Karlen and Kieran exchanged looks.
"And did you?" Kieran's voice was a lot lower than his sister's-not much more than a whisper.
Dak was fully aware of the other assassins watching him. "We did. It seems her job is going to be a lot more difficult than first thought."
Karlen nodded. "I see." She took a drink of wine. "You still shouldn't have been seen. We just want it to be clear as to why you were punished."
Dak opened his mouth, but a kick from underneath the table stopped him.
Ryanon flashed Karlen a brilliant smile. "We understand."
"Good. Now, after we have finished here, we want to see both of you in the study to go over this new development."
Dak just nodded. Even though he had been involved in punishments before, it just always amazed him how quickly everyone seemed to get back to business. Even his own men as disciplined as they were still held grudges.
Karlen and Kieran stared at the ledger in front of them; both of their eyes raced across the pages, pausing only every few seconds. Dak could feel a bead of sweat forming along his brow; it took everything he had not to reach up and wipe it off. Beside him, Ryanon shifted her weight around, her jaw clenched.
After what felt like a lifetime, Karlen looked at them. "I'm seeing some pretty high up people on here."
Dak nodded. "I know. A lot of them do have grudges against the king and are in his privy council."
Karlen folded her hands together as she surveyed them with a hard look. "It still doesn't mean anything."
Dak really wanted to come across the desk and tear into her. "Someone knows." He nodded to Ryanon. "She has Ioslullumary on her arm and you know that stuff is not cheap."
Ryanon shot him a dark look.
Karlen's gaze shifted down to Ryanon's arm. "I know what it is. My question is why did this make you think someone was going to interfere with the job?"
"We've already told you Craskbrand had close ties to the king." Dak paused. "Besides, the king hasn't been exactly shy about breaking the curse. He thinks he's been sneaky by just telling the highest members of the privy council. He doesn't realize that it's the ones closest to you who have the power to turn on your the quickest."
Kieran leaned forward in his seat. "As interesting as it sounds, it doesn't make sense. Why would the king's own privy council turn on him?"
Dak didn't answer right away. Sure, it didn't make sense to those who weren't familiar with the workings of the castle and king. In public, they all appeared to be one big happy family.
Karlen motioned for her brother to sit back. "You must see where we are coming from. It just doesn't make any sense to us. We really do trust you two or we would never have agreed to do such a thing."
Ryanon flashed Karlen a brilliant smile. "We know that, but you really must trust us on this one. Someone knows what we are going to do." She lifted her arm, pulling back her sleeve, revealing the strip of Ioslullumary. "This is so rare that most people haven't seen it and only the wealthiest citizens can even think about purchasing it. They are not going to waste something so precious and expensive without having a cause."
Karlen returned Ryanon's smile. "You don't have to tell us what we already know. Tell me, my dear, what did it make you dream of doing that's got you following him? I thought you were a very take charge young woman."
Ryanon's face paled just a bit as she clenched her fists so tightly they actually started to turn white. "I am, but he knows more about the interworking of things like this."
"Well, I think it's time you go back to being the one in charge," Karlen said, her voice dangerously sweet. "We've all just seen what happens whenever he is the one in charge." With a wave of her hand, they were dismissed.
Dak followed Ryanon out into the hall, surprised that she wasn't putting up more of a fight over this. She didn't say anything until they were actually out on the streets and out of sight of the Guild. He really had no idea why he had allowed to lead him out here.
Ducking into an alley, she turned to him. "Before you say anything, lashing back at them would not have been our smartest move."
Dak nodded. "I know." He ran his hand over his unshaven face. "I just can't believe they dismissed the thought so quickly."
Ryanon's eyes shifted around, before landing fully on his. "Maybe they do believe us, but just don't want to admit they were wrong about something."
Dak's eyes lit up. "So, you do believe me then?"
"I guess," she sighed. "It does make a lot of sense."
"I wonder what happened while we were out," Dak mused.
Ryanon just gave him a dark look. "I think we need to focus on the task at hand."
"I guess."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about the one that involves your mother wanting your father dead. Can we really kill him?"
Dak frowned. "You are completely mental, you know that?"
Ryanon turned away from him. "Just be sure to keep your senses open. I don't want to almost die the next time I come to the castle." She turned and actually strutted away from him.
"Damn," Dak muttered as he turned back the other way.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Pictures of the Past
Ryanon stared out the window, wincing as her back brushed against the wall. Even though it had been days since the whipping, she still really properly moved. She still had no idea why she had let Dak drag her into this mess.
She looked back down at her book on Trelia. They had to pick one job and stay with it. Killing the King of Trelia would allow them the chance to get closer to the King of Xandria. However, Queen Ariana seemed pretty clear of her wishes-even if Dak never really had directly said anything more about that possible job.
Not the mention the fact that date for the Trelian mission had been set and he still hadn't told her the date. Why had he teased her about that, but never told her the date? He really was getting on the wrong side of her again.
She flipped through the book. There was just no way they were going to be able to pull this one off. Not only was there a layer of thorns surrounding the land, there was the matter of everything burning up. She had seen the pictures and it did look like a dragon to her. There was no way they could over power a dragon.
