. The deadline is one month and two weeks by now," Aurelius updated. He had trouble perceiving that he had been in Arkryk for almost a year. It had felt like ten. "Do you suspect problems?"

"No problems," Damian confirmed.

"We're going to get that fucker Oprheus in a few weeks and we'll be on our merry way," Amadeus said with a snort, putting his hands on his head and looking up at the turquoise morning sky.

Aurelius glanced at the coachman and his son. They seemed uncomfortable with the idea of a man like Orpheus being killed. He might've been scum, but his death would be felt nationwide. Still, it was for the best.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Aurelius sat down on a stone in between Amadeus and the coachman's son. He thought to apologize to Amadeus for earlier, however, the boy seemed entirely over it already. He wasn't sure hoe to deal with that.

"Would you like some rye bread?" the coachman's son asked, his voice shaking slightly. It was the first time he talked to him. "Here. It's really hard, but that's not a problem, right?" He smiled as he handed the piece over to him, reaching out.

Aurelius took it with a nod. He enhanced his jaw instinctively as he bit into it and the bread crumbled like it was made of thin glass.

The young man laughed out loud with wide eyes and looked at his father who shook his head with a mix of amusement and embarrassment. "I usually have to rip..." he babbled something Aurelius didn't really follow. Then he turned to watch Aurelius intensely. "Is it true that you could've ran to the capital faster than our horses?"

"Mmm," Aurelius sounded as he ate. "It would've taken me maybe two days if I ran."

"What?! Then how come you travel by carriage?"

"Companions," Aurelius said, pointing to Amadeus and Damian. "I need them."

The young man leaned back in thought. "What about Cade? Is she your companion, too?"

Everyone froze, including Aurelius. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Ah, they just... it was mentioned. And..." The young man's words faded as he looked around, especially at his father who seemed frightened at what door had been opened.

"You mumble in your sleep," Amadeus said, a little tense himself.

Aurelius started to understand the situation better.

"I'm sorry. My son is a fanatic and doesn't understand," the coachman rushed to explain.

Aurelius put a hand up to stop him before letting out a sigh. "It's fine... And to answer your question, she's not. Not anymore, and it's my fault." The group relaxed a bit, leaving Aurelius bathing in a loose melancholy with his gaze downcast. "I'm sorry, but I'm not someone that anyone should be fanatic over. I know that I have some desirable qualities, but I'm not all that great. I've achieved nothing, and I continue to fail whenever it counts the most. In all honesty, I'm a failure of a son. A mentally weak person who just relies on physical gifts." He raised his head to look the sad and confused coachman's son in the eyes. "You help your father with his work and make him proud by being a reliable worker and a respectable man. You're a good son. I should be the one admiring you."

***

At nightfall, Aurelius and Amadeus watched as Damian paid the coachman before returning to the group. Aurelius raised a hand in goodbye before turning to face the capital. There was a light mist in the air that made the castles in the distance look haunted. The architecture was rough in the capital. Even the castles were something of a product of pure functionality. Castles built just to be taller than others were a true horror.

"I'll go do my thing now," Damian said, tapping Aurelius on the arm. "I told Amadeus about an inn. I'll meet you there."

Aurelius nodded and they were off. The sky was gray. Just pure gray. He looked at Amadeus. His face was expressionless except for the sadness in his eyes. Amadeus had lived in the capital as a child. It was in these streets that...

Aurelius was about to say something but stopped himself. A ten-minute walk got them to a fairly large and well-kept building of stone and wood.

Amadeus went to talk to the receptionist while Aurelius tried to not stand out. Fortunately, the people in the capital seemed to keep to themselves. Sadly, that applied two-fold around suspicious activity.

"I thought you'd appreciate your own room," Amadeus said, handing a key to Aurelius as they walked through the inn's halls.

Aurelius took the key and noted that Amadeus had gotten only two. He looked at Amadeus and wondered if he was missing something. "Will you and Damian be sleeping together?"

Amadeus burst out in laughter for a split second before calming himself. He shook his head at Aurelius. "He can get his own room."

Aurelius put a hand on his face and nodded slowly in embarrassed realization. "Ah, I can pay for mine—"

Amadeus put a hand up. "No need. I'm glad to pay for yours." He then unlocked his door and went inside, leaving Aurelius standing alone in the hall.

Aurelius shook his head. 'I feel like he chooses not to hear the words coming out of my mouth sometimes," he thought before hurrying to his room because he knew he looked strange with his hood on inside.

***

Firm knocks on the door got Aurelius out of bed.

"We need to talk." It was Damian. "Now."

Aurelius put his inside clothes on before answering the door. "What is it?" He asked, concerned as he saw Damian and Amadeus, both with looks of uncertainty and... fear.

"There's someone after you. Someone that you can't ignore." Damian paused before emphasizing. "Someone we can't ignore."

Aurelius let them in with a creeping feeling in his stomach. He hardly remembered a time when he felt unnerved. But what could it have been? There was nobody that could match him in combat anymore. Not even close. By now, he could've taken on the Evaporation Squadron alone. Maybe even without enhancers.

Damian gave a tired exhale as he sat on a chair and Aurelius closed the wooden door of the room. He then rubbed his face but still didn't say it.

"Well?" Aurelius asked. "Who?"

Amadeus sat down on the ground and leaned back on the wall before uttering a single word, "Uzbec."