An Assassin's Redemption: A New Adult Urban Fantasy Romance Novel

by Tanya Kennedy

  Her brow drew together in confusion. “You don’t want me to worry about you, but you do?”

  Cade watched her struggle. “I don’t want you to worry for no reason, but the fact that you do says something about our relationship.”

  Her eyes rolled to the ceiling as she wrestled with what he was trying to convey. “And what does it say…about our…relationship?”

  His teeth flashed in a bright smile. “It just says that you are starting to like us.”

  Her eyes were flat. “I liked you before. Why would it make a difference that I don’t want you to die?”

  “It’s just a sign of affection. One I’m sure you are not prone to, or at least weren’t.” He studied her face as she watched him. It was hard to believe she was the same girl who crawled out of the dark to threaten Darius’ life just a short time ago. He had to admit she was charming, despite her many quirks.

  An eyebrow rose. “So it is okay to want to hit you to make you listen to me when I am right?”

  Cade’s jaw dropped. “Uh, not exactly, but it is okay to be upset when you think we are putting ourselves in harm’s way. It’s part of caring about others.”

  She looked away and slumped in a petulant ire. “I do want to hit him.”

  Cade laughed. “I think he has that effect on a lot of people.” He patted her shoulder. “He’ll be all right, I promise.”

  “And if he isn’t?”

  “Then you can hit him.”

  She flexed her hand as she stared at the empty hallway. “Good.”

  He searched her face. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

  Her eyes snapped to his. “What does that mean?”

  He shrugged. “It’s just an observation.”

  “Why would I like him at all? He is quite difficult.”

  “You definitely have your share of arguments. He’s a very good man, Brendan. You’d be hard up to find one better.”

  Her brows drew down in suspicion. “Why are you selling him to me?”

  Cade shrugged. “Not that I really need to, but he is my friend. I think highly of him, and with good reason.”

  “Are you going to bolster Trey next?”

  “Do I need to?” She sank into the couch and watched him out of the corner of her eye. “He’ll be back, you know. Won’t be long at all.”

  She looked away from him. “What else did you want to know?”

  He watched her before glancing down at the parchment. “Yes, well. Did you interact with a lot of other members of the Trinity? Did many come to the castle?”

  “There was always a string of visitors to the castle that were in the Trinity. Even before Master started his plot to take over, he was a high-ranking member. He is now set up to have his son follow him as leader. Now there is a constant stream.” She jumped up and paced the room. “Shouldn’t he be back? Where is he?”

  Cade sighed. “Why don’t we go and set up your room? See what all this house has.”

  She glanced back at him, eyebrow raised. “You are trying to placate me.”

  “No, I am trying to distract you until Brendan returns.” He stood and held out a hand to her. “Come on.”

  She took his hand keeping her eyes down as they walked. “I don’t like feeling this way.”

  He pulled her close, snaking an arm around her shoulders. “No one does. You’ll get used to it.”

  “I don’t want to get used to it. I think I will just lock him up. Then I will always know where he is.”

  Cade fought to control his mirth. “That’s one idea. Why don’t you try talking to him? You might find he’s more capable than you think he is.”

  “It is not his talent I worry about. How is he to defend himself against people when he doesn’t understand their motivations?”

  “I don’t think I understand.”

  “That’s the problem! None of you understand! How do you intend to fight these people when you do not understand?” She threw his hand away eyes bright with agitation.

  He shrugged. “You fought us when you didn’t understand us.”

  A growl rose from her gut. “No I didn’t. I didn’t fight you. You could have killed me, any of you, easily!”

  “But we didn’t.”

  “Do you really think any of the men that would be looking for me are going to hesitate in any way? If you get in their way, they will kill you. First they will torture you for information, then they will kill you.” Her voice was heavy with emotion as she paced toward him.

  “They’ll try.”

  “They’ll succeed. None of you would be able to do what is required to stop it. I studied you all, remember?”

  “Eylsa, calm down. Truly, we will be okay. We are not foolish, we will defend ourselves.”