The other assassins were training, but she had asked for permission to work on the Trelian job. Now, a person she could take, but the thought of facing a dragon was just a whole other factor its own.
It was rumoured that Trelia had guns, which used firepower. As far she knew, Xandria did not have anything like that. It really didn't make any sense to her. Why was it they could develop drones and cameras, but not guns? Guns would at least even up the fighting scale a little bit.
She turned back to her book, knowing it was completely hopeless to even look for a solution. They just simply did not have the technology to go up against a dragon.
Dak would probably yell at her for even worrying about something that may or not exist, but she fully believed it was worth the time and effort to think about the situation from all angles. Not to mention the fact, he probably would be thinking about it too.
If he even knew about the dragon...
She stared at the picture. The dragon seemed to be just a little bit different from the other pictures of them she had seen. It was black, which really wasn't all that abnormal, but it did seem to have purple markings and it was actually looking right at the camera. Dragons didn't look right into things they didn't know. A normal dragon would have flown away.
Ryanon felt her eyes narrow. There was no way. It just simply was impossible or was it? She had heard a few Scholars in books make whispers about Nightstone being able to turn into a dragon. There was something about her not having wings and making so kind of a deal with a dark god.
She quickly got to her feet, rushing over to her bookshelf. She was pretty sure she still had that book...Almost positive. Her eyes scanned over the titles. It had to be mixed in with all of these fictional titles.
Running her hands alon
g the various titles, she mentally cursed herself for not having a better organizational system.
Ah, there it was! She pulled out the book, quickly flipping to Nightstone's page. It wasn't very long, but there was still plenty of information.
"The fairy known as Nightstone is one of the few wingless fairies in the known world. As Iron Fairy with great powers, the loss of her wings has not made her any less powerful. She holds most of her power in the staff, which is known to always be carrying. In a duel with the dark god, Astus, her wings were lost. Astus used his death blade to remove the fairy's wings once her back was turned. This move caused the fairy to turn from a mostly purple toned fairy to a mixture of black and purple. It is also said that this move is what allowed her to take the form of a dragon." Ryanon ran her finger further down the page. "It is rumoured that Nightstone is known to be a source of Draconite-a magical gem found inside the head of a dragon, the Iron Fairies, pure white and can't be engraved on. It is a crafting material that can be used to make weapons."
The rest of the page just went into detail over Nightstone's involvement in the Trelian curse.
Closing the book, Ryanon held it close to her chest. They were so screwed. There was just no denying it. She threw the book down on her bed. Maybe she was strong enough to hold it together for a little bit of training. It would give her something to take her anger out on.
By the time she made her way into the training room, she was regretting her decision. The other assassins were going at it with full force-not even Masse was holding back. Ryanon ignored the look she gave her when she entered.
Azur flashed Ryanon a smile. "I would have thought you wouldn't be up for a little bit. I thought you were working on a job."
She just snorted as she grabbed onto the pull up bar, wincing as the movement pulled at her back. "I need a break. It's giving me a headache." She lifted herself fully upwards, letting the pain sink in. There was just something so sweet about feeling the pain rushing through her body. "It's good to let the mind rest every once in awhile."
Azur crossed his arms over his large chest. "I can see that."
Ryanon lifted herself up again. Ah, this was going to be one of those deals where the longer she worked her body, the better she would feel.
"Why did you do it?" Azur pressed.
She groaned. She had wondered how long it would be before someone asked that question. "It just seemed like a good idea at the time."
"What are you hiding?"
She dropped down from the bar, her back screaming at her. "I'm not hiding anything. It did seem like a good idea at the time and we both know Dak knows more about the working of this country than any of us."
Azur's eyes narrowed. "I really do think you are hiding something. There's a big job you and Dak are doing. It must be pretty big, because no one really seems to know what it is about." He leaned in close. "I know there's more going on besides the Trelian king."
"I really can't tell you." Ryanon bit the inside of her mouth. "I really don't understand it."
Azur moved closer. "Then, why did you agree to it? Did it seem like a good idea at the time?"
She gave him a dark look. "No, I'm just getting paid a lot of money to do it."
"Money will not mean anything to you if you are dead, you do know that right?"
She grabbed back a hold of bar. "I know that. Trust me, I wouldn't be dead. It's just more of a matter to decide on who I am going to kill."
Azur shook his head. "Damn, this must be a good job."
"Oh, trust me, it is."
"And you're not going to tell me a thing, are you?"
She ran her hand along his strong arm. "I'm pretty sure you don't tell me all that you do either."
He flashed her the smile that got him so many kills, so many people to tell even their darkest secrets.
"That's what I thought." She turned her attention back to the bar. If she was going to get anything done, she was going to have to stop talking.
"You do know I was just following orders, don't you?"
She swore. Why didn't see that she just wanted to train? "Yes, I am fully aware of that." She lifted herself up. "Now, if you would excuse me, I have things to do."
