Assassin's Maze

by Everly Frost

  Then Briar brings news that Amalia has disappeared.

  Briar stands at the kitchen table where Slade and Tansy’s notes have grown into piles of scribbled-out attempts to locate the hidden Realm.

  She says, “Amalia has gone south.”

  “That’s bad news.” I pace the floor. “She must have found the location of the Horde’s Realm. We have to warn Cain.”

  Slade leans across his notes and looks to Briar. “Is there any way you can contact him?”

  She appears uncertain. “The ceremony has already started. Amalia was clever this time and covered her tracks. I didn’t know she was gone until now.”

  I practically jump out of my skin. “Please, Briar. You have to try.”

  She doesn’t waste any more time. She spins on the spot and hurries away.

  I lean on the table, palms down, icing the panic that threatens to swamp me. “Archer’s safety is down to Cain.”

  “He won’t let anything happen to her, Hunter.”

  I frown at the certainty in Slade’s voice. “Why is Cain protecting her?”

  Slade gives me a crooked smile. “The same reason I will protect you with my life.”

  My jaw drops. “He loves her?”

  “According to Lutz’s latest report, Cain will do anything to keep Archer safe. And… apparently… Archer would do the same for Cain.”

  I run my hand across my forehead and sink into a chair. “What am I doing, Slade? If Archer and Cain have a chance to be happy… how can I ask either of them to risk that?”

  “Asking Archer to help you isn’t going to hurt them, Hunter.”

  “I don’t know… the path to the feathers is paved with death, remember?”

  Briar’s heavy footsteps sound on the stairs. She appears in the entrance carrying a burner phone. She hands it to Slade. “The Guardian wants to speak with you.”

  Slade appears cautious as he takes the phone from Briar and quickly puts it to his ear. “Guardian?”

  As he listens, the color drains from his face. He leans forward, bracing his free hand on the table, closing his eyes. “I understand.”

  He puts down the phone and says to Briar, “Thank you, Briar. I need to speak with Hunter now.”

  “Of course.” She hurries away while my heart hammers.

  Slade clutches the burner phone so tightly that it’s in danger of busting apart. Shadows cast across his face when he turns away from the light. “Lutz is bringing Archer here.”

  “Here to me or here to you? You can’t kill her, Slade.”

  “The Guardian has agreed that if Archer trains as an assassin, she can’t be a target anymore. The first rule will apply to protect her.”

  I breathe out my relief. “Really? That’s a clever solution but who will train her?”

  “You will. That is the Guardian’s condition. Cain can’t have anything to do with it.”

  I can’t believe it. Archer is coming here. Brought to me with the Guardian’s blessing, no less. It almost seems… too easy. It definitely doesn’t match the fear in Slade’s eyes. “What about Cain?”

  “Cain has agreed to let her go.” Slade stops speaking. His shoulders hunch. The dark expression on his face scares me.

  It is too easy. My stomach churns with anxiety. “Slade, what happened? What aren’t you telling me?”

  He says, “Amalia attacked the Horde tonight. All of the Novices were killed. During the fight, Archer tried to protect Cain and she got hurt. Very badly. She might not make it.”

  He reaches out to steady me, his hand firm on my shoulder. “If Tansy can’t heal her, Archer is going to die. If she dies… so do you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  My mortal enemy lies on a medical stretcher at my front door.

  The moon sits high in the sky above us as Tansy and Slade stand with me. Cain walks on one side of the stretcher while the Guardian strides on the other side with Lutz beside her. They are pale and tense in the moonlight.

  I take a step toward the woman on the stretcher. Archer Ryan. The woman I’ve been looking for. The one who Mom protected.

  Archer’s blond hair spreads across the mattress, matted with blood. Her eyes are closed, her breathing shallow. She’s wearing an evening gown that might once have been baby blue with an embroidered corset and long fitted skirt but it is now rich red, torn, and soaked through with blood. Her body is broken in so many places that I can’t identify any single point of impact.

  My lips part with shock. “What did this to her?”

