He laughed. "You always were one who liked to be in control. Glad to see that side come out of you again. However, tonight is all about making you feel good."
Amberfall smiled thoughtfully up at him. "Then, I suggest you get busy. I have really high standards, you know."
"I know." He buried his face into her neck.
She smiled as she forced him up to her lips, her hands ran up and down his strong back. She worked his tunic free of his trousers, teasing the bit of skin exposed on his lower back. Her movements grew faster his did. "Arms up," she whispered.
Frostfire sat back on his heels, with his arms up. Amberfall slowly reached for him acting more like a snake making its way to a field mouse. She grabbed the end of the tunic and pulled it over his head, revealing his strong chest. "Much better," she whispered as their bodies formed together as one.
"I think so too," he breathed.
She broke away from his kisses. "Come with me," she begged.
Frostfire paused, looking right into her eyes. "Come where?"
"To Xandria."
He leaned back onto his heels. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes, I want you with me."
Chapter Seven: Sing to Me
Ryanon smiled down at the sweet amount of gold that was piled high on her desk. Sure, Masse had been pissed about being left, but she got paid just the same and was probably blowing it.
Ryanon ran her hand over the money. What to buy now? There was some new books out that she just had to have and she had seen the cutest teddy bear last week that would look lovely with her collection. She also hadn't had a good meal in awhile either.
She dug out her purse and threw all of the money it in, as well as a knife. You never knew who you were going to met in the slums of Skalavik. Grabbing her cloak, she gave the room one final look over before leaving.
Outside, she headed toward her favourite bookshop, which was actually in one of the nicer areas of Skalavik. No one gave her a second look as she stepped into the shop; it really did pay to dress in the latest fashions. She made her way to the back and started to shift through the books. She never really did figure out why this shop kept all of the new releases in the back, but she guessed whatever floated your boat worked. Fifteen minutes later, she walked out with two bags of books.
Now, for that bear.
She stepped off the sidewalk, sighing as she hit the pavement and not the muck that she was used to stepping in. It was nice to be able to come outside without ruining your shoes.
The bear was still where she had last seen it. The price did make her wince, but she still made her way up to the front to pay. You only lived once and, besides, she had been working without treating herself for so long. She deserved to have a little fun.
Plus, the bear was extra soft and fluffy.
Keeping the bear close to her chest, she made her way back to toward the slums. She sent an innocent, but sweet smile at a few of the young men she caught staring at her. A few of them were cute, but she did have standards after all.
"Ryanon Cinderspear in the flesh."
Ryanon turned, staring at the only female who she even considered to be a friend. Really, they weren't friends, more being two people that they could each other's company and gave each other a safe place to stay when things got bad. Plus, there weren't too many seventeen year old females who were free around here either.
Aliss smiled at Ryanon. "You really do need to get out." She gave Ryanon's outfit a once over. "Although, I will say that you look just as fine as ever."
Ryanon readjusted her bags. "What are you doing out here?"
Aliss studied her prefect nails. "I was in the neighbourhood. A baron's son is getting married next week and wanted one last night of fun." She snorted. "I pity the poor man's wife though. He is seriously lacking in the bedroom."
"I see," Ryanon said, her voice low.
Aliss shook her head. "Really, Ryanon, I don't get it. Why do you disapprove so much of my job when yours is much worse?"
Ryanon looked over her shoulder as a group of young ladies walked past them. "Be careful what you say." She grabbed Aliss, leading her away from the prying eyes of the rich.
They ducked into a small alley away from the people and most importantly from the cameras.
Frowning, Aliss surveyed her surroundings. "Anyway, you cost me big last night. Lord Lowis Goldspire was supposed to be mine last night."
Ryanon smiled. "Sorry." She frowned. "How did you know it was me?"
"Lucky guess." Aliss crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't worry, no one else knows. I heard that they are talking to the sailors. Everyone knows how stupid the royal guards are and no one really wants to admit what the lord was really doing. It'll bring down their damn family name."
Ryanon's eyes shifted around. Aliss wasn't the only one who knew. She would bet everything she owned that Dak knew as well.
"Anyway, the guards do talk when they come to see me," Aliss s went on, her voice lazy. "There is some kind of big mission coming up that no one can see to stop talking about. They really don't know what is going on, which, I guess, is the exciting part."
"Mission?" Could this be the Trelia mission Dak had been talking about?
Aliss nodded. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Anyway, they all want to be picked, but the king only wants the best. There is also someone important coming to the castle as well. The king seems really excited about it."
"Who?" Ryanon snapped. Aliss had a really bad habit about drawing everything out.
"Queen Amberfall of Zania."
Ryanon gaped at her. "Now, don't joke with me. Who is coming?"
"That's who really is coming."
Queen Amberfall had not been out of Zania since Trelia fell under that awful curse. Most people did blame her for what happened, claiming that she had had the chance to undo it. Ryanon really wasn't sure if Amberfall was to blame. The Iron Fairies did actually seem a lot stronger than the Nature Fairies.
"When?" Ryanon asked.
