A tall, slender man appeared on the opposite end of the courtyard. He approached quickly and introduced himself to the entire group as though everyone were new. The girls nodded at him, either in respect or fear. Probably the latter.
He took up a fighting stance, motioning for me to mimic his moved. I looked around and watched as every other girl did as he did. We began to go through moves, which the others did with the ease of years of practice. I wasn't as graceful as the rest. I could see the frustration and irritation in his face each time I missed a move or punch.
After two hours everyone broke off into groups. Smaller girls stood near him, learning the basic techniques for fighting hand to hand with an opponent. The older girls sparred with each other, knocking one another over and pausing right before what I assumed was a kill hit. I joined the group of younger girls.
"Welcome, princess." The small girls glanced up at me in awe.
I chewed the inside of my cheeks and looked at them. They were so little. So young. Nothing more than babies really.
"You shall train with the younglings until you are up to speed on how to fight, then you shall move with the older assassins."
I nodded and followed the moves through the rest of melee practice.
My back and legs ached and it pained me to lift my arms, and it was only noon.
"Now where to?" I asked.
"Weapons," Anastasia whispered.
"Weapons?"
"Yes. Then lunch. Maybe."
I sighed heavily and followed to a large room on the fourth floor. Weapons lined the walls. More weapons than I even knew existed. My eyes grew large as I perused the various instruments of death and torture until a young woman with hair as black as night and eyes the shade of the sunset came in. She wore tight assassin garb with the hood around her neck.
"Ladies!"
Everyone grouped together and awaited instruction. I stood at the back feeling lost and helpless for the millionth time in two days.
I still didn't know how we would escape the clutches of the Guild or how we would defeat them. I didn't have time to make plans. Things felt hopeless and all I wanted to do was sleep.
Chapter Twenty-two
"Ladies, you did a satisfactory job today. You may eat lunch."
We got into our neat little line and started to leave the room. The instructor stood near a far wall watching us. He made me feel uneasy, his eyes narrowed to dark slits as his gaze landed on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I followed Anastasia out of the room. I glanced behind us, the instructor strolled a short pace behind us.
"What's wrong with him?" I whispered to Anastasia.
"Who?"
"That instructor."
She looked behind us and rolled her eyes. "I don't think he likes you."
"Why? I've never done anything to him."
"You didn't, but your grandfather did."
"I don't understand."
"He was banished from the English court before your father became king."
"That was over twenty years ago. He sure can hold a grudge."
"Yes, a lot of the teachers around here can. Most of them are banished lords of various courts."
"Oh," I mumbled, sitting between Anastasia and another girl with beautiful olive colored skin; jet, black hair; and the saddest brown eyes.
The same servant girls from the day before brought out the large platters of food. I looked closely at the blonde who placed delectable fish in front of us. Her wrists were bruised an ugly greenish purple and there were chain marks around her neck. I reached out, grasping her hand and stared into her pale blue eyes. A sudden look of panic crossed her face as she wrenched free of me.
"Don't interact with the servants," the black haired girl mumbled. "The Guild leaders will kill both of you."
"What?"
"Shh," she mumbled, taking a piece of fish.
I tore off a piece of bread and slowly chewed. This place grew more interesting by the moment.
Now I have to save the servants as well as the assassins.
I went through the motions of the rest of the day. The classes and instructors only got harder and more unbearing. They had no qualms tearing girls down and making them feel as though they were nothing. I assumed it must have been another means of keeping everyone in line. Destroy the confidence they once possessed.
When we sat for supper I noticed that the blonde servant girl was not present. I glanced about the room throughout the entire meal hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl to no avail.
"Why wasn't she at dinner?" I whispered to Anastasia.
"Who?" she asked.
"The servant girl. She wasn't there."
Anastasia shrugged her shoulders and continued toward her chambers. "Don't think of it, Evelyn. It will only make you sadder than what you should be while here."
"What happened to her?" I urged.
Anastasia sighed heavily and paused near the staircase. "Anything could have happened to her. She could be dead; she could be locked up in the kitchen pantry, in the dungeon, or in the stables."
"Why are they doing that to their servants?" I questioned.
"They didn't start as servants."
"Pardon?"
"They used to be assassins."
"How..."
"They weren't able to impress the Guild leaders enough to remain assassins but proved to be useful as servants."
"That's terrible."
"It's life here. Do your job or die."
"Or become a kitchen girl," I grumbled.
"I'll visit tonight, Evelyn."
I nodded and hurried up the stairs as the instructors came out of the dining hall.
I closed the door behind me and looked for a lock.
No way to lock our doors? Of course not. Why would there be a way lock the doors?
I hurried to the window and pushed it open. There was a sheer drop off to the hard rocks below. No possible way anyone could escape through the windows.
"What have you learned?" a gruff voice above me asked.
"Draco!" I sighed with relief at the sound of him. "It's absolutely dreadful."
"I assumed it would be."