  Cain is a tower of stone, his jaw set, his expression shadowed. His assassin’s magic flares, a copper glow that stops me in my tracks. The Keres power is sharp and stinging even from a distance. Like all assassin’s rings, Cain’s is in a constant state of active power. Touching it will burn me, and if he chooses to lash out, he could kill me.

  Cain’s focus is on Slade who followed me down the stairs.

  Slade pulls up sharp, spreading his arms wide to show Cain that he isn’t carrying any weapons and won’t attack. “Archer has nothing to fear from me, Cain. In fact, I will protect her from anyone who tries to harm her.”

  Cain’s anger turns to confusion, a frown creasing his forehead. I don’t blame him for not understanding. A week ago, Slade was duty-bound to kill Archer, and Cain knows that Slade always follows the rules.

  He has no idea how important Archer is to us.

  Cain’s power fades. I can’t help but notice the way his fingertips brush Archer’s, never straying far from her for too long. Or the fact that he isn’t wearing his assassin’s ring on his forefinger like the rest of us do.

  I asked him what did this to her and he finally answers me. “Archer did this to herself. She was trying to save me.”

  Now that Cain has suppressed his power, Tansy launches into action. “I need to get to work immediately. Slade, please use your power to transport Archer upstairs—without jostling her around. She is in a very fragile state right now. I would do it myself but I want to conserve my energy.”

  Tansy spins to Cain, her golden hair flying around her face. I woke her an hour ago. All I had to do was ask and she hurried to help, preparing William’s room and readying her spellbook.

  She says to Cain, “I’m sorry to see you in these circumstances, Cain. You will come with me, please, so you can answer my questions about what happened.”

  The Guardian steps into his path, shaking her head. “I allowed Cain to travel with us to make sure Archer remained calm during the journey. He must return to his territory now—”

  A sharp flicker of light bursts around Tansy as she faces the Guardian. “Do not tell me what Cain will do. If you want this woman healed, then he will come with me. He can go when I say so.”

  The Guardian lifts an eyebrow at Tansy but she doesn’t argue. “Very well. I will be at the Diner. Lutz Logan, you will come with me.”

  Lutz gives Slade a firm nod before he spins on his heels and leaves with the Guardian. As soon as they’re gone, Slade lifts his arms to raise Archer off the stretcher into the air. I hold the door open so he can float her inside and up the stairs, Tansy hurrying ahead of her and Cain staying close behind me.

  Now that the Guardian and Lutz are gone, Tansy’s true concern shows through. “Onto William’s bed, please,” she says to Slade. “Quickly. She doesn’t have long.”

  As soon as Slade rests Archer on the bed, he gives my hand a quick squeeze and vacates the room. He won’t be far away but it’s better if he gives Cain space.

  We already set up Tansy’s spellbook in the corner of the room and she located the healing spells she might need. For the last hour she has been repeating them to herself, trying to remember them so she can heal Archer as quickly as possible.

  “Pictures, not words,” she murmurs beneath her breath before she turns to Cain: “Tell me what has been done to help Archer already.”

  He kneels beside the bed, holding Archer’s hand. “My medical unit used every power they had to stabilize her for the
flight. But they couldn’t do more than that. I used the power in my assassin’s ring to keep her calm and help her sleep.”

  Tansy asks, “Your ring is powered by a Keres feather, is it not?”

  As if on instinct, his free hand covers the ring. “It is.” Cain’s gaze drills into Tansy. His voice breaks. “Please… tell me you can heal her.”

  Tansy’s fingertips float over Archer. Tansy is very pale as if the more she assesses Archer’s wounds, the greater her despair. “She is completely broken. Her back is split apart. Her ribs, her internal organs, her heart, they are all shattered beyond anything I’ve ever seen. She shouldn’t be breathing right now. I will do everything I can, but… I won’t lie to you. This will take everything I’ve got.”

  Every muscle in his body tenses. “I can’t lose her.”

  Tansy bends to him and places her hand over his heart, trying to calm him. “I understand. Now, step away please.”

