His nose was assaulted by the thick smell of blood as soon as the doors were opened. “Munificus!” But he knew from the silence that it was already too late. The king, the queen, the court, the palace guards, everyone in the throne room was dead.

“General Animo, what are your orders?”

Fidelus took a deep breath and choked down his rising tears. “Secure the palace. Find Imperium; make sure he’s safe. And find a doctor.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the soldiers left the room to carry out his orders, Fidelus knelt down next to the body of the king, checking in vain for a pulse. “I’m sorry, Munificus. I failed you.” Fidelus let his tears fall and turned around to take in the scene before him. There was blood and bodies everywhere. The court had been taken completely by surprise, as had the guards assigned to protect them. No one had been spared.

But what had happened? Who had done this? The Lion Tribe wasn’t in conflict with anyone, and Munificus was a kind and generous king with very few enemies. It didn’t make sense. Fidelus got up to examine each of the bodies more closely. Perhaps one of the assassins had been killed, or one of their victims had snagged something that could help identify them.

No such luck. Unless….

Fidelus walked around the throne, working his way toward the hidden chamber behind it. The string of bodies leading to the door suggested that even the king’s personal, elite secret service agents were no match for the assassination force. In the dark, Fidelus nearly tripped over the body blocking the ajar door. Reviving the room’s oil lamp using a thin stick and the embers in the fireplace, Fidelus resumed examining bodies. One body wasn’t wearing the secret service uniform. He knelt down, rolling the body onto its back. This man was wearing a military uniform of some sort. Fidelus snatched the lamp from the table to move it closer.

“That’s not possible!” But there was no question that this body was wearing a Sphinx Tribe military uniform. Fidelus knew King Dahia personally as well as many of his top military officers. The Lion and Sphinx Tribes were at peace, allies even! And yet, it was a sphinx military uniform. That was undeniable. Had something happened that he wasn’t aware of? Fidelus wasn’t exactly privy to every action taken by the court. Had Munificus done something to offend the sphinxes? Fidelus shook his head. He’d grown up with Munificus; there was no doubt in his mind that Munificus was a kind and honorable king and diplomat. King Dahia might still have found offense with something, even where none was intended. But an assassination?! Such drastic action could only lead to war, and the lions would crush the sphinxes in a conflict. How could King Dahia be so foolish? No. He wouldn’t be. Perhaps he'd hoped to leave no evidence of sphinx involvement? A single dead body was the only evidence connecting Munificus's assassination to the Sphinx Tribe, and it could easily have been forgotten tucked away back here, assuming the assassins were instructed not to leave a trace.

As Fidelus sat grappling with the implications of a Sphinx Tribe assassination, something thin and sharp plunged into his back. He fell forward, gasping for breath as his right lung collapsed, struggling for all he was worth to turn around and face his stealthy assailant. He managed to roll onto his side before the dizziness and exhaustion overwhelmed him.

“I’m sorry, General. It’s nothing personal. You weren’t supposed to be here.”

That voice. It sounded garbled and distant... and familiar. Between the accumulating haze and debilitating pain, he couldn’t place it. Whomever it was walked away, leaving Fidelus to bleed out. The flickering light of the oil lamp glinted off the gold ring on his right hand, his Animo family crest ring and the inspiration behind his name. He smiled to himself as his vision faded. “Fidelis in morte.”