Assassin's Liege

by A Lonergan

  This made no sense. She wouldn’t have eloped. Right? That didn’t seem like her. Why would she elope in the middle of the war? Unless she didn’t think she would be able to find us and thought it was her best option. But a demon? Did demons even marry? I turned around at the sound of footsteps in the hall.

  Nico was grinning from ear to ear. His smile slipped off his face when he saw my expression. “So you have heard.”

  “Yes, just now. She married Balam?” I didn’t know why I was even asking.

  Nico’s chest puffed up in agitation. “Yes,” He bit his lip. “Though, there is something more to this. Don’t get too worked up.”

  “I’m not worked up, though I am a bit irritated.”

  Nico rolled his eyes. “You have no right to be irritated. You are the one that broke things off with her. You’re the one that couldn’t mix emotions. She is the one that deserves to find happiness, healing, and herself. You are going on dates. You realize that, right?”

  He was always right and it was exceptionally annoying. “Goodnight, Nico.”

  The next morning was something from a nightmare. The Artrovian King wanted to meet the new esteemed guest of the castle and her husband so a royal breakfast was issued.

  I had thought there was something suspicious happening until I watched the demon cup her neck and kiss her temple. I had been expecting a show but all I could see was real affection. My stomach rolled. His eyes met mine and he grinned. The demon’s canines elongated and his orange eyes swirled in mirth. He was taunting me and Willow had no idea. She still had her back to me while she spoke to the king.

  Lawrence saw me and a grin materialized on his face. “I was so excited to hear your friend had made it to us safely, though I am a bit surprised to find that she is married.”

  “You and me both, King Artrovia.”

  Willow whipped around at the sound of my voice. Her face went crimson as Balam’s nose traced a path up her neck. Only newlyweds would act so brazen. My appetite was soiled.

  “Well, this is a cause for a celebration!” Lawrence shouted to the room. With his blessing, commotion lit the rest of the hall. Magic spiraled in the air and Willow stared at me. There was sorrow and accusations waiting for me in the depths of her eyes. I had done this to her.

  “Congratulations, to you both.” When Balam’s eyes met mine again, I couldn’t help but snarl at him. I was thankful for all the commotion that distracted the rest of the room from my departure. I ran into Ailia in the hallway. Her blue hair was in a bun on her head and her clothes were wrinkled.

  I frowned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “The waters have changed again.” Her eyes found something over my shoulder and I knew that she was looking at Willow. “What is all the cause for celebration?”

  “One of my elites married on her way here.”

  Ailia blinked. “You have female elites?”

  My voice sounded dark. “Only one.”

  Ailia nodded her head. “Her aura is extremely abnormal and so is her husband’s.”

  I didn’t look over my shoulder. I didn’t want to see the way he was touching her. I couldn’t handle the way his eyes mocked me. He knew he was getting under my skin and yet, it fueled him even more.

  “Though he is extremely handsome,” I grunted and pushed past her. She followed me down the hall. “I was merely making an observation. It makes sense that she would choose him.”

  I wanted to shout at her. Tell her that she had chosen me first. But I did no such thing. I just balled my hands into fists and shook my head. What could I do? What could I say? I had sealed my fate all for a war? All over my sister. She continued to ruin my life, even though she was in my dungeons back home.

  “Something isn’t right,” I admitted after the silence in the hallway tried to consume me. Ailia looked at me with questioning eyes. “We were courting.”

  Ailia took a step back and frowned. “How long ago?”

  “A few weeks before we arrived here I cut things off.” I folded my arms across my chest.

  Ailia ticked off her fingers. “So about two months ago?”

  “Yes, I think so.” I pulled my hands down my face. It didn’t matter.

  Ailia gave me a small smile. “I think you’re onto something.” I narrowed my eyes at her but let her continue. “Either she’s pregnant or it’s a rouse.”

  I chuckled. “Pregnant? I am very doubtful of that.”

  “Oh? Did you see him nibbling on her neck? When your passion for another is all-consuming, there is hardly any room for rational thinking, especially when you are on your back.” I raised my eyebrows at her. Her face flushed when reality set in on what she had just disclosed. She shook her head and a few tresses of blue hair escaped and framed her face. “That was taken out of context, I have never been in such throes of passion before.”

  “Then how would you know?” I cocked an eyebrow and smirked. I knew what she was speaking of because I had experienced it many times. I had never shied away from the female form. She had been kept from men all of her life, unless she hadn’t. “Who am I going to tell?”

  “My father.” She narrowed her lavender eyes at me and turned on her heel. She marched down the hallway and out of the castle. My boots were muffled from the carpet that had been freshly laid out that morning. I chased after her and when I finally caught up, winded more than than I wanted to admit, I grabbed her arm and spun her around.

  “I am not here to report to your father. I am not here to marry you or your sisters off. I don’t want a marriage unless its for love. I don’t want anything unless it is what I choose for my life. I know yours isn’t the same but I want to help you. I would never use the information you give me against you.” I waved my hand around my body and purple flames ignited in the grass around us. “What you tell me in confidence shall be kept as such. This is a-”

  She looked at me alarmed and interrupted me. “You’re binding your words with your magic.”