Aliss shrugged. "No one knows. She's not officially accepted the king's request, but they are talking like she is for sure coming."
"Huh." Ryanon watched as a rat ran across in front of them. She smirked at Aliss's expression. "Are you going to tell me if you find out anymore?"
Aliss's eyes narrowed. "I am not your servant."
Ryanon shrugged. "Well, you do service men."
"Stop it! At least, they are still alive whenever I'm done with them."
"The ones I kill deserve to die. They have all wronged society in some way."
"Keep telling yourself that, Ryanon, one day your may actually believe those words." Aliss pushed past Ryanon. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of very important appointments today and I cannot afford to miss them."
Ryanon watched her go. Sometimes, she really didn't get why they even spoke. Granted, Aliss did know a lot, but beyond that, Ryanon really didn't have a use for her.
Queen Amberfall coming to Xandria. Now, there was something worth talking about. She was said to be the most powerful fairy in all of Zania. Some said that she was even stronger than Nightstone, the Iron Fairy who had put the curse on Trelia. It was rumoured that Amberfall had kind of lost it whenever Trelia was cursed and hadn't been able to perform her strong magic since then. Others said that, she reminded locked up tight in Zania and had sealed its borders along with her. No matter what the rumours said, everyone knew that the fairies could come back and cast bring Xandria down.
Ryanon stepped into the guild, not remembering the walk there. She went up to her room, dropping her new items on the bed. Dak would probably be here in no time to report this new information, but there was just something about being the first one to say something that got her really excited.
She ran back down the steps to Karlen's office, taking the steps two at time. The door was open and, for once, Karlen was alone.
"What brings you here?" Karlen drawled. "Have you already spent all of that money and want another j
ob?"
Ryanon felt her eyes narrow. Karlen would never talk to any of the males like this. "No, I have some news that may be important to you."
Karlen looked up from the letter she was writing. "Don't use that tone with me again or you'll be out on the streets so fast that you won't know what to think."
Ryanon just snorted. Karlen threatened to throw her out at least once a week and never made good to her threats.
Karlen bent back over her work. "This had better be good."
"Queen Amberfall is coming to Xandria."
Karlen's head jerked up. "Come again?"
Ryanon crossed her arms over her chest. "You heard me."
"That's impossible. Dak would have told us. Whoever your source is, is mental."
Ryanon banged her fist on the table. "I'm not mental!" She stomped toward the door. "We'll see who's right. Your Golden Boy isn't the saint that you think he is." She marched out of the room before Karlen could say another word. Sometimes, there was just no getting through to people like Karlen.
She was just fifteen when she realized a truly awful fact. She was going to die. It wasn't the normal kind of dying of old age, sickness, or of some noble cause. No, it was the kind of dying that involved her being struck down by some unknown assassin of the night.
She really had no idea why an assassin would dare to strike her. Okay, maybe, she did know why one would come after her. She had made a few enemies over the years both in the natural and supernatural form. However, what most didn't know was that she was actually so young and a girl.
Whenever most people thought about a creature of the night, they always seemed to think, well, male. Male was dark and female was light. A female was suppose to sit at home and wait for some man to come into her life to save her. That was very nice and all, but it just wasn't Ryanon.
As she pushed her way through the crowd of both humans and nonhumans, she made sure to keep her eyes and ears open as well as her hand on the blade inside her cloak. Better to make yourself invisible than to draw unwanted attention to yourself.
The thick and foul smells of the city hid any detection of poison from the common person. The human body was the perfect disguise murder. Again, it all came down to the sexes. Murder was male.
Ryanon jerked awake, peeling herself away from the book. Blinking, she stared out the darkened open window. It had been months since she had last had that dream. It was always the same. She was younger than she was now and someone was going to kill her.
She walked over the window, peering out. The shadows were empty. With one final look, she slammed the window shut, not bothering to be quiet for the others sleeping nearby.
She lowered herself onto her bed. The dream...Karlen not taking her seriously was all too much. Running her hands through her hair, she stared out into the dark room. No one was going to kill her tonight, so she at least had that much going for her.
There had to be a way to make Karlen see that she was right. It really wasn't Ryanon's fault that she didn't work in the castle like Dak. That, however, did not mean that she didn't know what she was talking about. Aliss's information usually turned out to be right and Karlen knew that.
However, Dak's word was more valued because he was the king's son and because he was male. Ryanon just could not believe that Karlen was one of those fools who truly believed that her own gender was second class.
Whatever happened to the strong women before the curse? Did it have something to do with the fact that the curse was done by a female and that was why every female must suffer? It just didn't make sense to blame everyone for the evil deeds of the one.
She went back over the window as howls filled the night air, followed by hisses. The street below was oddly empty. She looked back up at the sky. The full moon stared down at her. Only a fool would be out on a night like this.
The nights of the full moon were the most dangerous nights in Xandria. All of the supernatural creatures came out to play and kill. Even the roughest pubs would have their doors shut tonight.