"It's much worse than we thought. They turned some assassins into their servants if they proved unable to carry out the duties. They abuse all here, even kill them," I said quietly.
"They kill assassins?" he asked.
"They're not quite assassins yet. They're still in training, but yet they kill them."
"You have to leave this place, Evelyn," Draco said. His hot breath rushing down to me, warming my face.
"I can't. Not yet. I have to save the girls here. It's no longer about keeping my family safe, I now have to save everyone and destroy the Guild once and for all."
"Evelyn, you mother trained with them for seventeen years and only managed to kill one brother. He was the weakest at that. How are you going to destroy the other two and their loyalists?"
"I don't know."
"Who are you talking to?"
I spun around to see Anastasia standing near the bookcase.
"Fuck."
"Who's out there? How can someone be there? It's so high up."
"Anastasia, I need you to meet someone."
"Are you sure?" Draco whispered.
A puff of smoke blowing in through the window.
"It's kind of late to not introduce you now."
"Why is there smoke? What is going on?" her voice rose an octave as she panicked.
"First, calm down. You're going to draw attention to the room. I'm going to show you."
I crossed the room and took her hand, leading her to the window. I pushed them open more and sat on the windowsill, patting the seat next to me. She hesitantly sat down and looked outside.
"What are we looking at? Nobody is out there," she said.
"He's not down, he's up."
"Up?"
I nodded as
she turned her head toward the roof. "Just don't scream."
Her mouth dropped open; her eyes grew as large as saucers. "What is that?"
"That is Draco. He's a dragon, and we're bound together."
"Does the Guild know about him?"
"They know of dragons, they don't know I'm bound to one."
"I don't think dragons are in the rules of conduct for assassins."
"I'm not really here to be an assassin," I said.
"Evelyn!" Draco hissed at me.
"Draco, I think we're past formalities. Anastasia wants to leave as much as I do. So do many of the other girls. We have to save them."
"How do expect to save an entire school of girls?"
"I don't know yet."
"There are passages throughout the castle. The leaders know of them, but I don't think they know we do," Anastasia said quietly.
"There are more?" I asked.
"Of course there would be. These castles are old, they had to have escape routes in case they came under siege," Draco responded.
"Where do they lead to? Can we use them?" I asked, looking between the two.
"I think so," Anastasia said, furrowing her brow. "There is one in the library, behind a bookcase; it leads to the river about a mile from here."
"Will that be far enough away to get help?" I asked, looking up at Draco.
He nodded his massive head. "We have a few dragon riders in the area. I can talk with them about having wagons ready."
"That will work."
"Or I can go get your parents and James," he suggested.
"No. I don't want them in harms way."
"Evelyn, they should know."
"No, Draco. I have to do this. I rely on them entirely too much."
"I understand that you want to do this on your own, but it's okay to ask for help sometimes."
"You don't understand. I'm the reason why they're in danger to begin with."
"Actually, it's your mother. She disobeyed the Guild and now the punishment is falling on you."
"Either way, it doesn't matter. I am doing this without them."
"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked.
"I'm my mother's daughter."
"When do you want to do this?" Anastasia asked, interrupting us.
"How long will it take for you to acquire the necessary carriages for the girls?" I glanced at Draco.
"Give me two days time. At midnight have them leave through the passage. We shall wait for them at the end."
We nodded and Anastasi hurried back toward the bookcase. "I'm scared."
"It's alright. We'll all be okay."
"Promise?" she asked.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
"Are you sure everyone will be okay?" Draco asked.
I shook my head. "No."
"You lied to her."
"I know. She doesn't need to know that there's a possibility we won't all make it out."
"No. I suppose not."
I sighed heavily and reached out to stroke his neck. A deep purrish kind of growl emanated from his throat. I smiled lightly and lead against the side of the window, closing my eyes as a cool breeze blew in through the window.
"Am I doing the right thing?" I asked.
"Now you ask? Kind of late for that, don't you think?"
"Perhaps. I just can't let these girls continue to be manipulated and murdered for the Guild's pleasure. It's not right."
"No, it's not." He clenched the windowsill with his front claws as his back claws gripped the stone siding of the castle. "Have you noticed anything odd?"
"Besides this place?"
"No, with you."
"With me? No, why should I?"
"There's more to being a dragon rider than just bonding with me," he said.
"More?"
"You're going to develop certain ability."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Magic, Evelyn. You're going to have magic," he said bluntly.
"Magic? Being immortal and dragon rider isn't enough? Now I'm going to be magical?"
"Yes."
"What kind of abilities are we talking about?"
"Dragon fire."
"What?" I asked incredulously.
"Dragon fire. You'll be able to create dragon fire once my blood and tears have fully soaked into your being."
"Dragon fire? How?"
"Energy can build between your hands creating a fire ball."
"Okay," I said.
I held my hands up and concentrated on the energy. Heat grew between my fingers and palms, but there was no fire. No ball of light.