Aliss stared at Ryanon as she emerged from the training room a few hours later, with sweat pouring out of her body. "And what do you think you're doing?" Aliss snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're going to destroy everything."
Ryanon just kept gulping her water. "I'm training. I'm pretty you do the same too."
Aliss opened and closed her mouth. She just kept eyeing Ryanon's current state with nothing short of a look of horror on her face.
Ryanon smirked. "I believe I've seen you sneaking around with a certain Lord Rawlin Ravenmanen or is that just all work. He must have a lot of money to keep seeing your kind or maybe you really don't cost that much. Don't you offer freebies?"
Aliss narrowed her eyes. "At least, I have men who are willing to lie with me."
Ryanon felt her smirk widen. "Honey, maybe I do too."
Aliss snorted. "I really don't see the captain doing that."
"I'm not talking about the captain."
"Who then?" Ryanon could practically see the wheels in Aliss's mind turning as she made her way through the list of possible males. "You have to tell me."
Ryanon shook her head. "I don't think so. See, isn't it nice to have a leg up on someone?" She turned and walked away, wondering just how long it would take Aliss to come running after her.
It took less time than she first thought. She had barely made it up two steps before she heard Aliss following her. She didn't turn back, didn't really acknowledge her for that matter. She just kept walking up the steps to her room.
Ryanon picked up her books and started putting them away as Aliss flopped down on the bed. "So, tell me," Aliss pressed.
Ryanon carefully tucked her books away. "What are you even talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about," Aliss snapped.
Ryanon turned away from her bookshelf. "I'm just stating a fact."
Aliss's lips grew thin. "No, you were implying something else." She reached under the mattress, pulling out a picture. "Like this. Normal people don't sleep with a picture of a handsome, young man under their mattress." Her frown only deepened as Ryanon charged her.
"Give that to me!" Ryanon hissed as she tried to claw the picture away from Aliss. For someone not having any training, Aliss sure did a damn good job at keeping it out of her reach. "Aliss!"
Aliss jerked away from Ryanon. "You know, he kind of looks like you. The same facial expression, hairline, and everything."
Ryanon was actually considering sitting on Aliss. "Just give it to me."
Aliss carefully handed back the picture as Ryanon checked it over for any signs of damage. "Who is he?" she asked, her voice soft as Ryanon tucked it safely back into its hiding place.
Ryanon narrowed her eyes, fighting the urge to hiss at her like a cat. "He's nobody." She bit the inside of her mouth. She didn't do backstories; that it was just plain and simple.
"He really looks like you."
"Will you just let it go?"
Aliss leaned back onto the bed. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who he is."
"And you are aware that I can throw you out the window?"
That seemed to get Aliss's attention. She got to her feet and started toward the door. "Well, if you ever decide to spill, you just let me know."
Sighing, Ryanon ran her hands through her hair. "His name was Lancelyn. He was my brother."
Aliss turned around, nodding. "Was?"
Ryanon closed her eyes. It had been almost nine years and she could still picture it. "He was killed doing a job. The pirate he was supposed to kill somehow found out about the attack. When Lancelyn went in to do the job, he was ambushed. The pirate had him tied to a stake and they burned him until no one could recognize him. They sent his charred body here in a box." She could feel herself shaking. "The o
nly way we could tell who he was from the necklace he always wore. It still had his blood on it."
Aliss came closer to Ryanon. "I'm so sorry."
Ryanon batted her away. "It happened a long time ago."
"Did they ever find the pirate who did it?"
"No, we never knew his name. I don't even think Lancelyn knew him."
"If you ever find out, you make sure kill him and make him suffer."
Ryanon smiled. "Oh, trust me, I will."
"Well, this looks like a fun party." Masse leaned against the doorway, holding an envelope. "This arrived for you."
Ryanon took the envelope, breaking the seal.
We move after Market Day. Make sure you get to the castle. Follow the instructions below and you shouldn't have any trouble.
A list of directions fell out of the envelope. She picked them up, studying them. It looked complicated, but she could do it. "I think it's time for you two to leave."
It was about damn time he told her the date.
Chapter Twenty-Five: See Me In Shadow
Ryanon pushed her way through the thick crowds of the Xandria Commons. She knew Market Day was the event of the year and that it gave people a chance to forget about the awful events that occurred in Trelia those hundreds of years ago.
She normally did not venture out on days like this, preferring the shadows of the night to the bitter daylight. For in the day, she was fully exposed, but at night, she was a weapon, blending in with the shadows, ready to kill.
However, today it was necessary to be out in the day. The prince was out and that meant that the Royal Guard was also out with their captain.
Ryanon's eyes darted around the commons. She could see members of the Royal Guard. It was easy to find the prince, who was surrounded by admirers and drinking every bit of it up. However, the captain of the guard was missing.
A cool hand clasped around Ryanon's mouth and she found herself being pulled away from the Commons so quickly that she did not have time to react...Or reach for the knife that was carefully tucked into her sleeve.
"I would have thought that you would not have allowed that to happen." The hands let go of Ryanon as soon as they were down a foul smelling, but empty street.
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