  “I want you to trust me, Ailia. Not because your father told me I need to get to know you or that I like the way your hair lights up in the sunshine, but because I like you, as a person. I appreciate your friendship, even though it has been brief. You will never have to worry about not being able to trust what I tell you because everything that passes my lips will be the truth.”

  “You don’t have to do this.” She took a step away from me.

  “It’s already been done. The things you tell me will remain with me.”

  Ailia looked out to the part of the kingdom that held her giants. “I loved a man once. He is trapped under those waters with the rest of the giants I have adored since I was little.”

  “Do you think they will survive coming out of there if someone can do it?”

  Ailia twisted her hands in front of her. “I hope so, but its been years, Cal. I don’t have much hope left in me.”

  “The man you loved was a giant?” I asked. I didn’t really understand how that worked but there was no judgment from me.

  She shook her head and laughed. “No, the man I loved was one of the guards that tried to protect them. He ran in as the spell was setting and he’s down there somewhere. It’s probably best that I can’t see him or it would break me. But it doesn’t matter, like I said it’s been years. The chances of them coming out and surviving are slim. They waste away every moment they are out there.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Willow

  “Do you really have to bait him?” I finally asked as I was brushing my hair out that night.

  “I wasn’t baiting him,” Balam said from the couch in front of the fireplace. He threw me a snarky grin.

  “Then what were you doing?” I turned back around. I could no longer handle how smug his face looked.

  “Tasting your skin.” My stomach did a flip flop. I had to remind myself that none of this was real. This was a means to an end and just because he licked my neck several hundred times didn’t mean he was interested i
n me. The last thing I needed was more confusion.

  “I am done with you.” I tossed the brush onto the vanity and climbed into the large fourposter bed. I wore a red nightgown that had been a gift from one of the king’s daughters as a wedding present. They felt so terrible that I had to have my first wedding night in the woods. Though one of them didn’t look like she thought it was terrible at all. She had winked at me. Either way, it didn’t matter. I wore it mainly to get under Balam’s skin.

  “By the looks of what you’re wearing you aren’t.” He rose from the couch and pulled his tunic over his head.

  I snapped my fingers and the lanterns blew out. “You might as well get comfortable on that couch because you aren’t sleeping up here.”

  “The hell I’m sleeping on the couch. You can get over yourself. I don’t need blankets anyway.” I felt the bed dip as he climbed in it. I couldn’t see him and I was thankful. As he moved my stomach continued to dip with the bed. My treacherous body was out to kill me. We had a part to play and this was a sliver of it. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my erratic thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” he asked after a few minutes.

  “Yes,” I rolled over and tried to scoot as far away from him as I could. My stomach met the edge of the bed and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Goodnight.”

  I had thought for sure Balam had woken me. There was a small part of me that had hoped he would. That all the affection he had been dishing out in public would make it to our private quarters but no such thing happened. I blinked in the darkness confused about what had woken me. Balam was sleeping soundly besides a few snorts every few minutes and I snickered.

  Demon isn’t so perfect after all.

  I slid from the bed and wrapped a silk robe around my shoulders. There was something calling to me but I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around it. Something wasn’t right.

  “Please,” A whisper practically shouted into my head. I lurched at the sound. Nico? No, the voice had been too feminine. As I approached the door, the voice got louder and then there were other voices. “Help us.”

  I slipped from the room and down the hall. I didn’t know what I was doing but I knew I had to do it fast. There was a group of people that needed me and I was going to find them. My magic helped me stay hidden in the well-lit castle. The stones were whitewashed in the halls and there weren’t many shadows. Which made the king a smart man. Shadows got you killed. I had been one for too many years. I wanted to ask for directions but as I neared the doors to the outside, the voices grew stronger and louder. I dropped to my knees and pleaded with them in my mind. I was going to help but their magic was going to explode my brain if they weren’t careful. There were two guards posted on either side of the doorway. I had never cloaked myself with my magic in such a brightly lit area.

  I took a deep breath, held it, and walked right between them into the open air. They remained where they stood. They didn’t even budge as I ran across the grass. My toes sunk into the soft earth and I looked around wildly. How was I supposed to find them? There was nothing out here.

  The first voice spoke in my mind again. “The water,” There was no water. I closed my eyes, maybe my magic could find it. And sure enough, it did. The pool was in sector ten.

  The stones on the streets of sector ten were warm and gritty. I almost regretted not wearing shoes but I knew if I had delayed, Balam would have woken and stopped me from this folly. I also didn’t want to wake him. He hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep since he had arrived at the camp with us. I had seen the way he stayed alert at all times, even in the night when I briefly woke. He was sitting there, watching, waiting, and protecting.

  Sector ten had been lively before but it was dead now. There wasn’t a peep as I made my way down the main street. There was a tavern in the corner of the sector and it was the only building that was lit up. There was music coming from its depths but everything else was silent.