"You haven't absorbed all of my essence into your being just yet. Did you feel anything?" he asked.
"Heat. A scorching heat."
"You're almost there then."
"I need to go to bed."
I crossed the room and flopped onto the not quite soft enough bed. My eyes were shut before my head hit the pillow.
Chapter Twenty-three
I sat upright the following morning, looking around the room wildly. The visions from the nightmare, of my family being dead, faded from my memory. Groggily I climbed from the bed and stood near the window. The sun barely crested the horizon, the dark sky started to light up with its beautiful orange, pinks, and blues as the dark purple of night vanished. I stretched as my aching back cracked. Discarding the clothes I had worn the previous day to the floor, I washed in the cold water sitting on the bare table before slipping into something fresh.
Standing near the window, I attempted to settle my nerves. Thought of the decision last night still ran fresh in my memory. I had no idea if we would ever be successful. Now, it was up to Anastasia to spread the word. We only had three days to save all the girls. I knew there was going to be a battle between the Guild Leaders and I. They wouldn't let anyone go without a fight.
The bell for breakfast clanged unusually loud. At least it seemed unusually loud. Taking a deep breath, I left the room, following behind the other girls as everyone walked silently to the dining hall. Anastasia sat in her normal seat, staring down at her feet as everyone filed in. We stood, waiting for permission to eat. The servant girls brought out the food, placing it all in quiet unison on all the tables. My heart slammed against my chest so hard I was nearly sure someone heard it. There was no way someone couldn't hear it. My mind drifted back to the energy ball I almost created the night before.
Can I do it again? Can I use that to help defend the girls when we escape?
"Are you alright?" Anastasia asked.
I nodded and took a bite of egg. "Fine."
I glanced up at the leaders. They whispered amongst themselves, barely looking over us today. It made me uneasy with how different things were that morning. I pushed the food around on my plate, contemplating what we had to do in order to save the girls. Taking a deep breath, I shoved a forkful of egg in my mouth. The clumped food was cold and gritty
in my mouth. I pushed the plate to the side, playing with my fork.
"Evelyn!" Anastasia whispered loudly.
"What?" I asked absently.
"How are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Your fork!"
I looked down at the silver object to see it glowing red. I dropped it, allowing it to clang loudly on the plate, glancing around for anyone who may have been watching.
"What's wrong?" Agnolo asked.
"Bit my tongue," I mumbled.
He narrowed his eyes at me, but went back to his conversation.
"How did you do that?" Anastasia asked.
"I-I don't know. I've never done that before." I stared at the deformed fork as it cooled on the plate, partially melted.
Breakfast ended and we were all ushered to the first class of the day. I felt rushed and anxious to get back to my room. I needed to see Draco. A throbbing began in my temple, slowly encompassing my entire head. My heart sped up as my breathing became
shallow. I could feel my body growing hotter and hotter. Sweat beaded on my brow as the burning overtook me. I dropped to my knees, letting out a scream as the pain and heat became overbearing. Darkness took over and I slipped into a fitful sleep. I could feel my body lifting from the floor, feeling weightless as someone's arms encompassed my body, holding me close. They were warm and smelled of a strong spice. Someone mumbled to someone else far off. I couldn't make out what they said and I didn't care. I wanted to sleep.
Something cool was placed on my head, helping draw out the heat. It was replaced every few minutes for quite some time until all the noises around me dissipated. The cool cloth turned warm and dry as it laid on my head. My eyes fluttered open. My entire body felt as though I'd been stomped on by an entire herd of horses. Every muscle ached and burned. I drug myself out of bed and toward the window. I pushed it open, thankful for the relief of the cool night air.
"Draco!" I choked out.
"What happened?" he asked, appearing from the darkness.
"I-I don't know. At breakfast, my fork glowed red hot in my hand. Then at class it felt like I was going to burst into flames."
"You've completely bonded with my blood."
"What?" I asked.
"It's not a pleasant experience once you fully bond. You experience some side effects."
"Some side effects?" I asked. "It felt as though I was going to die! Not to mention this is not the best of places to fully bond. You could have warned me."
"I didn't want to scare you, and why do you think I tried to convince you not to come here?" he stated.
"I need to sleep."
I turned and collapsed on the bed, the breeze that drifted through the window aided in my fevered sleep. It was a wasted day I needed to plan the escape. My only hope was that Anastasia managed to spread the word more. The added powers I possessed from Draco would prove to be useful in the fight against the Guild. There was no way anyone could withstand magic.
Right?
Chapter twenty-four
I sat up in a cold sweat. My heart raced as I swiped at my forehead. My breathing staggered as I climbed out of bed. My head spun and my stomach heaved. It felt, as though the little bit I'd ate earlier was going to come back out. The moon hung high in the air as I flung myself across the windowpane.
"Be careful, dear tulip. You may fall out," a deep voice said behind me.
The Defender's Daughter: The Defender's Book 2 Page 14
