Old Faces

You freeze as you come face-to-face with Cassandra and Viola, your breath catching in shock. The narrow alley feels suddenly claustrophobic, the walls pressing in as the tension between you crackles like a live wire. Before you can react, Cassandra moves like a shadow. In a blur of motion, her blade flashes and plunges into your guard’s side. The woman gasps, staggers, and collapses at your feet, her blood pooling on the cobblestones.

"Quickly," Viola urges, seizing your arm before you can process what just happened. Her lips crash into yours, the kiss fierce and possessive, igniting a familiar, primal heat in your veins. Her touch is electric, her desperation palpable as she clings to you.

Your body reacts instinctively, your arms moving to pull her closer, but she abruptly pushes you back, her breathing ragged. "We don’t have time for this," she says, though her voice trembles with want. "We must leave the city before dark. The gates will close in preparation for Persephone’s—"

Her words falter as you grab her waist and pull her back toward you, your hands finding purchase on her curves. The heat between you is undeniable, a magnetic pull that neither of you can resist.

"Gods," she breathes, her resolve slipping. "I’d forgotten how maddening you are."

Her hands move over you with frantic urgency, fumbling at your trousers and freeing you from the confines of cloth. She gasps, her fingers trembling as they explore you. "Very well," she concedes breathlessly, "but make it quick."

With a fluid motion, she hikes her skirt, guiding you into her warmth. You groan as her arms loop around your neck, her body pressing flush against yours. The sensation is overwhelming, a rush of heat and need that leaves you both gasping.

"How..." she pants, her lips brushing against your ear, "how are you even bigger than before?"

Words fail you. Instead, you lift her effortlessly, pressing her against the cool stone wall and driving deeper into her. She cries out sharply, her nails raking your back as her body shudders around yours. The alley is silent save for the sound of your ragged breaths and the slick, rhythmic slap of flesh against flesh.

It’s over as quickly as it began. Her muffled cries give way to heavy breaths as she slumps against you, spent. You feel her pull away, the connection between you breaking as she adjusts her clothing with trembling hands. Your release pools at her feet, stark evidence of your shared urgency.

"Enough," she says, her voice steadying. "We need to move. Now."

From the distance, a sharp alarm pierces the air, the sound reverberating through the narrow alley.

Cassandra’s eyes narrow. "They found the bodies," she mutters darkly, stepping closer. "Faster than I anticipated. We must go."

Viola reaches for you again, but as she does, her hand moves to press against her stomach, the gesture almost ****. Your gaze follows the motion, the weight of its meaning dawning on you.

"Wait," you say, your voice cutting through the tension. Viola’s hand tightens on your arm, but you resist, shaking your head. "We can’t just run. There’s too much at stake—Anora, the Queen, the entire balance between our houses. If we leave now, we risk everything falling apart."

Viola’s eyes flash with frustration. "Damn the stakes!" she snaps. "Do you think I care about Persephone’s coronation or treaties? None of it matters. All that matters is you. I won’t lose you."

"Your Highness," Cassandra interrupts, her tone icy. "This is neither the time nor place for sentiment. If he refuses to come, we’ll drag him if necessary. The gates won’t wait for your love story to resolve itself."

Viola’s expression softens, her desperation tempered by something deeper. Her hand lingers on her stomach as she looks at you, her voice breaking. "Please," she whispers. "We’ll figure everything out later, but for now, just trust me. Come with me."

The shadows around you grow longer as the sound of boots on cobblestones draws nearer. You glance toward the distant palace, then back at Viola and Cassandra.

The choice hangs in the air, heavy and inevitable.

Cassandra steps closer, her blade glinting faintly in the dim light. "Decide now," she says firmly, her voice free of malice but brimming with urgency. "Stay and take the risk, or come with us and see where this path leads. Either way, we’re leaving."

The world around you seems to narrow, the sounds of the city fading as the weight of your decision presses down on you.