  I let my magic guide me to the water. I turned a corner and found a field. At the other end of the field, there was a pond. It was much bigger than I had anticipated. At the water’s edge was a woman. It was the same woman that had been speaking to Cal after the breakfast celebration. She had watched me with careful eyes but I didn’t take her as a threat. Her shoulders shook as sobs overtook her. I uncloaked myself. My magic fell away and I walked across the tall grass.

  She looked up at me in alarm and then realized who I was. “Did Cal send you to find me?”

  I frowned. “Why would he do that?”

  “You’re one of his elites, aren’t you?” She didn’t worry about hiding her tears. She straightened her back and pushed her blue hair over her shoulder.

  “I guess you could call me that.” I knelt down on the ground beside her. “But no, he didn’t send me or I would be wearing proper gear.”

  She blushed and averted her eyes from the skimpy clothing I was wearing. The robe didn’t do much to cover my body. “Yes, I suppose you are right.”

  The whispers had stopped now and there was no pull. But I knew I was in the right place. I scooted closer to the clear water and looked in. I gasped and fell backward.

  “I should have warned you. It is rather gruesome.” The woman looked down into the water with me.

  “No, it’s okay. I have seen my share of horrors. I was merely shocked. Is there anything you can do for them?” I didn’t know if I wanted to divulge why I had been led there just yet.

  “She shook her head. Many have lost their lives to the depth below. The elves used dark magic that we aren’t accustomed to.” She pressed her hands into the grass before she stood up. “I should probably get back to the castle. My father would have my head if he knew I was out here alone.”

  I grabbed her hand. “Can I try something?”

  She frowned and shook her head. “Don’t try to be the hero. You won’t win.”

  “You know very little about me.” I tugged on her hand for her to sit.

  “I know you have a husband that would be distraught without you. I won’t allow this foolishness.” She shook her head once, like the words she said were final. Royalty was really starting to get on my nerves.

  “What is your name?” I finally asked.

  “Ailia.”

  “Ailia, I am my own person.” I took the robe from my shoulders and stood on the water’s edge. “I’m not married. George would probably fair better without me and those people called me here. If I can help them, I am going to try, no matter what that means.”

  “Cal loves you,” Ailia whispered.

  “Cal loves the idea of love, Ailia.” With that, I dove into the water. It was like shards of glass digging into my flesh. But I pushed on. My magic coated anywhere that was attacked by the icy water. When I made it to the bottom of the pool I grabbed a hold of the chain that was bigger than the mountains themselves. The people that had been calling out to me were giants. Giants chained to the bottom of the deepest pond in the realm. No wonder people had died down here. The water was practically frozen and holding your breath for long enough to free them all was impossible. The female’s eyes followed me as I swam around her body. Her clothing was practically nonexistent and her body was all skin and bones. My heart lurched inside of my chest and I had to fight the urge to fall apart for them. There were hundreds down here and I didn’t know how much time I had before my body failed me like all the others. Bones littered the floor of the pool and I knew if I wasn’t careful I would end up down there with them.

  If Balam knew what I was up to, he would kill me himself. He had to save my rutting ass too many times to justify me doing this alone. I knew better, but I also knew that they had called to me for a reason. I wasn’t going to pretend like I hadn’t heard them. My lungs started to burn and I knew my time was about up.

  The chains holding their hands and legs down were rusted but solid. Ailia had been right when she said they were forged with magic unknown to this world. There were no keyholes. There was nothing I could see to hel
p them. I closed my eyes and wrapped my hands around one of the chain links that was bigger than my head. I opened my eyes and looked up at the giantess that had called to me. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. Her brown hair floated above her in the water and her face was frozen in terror. The only thing that wasn’t frozen in fear was her eyes. The bright blue eyes followed me again and I smiled at her. My chest was starting to itch and I knew I had to be fast. I tightened my grip on the chain link and exhaled onto it. Black magic poured from my mouth onto the metal. I had no choice but to release the chains as my magic coated them in a thick, black substance. The exhale had taken the rest of my breath and my energy from me. I felt my body sink to the bottom of the pool with the rest of the death that awaited me.

  Water didn’t like me very much it seemed. There was a blast of light above me and a ripple in the water that lifted me from the scattered bones and jerked my body. A monstrous hand wrapped around me and dragged me to the surface of the water. I shot out of the water and landed on all fours. I rolled to my back and laid there in a heap of exhaustion and shock. My magic had done exactly what I had asked it to. Now I didn’t know if I had the energy to do it again. Something soft was draped over my body and I opened my eyes to see Ailia and much to my displeasure, Cal. I could feel more people around me and I knew this wasn’t going to be good. Because somewhere in the crowd of people was Balam and he was seething.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Balam

  I had felt Willow’s presence leave the room. I had known she was on a mission for something, but I had assumed it was for food. When she slipped from the door, her presence disappeared. Her magic cloaked her too well. I wasted time searching the kitchen and the pantry, hoping I would find her sleeping with a pastry somewhere. She loved pastries and had complained about missing them the entire journey here. That had been the thing she was looking forward to the most. But no matter how hard I searched or sent my magic out, I couldn’t find her. Her magic had done its job well. But that meant that I had to work harder and I was already tired enough.