Ashes of the Elite-Chapter 47: Miss Pigeon

I sit stiffly in the leather chair, my back ramrod straight, palms damp against my knees. The silence is suffocating. Count Ashland hasn't spoken a word since I stepped into his office no greeting, no lecture, not even a curse. Just a hate filled glare. Like I'm filth he hasn't yet decided whether to scrape off his boot or feed to the dogs. What a change from the first time I met him.

Cain leans casually against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes closed like he's about to nap. I envy his calm. Maybe he's used to this kind of tension. Or maybe he just doesn't care. Either way, I'm alone with my thoughts, and they're not being kind.

I didn't even get to see Howard.

Apparently, Count Ashland forbade it. Said I'd done enough damage to him already. I wanted to explain... apologize, at least. Not that it would've made much difference. But still. Not being given the chance stings more than I thought it would.

Time crawls. Seconds stretch into minutes, minutes into what feels like hours. I tap my fingers against my leg, then stop. Even that sound feels too loud in this room. Just when I think I might actually scream from the waiting—

Pop.

The air folds in on itself with a sharp crack, and then she's there, standing dead center in the room like she's always belonged. Tall as hell easily six foot with shoulders like she could break me in half on accident even if we weren't awakened with super strength. Her long red hair coils down her back like a flame barely contained, and her eyes deep, cold blue rake across the room with clinical precision.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

She nods curtly to Count Ashland without smiling, then turns to Cain and raises her right hand to her heart in salute. "Spellbreaker Cain," she says, her voice light and almost musical so at odds with her warrior's frame that I almost laugh in surprise.

Cain opens his eyes and returns the salute lazily. He doesn't say a word. Then her gaze lands on me and her eyes narrow.

I swallow, spine straightening as I try to recall the posture Cain drilled into me. Be arrogant. Be above it. That's what they expect from an Elite. My voice comes out cold, and detached far more controlled than I feel.

"That would be me. Your name?"

A cruel smile curls her lips. "Awakened Kennet."

She steps closer, boots heavy against the marble floor. "Come. We must depart at once. You have kept His Majesty waiting long enough, good man." The way she spits the last two words tells me exactly what she thinks of me.

I rise slowly, smoothing down the front of my robe more to steady my nerves than anything else. Cain doesn't speak as I pass him, but he gives me a small nod just once. It's not much, but it lands heavy. I latch onto it like a lifeline.

Awakened Kennet watches my approach her face unreadable. When I stop in front of her, she flashes a smile bright, perfect teeth, like a merchant's daughter taught to charm and gut at once.

"Hope you're prepared," she says coldly.

I force my mask back on, painting coldness over the panic clawing at my ribs. "Sure am Awakened Pigeon."

She chuckles, this time with genuine amusement, and it throws me off. "Ahh... His Majesty will like you, I think."

I flinch. Internally, anyway. Gods, I don't want him to like me. I want him to forget I exist. But then the thought twists on itself. Maybe I do want him to like me because if he doesn't, he might determine I am not useful which could mean many fates.

I curse myself under my breath. Stupid. So fucking stupid if I could just control my powers.

Then she moves.

Without warning, her hand reaches toward my shoulder and I move before I can think. I snatch her wrist mid-motion, my fingers digging in as I twist just slightly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I ask, voice low, venomous.

"I need to grab you," she says calmly. "So we can go. Do you mind?" Her tone hardens. "Or would you like to delay even more?"

I hold her gaze for a long moment, then release her wrist with a sneer. "Fine."

She smirks, and I hate how smug she looks. These people only respect strength. So I'll give them something to respect.

Count Ashland rises from his seat with all the warmth of a viper ready to strike. He doesn't bother hiding his sneer. "Well, if you're quite finished dawdling, Courier, perhaps you could do us all a favor and go already?"

Awakened Kennet doesn't even blink. She glances at the Count like someone inspecting a stain on their boot dispassionate, faintly irritated. The tilt of her chin, the coldness in her stare, the slight twitch in her upper lip it all screams contempt. Without saying a word to him, she turns to me and grabs my arm, her grip iron-tight.

"Life Step," she says flatly.

That's the last thing I hear before the world falls apart.

White light floods my vision, searing and blinding. My ears pop violently, like I've just been dragged screaming through the layers of the world, and a rush of vertigo slams into me so hard I can't tell which way is up. My blood feels like it's rushing backward. The floor beneath me disappears no, the world disappears.

And then it's over.

I stagger, doubling over with a strangled gasp, my stomach rebelling hard. I slap a hand against my knee, wheezing, trying to keep the bile from rising in my throat. I nearly lose the battle.

"Are you quite done?" Kennet's voice drips with disgust behind me.

I manage to lift my head, still swallowing hard, and what I see redrives the air right out of my lungs.

The castle.

It's....it's not a building. It's a monument. The God's monument. It's massive. That's the first word that claws its way through my stunned mind. Not just tall, not just wide. Endless.

it's marble and stone, but it's the most breathtaking thing I've ever seen. Smooth, pale walls stretch impossibly high, kissed by the sun, glowing faintly like they've absorbed centuries of light. The stone gleams like it's been polished daily for a thousand years.

I try to follow the towers with my eyes, but I can't see the tops. They vanish into the clouds above, disappearing like pillars holding up the sky itself. I look to my left castle. I look to my right still castle. It just keeps going, sprawling so far in either direction that I physically can't see where it ends. It's a city in itself, a fortress built atop the gods' own perch.

Bridges arch between towers, graceful and elegant. Balconies jut out at impossible angles, some covered in cascading ivy, others so clean and sharp they look freshly carved. Water rushes down the sides of the structure in perfect, controlled streams, like veins of the mountain itself have been pulled open and tamed. I don't think I've ever felt smaller in my life.

I turn around slowly, breath catching all over again.

The castle isn't just high up it crowns the world. Perched at the very peak of a mountain, it gazes down like a god surveying its creation. Below us, the city of Lusa spirals outward in endless, perfect rings. Streets weave and climb like veins through the stone, threading between towering buildings, what I think are manicured gardens, grand coliseums, and open plazas so vast they look like they could host armies. It's more than sprawling—it pulses. With wealth. With order. With the unshakable weight of an empire that knows it cannot fall.

Behind me, Awakened Kennet finally speaks again, voice touched with something disturbingly close to reverence. "Welcome to Lusa Awakened Daath. Capital of Avrael, and home to His Imperial Majesty, King Augustus Malik."