  When he does as she asks, pacing like a caged beast beside the bed, she rests against it, one knee planted on its edge as she starts with Archer’s chest, focusing on the location of her heart, her palms hovering above it.

  Tansy closes her eyes, her body relaxes, and tranquil light builds around her like warm sunlight. Healing light. It’s warm and soothing, just like the power she used to heal my wounds. It reaches out to me, drawing me closer, my own need to be healed taking me forward.

  The moment I take a step, Cain stops pacing, his hands forming into fists as he swivels into a protective position between Archer and me.

  I pull up sharp, wary of the way he is looking at me as if I could tear down his world.

  His breathing is rapid. He is barely holding on. His voice is a dangerous rasp. “Do you know what Archer is?”

  I suck in a sharp breath. He said “what” not “who.”

  Damn. He knows. I stare at him in shock. But how much? Does he know about me too?

  I shoot back. “Do you?”

  He advances on me, copper light from his ring building around him.

  I stand my ground even though his power stings like hell. Vlad said that the Keres rings were made from feathers belonging to the Keres Queen and her daughter. I have no doubt now that Cain wears the Queen’s ring just like Slade wears my Queen’s.

  My queen. I shake off the thought. Amalia is no queen of mine.

  I harness my own anger, my own power to protect myself. The pain in Cain’s eyes is like a fire burning brighter and brighter. He doesn’t really see me right now. He only sees another threat to Archer when she’s already broken and vulnerable.

  I say, “Archer is Keres. The last of her kind.”

  His voice is like sharp wire across my skin, fierce and accusing. “Then you know there are only two ways she can die. One of those… is by your hand.”

  My shoulders sag. He knows what I am.

  A week ago, he stood beside me when I faced Amalia Avery. Before that, he brought me meals and made sure my wounds were stitched. He cared for me like a true friend. A week ago, he was my ally.

  Now… the distrust in his eyes tears my heart apart.

  He knows that I can kill her.

  He is terrified that I will.

  I’ve lied a lot in my life. Always out of necessity, but I’m good at it. Only honesty will save me now.

  I slowly draw off my jacket—the jacket I wear to stay warm because I can’t keep myself warm anymore. I harness my power carefully, cautiously, sensing my back shift. Silver feathers unfold gently from my shoulders, spreading out at my sides. My wings give me the strength that I need right now. I allow them to spread to their full length, so large, so powerful that they touch the walls on either side of me.

  Cain’s green eyes widen like a growing storm. He must have imagined what my wings would look like but actually seeing them must be far more confronting.

  His muscles flex as the copper power around him increases, glittering light swirling around his arms and legs. He may not be Keres in the same way that Slade is Valkyrie, but the way his power grows tells me he has learned how to harness the Keres power to its fullest extent.

  I say, “Archer can die in the same two ways that I can die.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Cain’s knuckles turn white. “You could kill her.”

  I tip my chin up. “She could kill me.”

  He sucks in a sharp breath, but his power remains strong and biting, a crackling force around him. “Who are you, Hunter?”

  I drop my gaze. Who am I?

  “Sometimes, I don’t even know.” My shoulders rise and fall with my indrawn breath as I meet his eyes. “I am a killer. I am angry. I am…” My gaze falls on Tansy. Her eyes are still closed. She is completely absorbed in her task and her instinctive magic has taken over now, a powerful force surrounding her and Archer within a protective dome. She used to access the full power of her instinctive magic only by accident, but the more she uses it, the more she seems able to draw it out and control it.

  My gaze softens. “I am a friend. I was a daughter. But I will never be a mother.”

  A cautious frown settles on Cain’s face. Despite his pain and his fear for Archer, he is listening. He is willing to hear me.

  I say, “I am imperfect.”

  I step forward, bracing against his power, flinching against the pain that strikes through me. I force myself to take it, deal with it, put it aside. “How did you find out about her power?”

