Asher and Sinnett exchanged a look, their expressions shifting from shock to sothing more grim. Zero's tone wasn't just bitter, it was exhausted, worn down by whatever hell she'd been through.
Sinnett, ever the first to break the silence, leaned in. "Cinder's Kiss?" His voice was casual, but Asher knew better, he was already piecing things together, analyzing.
Zero nodded, her tired smile lingering. "Yeah, that's what the prisoners call it. A slow-acting poison ant to break you down piece by piece."
Asher narrowed his eyes. "What's in it?"
Zero exhaled, her gaze drifting up to the ceiling as if gathering her thoughts. "Cyanide, carbon monoxide, thallium, arsenic," she listed, counting on her fingers. "And venom."
Sinnett scoffed. "Of course there's venom."
But Asher's mind locked onto the last part. His fingers curled into fists. "Venom from what?"
Zero's gaze flicked back to him, and for a mont, he could see sothing else beneath her exhaustion. A flicker of amusent, maybe. Or sothing darker. "Not what. Who."
Sinnett leaned in further, intrigued. "Okay, now you've got my attention."
Zero stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed. "Cinder isn't just the na of the poison. It's the na of the person making it, like I said."
Asher and Sinnett stiffened.
"She's the one giving it to ." Zero's voice was quieter now. "The venom cos from her."
Asher felt sothing cold settle in his chest. "She's a shifter?"
Zero's lips curled slightly. "Not exactly. Cinder's a demi-human. A mix of dragon and sothing else. I haven't figured that out yet."
Sinnett let out a low whistle. "Damn. That's one hell of a puzzle."
Zero chuckled weakly. "You have no idea."
She leaned back against the wall, her head tilting slightly to the side as if the weight of her own body was getting harder to bear.
"She was one of the last successful experints before they started wiping out dragons completely."
Sinnett leaned back in his chair, letting out a slow whistle. "So, we're dealing with a dragon-hybrid professor who's been dosing you personally. That's… comforting."
Zero let out a quiet chuckle, her exhaustion making the sound softer than it should have been. "Cinder doesn't just poison her targets. She makes sure it's personal."
Asher's jaw tightened. "Personal?"
Zero tilted her head, her gaze flickering with sothing unreadable. "She kisses them."
Sinnett blinked, then turned to Asher, who looked equally caught off guard. "Wait...like, literally?"
Zero humd. "If it's a man, she'll kiss them. Mouth to mouth. If it's a woman, she extracts her own blood and transfers the poison directly into their system."
Sinnett made a face. "Well, that's horrifying."
"It's effective." Zero shrugged. "Most don't even realize they've been poisoned until it's too late. The effects aren't imdiate, Cinder's Kiss works in stages. It starts with a slow decay of internal organs, weakens the mana pool, and eventually shuts down the body."
Asher narrowed his eyes. "But you're still here."
Zero's lips curled slightly. "I had to cut and regrow the parts that were injected."
Sinnett's brows shot up. "You just...what? Sliced off pieces of yourself?"
She gave a lazy nod. "Didn't have much of a choice. The poison settles in too fast. I had to get rid of the infected parts before they spread."
Even Asher, who had seen plenty of horrific things in his ti, felt a small chill run through him at how casually she said it.
Sinnett let out a slow breath. "That's… extre."
Zero chuckled. "You think that's bad? Try doing it without painkillers."
Silence settled between them for a mont.
Asher exhaled, rubbing his temple. "And now?"
Zero lifted her cuffed hands slightly before letting them drop back into her lap. "There's still a little bit left in my system, but it's manageable. I just have to be careful."
Sinnett shook his head. "You're crazy."
Zero grinned. "I prefer resourceful."
Despite the grim nature of the conversation, Asher found himself slightly impressed.
Whatever Zero was, she wasn't soone who went down easily. That was good. It ant she could hold out a little longer long enough for them to get her out.
But ti was running out.
Asher t her gaze again. "We'll get you out before the execution."
Zero's eyes flickered with sothing unreadable. Amusent? Doubt? It was hard to tell.
She leaned back against the wall, stretching her legs out as much as the chains would allow. "Good luck with that."
Sinnett smirked. "Oh, we don't need luck."
Zero just smiled, shaking her head slightly. Then, she froze.
The shift was subtle, her posture relaxing just a little too much, her breathing slowing, her expression smoothing out.
Then, her eyes began to change.
The once-bright irises dulled to a faint, faded blue, losing the sharpness they had before.
Asher imdiately understood. Soone was coming.
Zero's head tilted slightly, as if listening to sothing in the distance. Then, without another word, she closed her eyes and settled back against the cold wall of her cell.
Asher and Sinnett stood in silence after Zero's eyes dulled, the strange connection fading. The weight of what she had said lingered between them.
Sinnett let out a slow breath. "Well, that was a lot."
Asher didn't respond right away. His mind was racing. Cinder's Kiss. A poison made by a dragon-hybrid. Zero had been suffering through it for who knows how long. And now, soone wanted her dead.
"We need to tell Veylan," Asher said.
Sinnett nodded. "Yeah. If Cinder's involved, this execution isn't just about getting rid of Zero. It's sothing bigger."
Asher didn't disagree, but he had other thoughts pulling at him. "Go on ahead," he said. "I need to check sothing."
Sinnett frowned but didn't argue. "Fine. Just don't take too long."
Once Sinnett left, Asher walked to the balcony of his room. The city stretched out beneath him, quiet but never truly asleep. The night air was cool, carrying a faint breeze.
Then, he noticed her.
A figure stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, cloak billowing in the wind. Even from this distance, he could see the glow of icy blue horns, surrounded by black flas.
Asher's grip on the railing tightened.
"Sinnett," he called without turning.
Sinnett had barely made it to the door. "What now?"
"I need to see soone."
Before Sinnett could ask, Asher leaped from the balcony, landing smoothly on the rooftop. He crossed the distance in a few quick strides, and she appeared before him.
As he approached, the shadows around her shifted. The flas dimd, and the horns vanished as she changed form.
Now, Nova stood before him in her human shape. She wore an oversized shirt under the guild coat he had given her, the fabric slightly ruffled from the wind.
Then, she bowed low and uttered, "I heard about Zero, so I had to hurry back."
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