She watched as a werewolf darted across the street. Its red eyes caught her own for a brief time, sending shivers down her spine. Yet, she couldn't make herself look away. They were both hunters, both dying to kill something. Then, it did the oddest thing that she had ever seen a wolf do. It seemed to smirk at her before disappearing from sight.
Shaking her head, she turned away from the window, but she could have sworn there was something familiar about that wolf.
She flopped back on her bed, listening as more howls filled her ears, added with the mix of vampire hisses. Every once in awhile, the scream of some poor unfortunate soul would be added to the choir. Ryanon shook her head those screams. Everyone should know better than to be out when the supernaturals were singing.
"You're all just a bunch of foolish men," Ryanon hissed to the darkness. "You'll all a bunch of foolish men and you will die for your stupid mistakes."
She picked her book back up and relit her candle. There was something about reading while people were dying on the streets that was oddly relaxing; it made her feel like she was better than she actually was.
The next scream was so loud that it sounded like it was right outside her window, but she didn't move. She probably could have shot the wolf down with an arrow from her window, but the human was probably too stupid to be of any benefit to society. Besides, the death was his own fault. He shouldn't be out tonight anyway.
She didn't even move the sirens rang out. Things must be getting pretty somewhere. The sirens were a call to arms for the few troops who stayed in Skalavik.
"Ryanon! You have to get up!"
The doors burst open before she even had time to put her feet on the floor. Kitt roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the door.
"Stop!" Ryanon screamed, while attempting to pry his arm off. "What is going on?"
"THE IRON FAIRIES!" Kitt roared as the sirens grew louder.
She gasped as Kitt pulled her roughly down the stairs. The Iron Fairies hadn't been seen or heard of in years. She tried to peer out through one of the few windows that they pasted, but Kitt was coming so quickly that she didn't have the chance.
At the bottom of the steps, everyone, but Dak, was already waiting. It seemed odd to see all of the assassins in their bedclothes instead of being armed to the teeth with weapons. Outside, the noise grew so loud that Ryanon wanted to cover her ears with her hands.
"Everyone out!" Karlen screamed. "We're not safe here!"
Masse frowned. "It's a full moon!"
Karlen threw some weapons at them. "You'll live. It's better to be out in the open than in here when the Iron Fairies come."
Ryanon picked up a sword and waltzed out the door. She really didn't fancy dying in this hellhole.
Chapter Eight: The Iron Fairies
Ryanon ran through the thick, screaming crowds. Blood literally ran through the streets, creating a rust stain on the sidewalks. She pushed her way past a young woman, screaming at the top of her lungs. The key on night like this was to keep moving and not let your head get to you. The werewolves and vampires could sense weakness.
"Hello, beautiful," a vampire hissed, jumping out in front of Ryanon. His fangs dripped fresh blood onto the street and his smile revealed even fresher blood. "Come dance with me."
Ryanon shoved her sword into his stomach. "Don't count on it," she hissed as she withdrew the sword. The vampire cursed as he fell to the ground. She ran around him. That wound would not kill him. It would only slow him down for no more than a few minutes.
Behind her, the screams grew louder. She didn't even bother to look back to see what all of the fuss was about. She hadn't even looked back to see if her fellow assassins made it out either.
Ahead, the street broke off into two parts. One part was so dark that Ryanon could not see anything lurking. The other part was so full of people that there was no way that she was getting through it. She stared at the streets. Both would lead to her death and staying here was just
out of the question. Besides, there was no going back the way she came.
She chanced a look up at the sky. It was still all clear. Could the Iron Fairies make themselves invisible? She couldn't remember the books saying that they couldn't, but they didn't claim that they could.
She sighed, before shoving her way through the thick masses of the crowds. There was just something about going into the darkness that made her hair stand tall. People shot her dirty looks as she pushed through them, which she returned with dirty looks of her own. Let them try and scare her away with looks. They were nothing.
The werewolves howled from somewhere above. Ryanon's head jerked up with the others as shadows ran on the tops of the wall. The yellow eyes glowed with every movement.
"There!" a woman screamed. "Keep your filthy necks up there where you belong!"
The wolf closest to the masses turned. Its giant head was far bigger than any that Ryanon had seen. Unlike the other wolves, its eyes were bright red. An Alpha...Ryanon had only heard about such wolves but had never seen one. "You call us filthy humans," the wolf growled; its voice so low, but strong enough to cause everyone to freeze. "You call us filthy!"
The woman opened and closed her mouth as the wolf jumped down right in front of her.
"Let me show you what filth looks like!" The wolf's jaws were clamped around the woman's throat before anyone had time to react. Blood flew so high into the air that many of the wolves on top of the wall licked it up.
The woman's body fell to the ground with a thud, her eyes still wide open. Blood pooled around her body, leaving an ocean of gore.
The wolf looked at the humans, its mouth now the colour of its eyes. "You have been warned, humans! Cross us again and it will be more than one of you who joins her!" With a great bound, the wolf jumped back on top of the wall, leading its Pack away from the scene.
The people closest to the body simply stood at here staring. Ryanon found it odd that no one was screaming or running away. It was like no one had ever seen death before. Even the smallest of the children stood there not moving.
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