  “Patrick Ryan told Archer a fairy story about the day she was born. He said that she was flown to him by a silver stork that turned into a wily fox. That was your mother. She was the Glass Fox and she was a Valkyrie with silver wings.”

  I say, “Mom died to protect Archer. I promise I won’t hurt her.”

  “You’re her enemy.” He frowns at the way I have willingly stepped into the circle of his power. “Tell me why I should believe you.”

  I could tell him that I need her. That she is the key to reaching the feather that can heal me. That unless she and I work together, Amalia will be unstoppable. But none of those reasons are good enough. The way he looks at her… it’s the same way Slade looks at me.

  Somehow, in the short space of a week, he has given her his heart.

  I say, “I know what it’s like to watch the person you love dying… and to know that you would willingly take their place.”

  I point at his assassin’s ring. It rests, like a wedding band on the ring finger of his left hand. “You love her.”

  He stands his ground, but his deep inhale answers my question.

  I say, “Do you remember the night Slade went on the mission that earned him the title of Master?”

  Cain gives me a cautious nod. “I do.”

  “What you don’t know is that he nearly died that night. He came to me riddled with bullets. I brought him here and I healed him in a way that…” I take a deep breath and force myself to speak the truth. “I healed him in a way that means I have chosen to die.”

  Cain sucks in a sharp breath. His power fades, disappearing from around his body. “Hunter…”

  I hurry on. “Not today. Not tomorrow. But soon. I don’t have long now.”

  I tuck my wings away, my shoulders settling as my wings disappear. I dare to step closer to Archer, to contemplate the terrible damage to her body. Something tore her apart. Tansy’s healing power is like sunlight near my body, but I don’t dare soak it in. Archer needs every bit of it.

  Cain is pale when I look up. He says, “You love Slade that much.”

  “I do.” I allow myself to smile. “And he loves me. We have traveled a rocky path to get to this point, but it was worth it.”

  I dare to reach out, touching Cain’s arm, grateful when he doesn’t pull away. “Slade will never hurt Archer, and neither will I.”

  His big hand closes over mine. The tension leaves his shoulders and face. “I’m sorry, Hunter.”

  I bite my lip. “You said Archer did this to herself trying to save you.”

 
He sighs. “For some reason, her wings are trapped inside her. She didn’t even know she had them. It took us all week to figure it out. Every time she gets in a fight, she triggers her power. Her wings try to release, her back burns, and it’s too much for her body. She collapses. That’s what happened after she fought Lutz. She literally fell into my arms.”

  He shifts, but keeps my hand against his arm, maintaining the contact between us like a truce. “But this time, during the fight with Amalia, I died. Amalia did something to me. I don’t know what exactly. Archer used her power to bring me back.”

  I nod. “The Keres have the power to take souls like the Valkyrie do, but they can also give them back. But Cain… Archer could only do that if she released her wings…”

  He says, “She forced her power out. She ripped herself apart from the inside.”

  “Dear saints…” My heart sinks, sensing my own wings, imagining what it would be like to try to force them out. They would shred me from the inside. “You never saw her wings?”

  “Only as a copper glow across her shoulder blades as if they were sitting right beneath the surface.”

  “Not even during…?” I blush. How do I finish that sentence? To begin with, I shouldn’t assume that they slept together, let alone that she would have bonded with him.

  He tips his head to the side. “During what?”

  I clear my throat. “We have to release our wings to use our power, but the other time is when we bond.”

  He gives me a blank look.

  Oh boy… This is not a conversation I wanted to have with Cain. Or ever thought I would need to have.

  Tansy shocks me when she sings out from beside me. “Keres women bond during sex, Cain. You might need to know that.”

  My face burns, but Cain is quiet. “I never saw her wings.”

  I swallow. Take a deep breath. “I recently found out that Mom put a spell on my wings to stop me from bonding. Then she burned my birth feather to make sure the spell could never be reversed. It’s entirely possible that she also had a spell cast over Archer’s wings, but it must be much stronger than the spell cast over me. She didn’t want Archer’s wings to reveal themselves at all… until Archer was safe from Amalia.”