  “Like you defended Darius?” It was an accusation.

  Cade drew a deep breath. “We would never have let Darius be hurt. I know you do not understand why we didn’t fight you, but we would have never let you kill Darius.”

  “Would you have been able to kill me?”

  “Had it come to that.”

  “I gave you all the opportunity. I gave you all the chance to keep him safe. None of you took it.” Her arms waved with each statement, sweeping back and forth before her.

  “And you never killed Darius.”

  She threw her arms up. “You are all impossible!”

  She glanced behind her as they walked and he grabbed her arm. “With Brendan gone, you can take whichever you like.”

  She glowered at his arm. “Why would I care which room I am in?”

  “What kind of room were you used to in the castle?”

  “My room was functional. It housed my things and gave me rest. What should I care other than that?” Her irritation was thickening.

  He laughed. “We are definitely going to have to get you used to a little luxury. I’m sure Brendan won’t mind.”

  “Mind what?”

  He pushed open a door along the hall, glancing inside as they kept walking. “Mind you having the best room. This one is not bad.” He continued to open doors as he went glancing into each room before stopping at the end of the hall. “Now this looks promising.” Eylsa still in tow behind him, he nodded in satisfaction at the large canopy bed and covered vanity mirror. “This will do quite nicely.”

  “Do for what?”

  “For you.”

  She ran a strip of gossamer through her hand as she walked around the bed. “What is this for?”

  “It’s a decoration. Like gilding.”

  She watched the sheer fabric drift from her fingers. “This room is for sleeping, why would it need decoration?”

  His smile was sad as he watched her. “Why don’t you settle in; we can continue our talk after you’ve checked it out.”

  He pulled the door shut behind him as he heard her enter the bathroom. Hopefully the room would hold her interest for a bit and help her forget her worry over Brendan. He didn’t think he could stop her if she went looking for him; he hoped he wouldn’t have to start that argument anytime soon. He dropped onto the couch and rubbed his forehead when he heard her ghosting back down the hallway.

  “This place is safe?”

  “Safe as we can make it.”

  She curled herself on the couch beside him. “I couldn’t stay in there, it was too quiet.”

  “He’ll be all right.”

  “I really don’t like this feeling, does it happen often?”

  “Worry is a pretty common reaction, yes.”

  She made a sour face as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t like it.” She yawned wide. “I’m going to rest a bit.”

  He shook with mirth as he watched her eyes slide shut. “Okay then.” A heavy sigh slipped from his lips as he settled in for a boring wait. He leaned his head back on the couch and let his eyes slide shut.

  chapter 8

  Eylsa’s body was jerked alert despite the fact that not a muscle had moved. Something moved in the room around her. She could fee
l Cade beside her still held deep in sleep. Around them, the soft footfalls moved closer, the gentle whisper of fabric sliding through their hands marking their progress. She kept still, not even changing her respiration. Very near now, she could hear them breathing.

  As the fabric brushed her knees, she sprang into action. She grabbed the intruder’s wrists, wringing them as she swept her leg beneath them and dropped them to the floor. She slipped a knife from her boot, pressing it to their throat as she waited for her eyes to adjust.

  Brendan stared up at her from the floor. “Obviously you’re not cold.”

  His pulse raced beneath her fingertips and his eyes were wide in shock but he didn’t fight her or even flinch. She jabbed him with the tip of her blade. “Where have you been?”

  He plucked the knife delicately from his skin and pushed her back as he sat up. “I told you, I went to get food.” He folded her hands in her lap and lifted the knife from her fingers, setting it aside. “I have something for you. I went by Trey’s and he had your dear Gregor in tow and they will be joining us after Darius gets us registered.”

  She gave a curt nod. “Good.”

  Brendan blinked at her in shock as she watched him. “Are you kidding? All that worry and fuss, and just ‘good’?”

  “What would be typical?”

  His eyebrow rose. “I was hoping for a big reaction, a rush of relief, a wave of gratitude, something. I don’t know! I expected a little more excitement.”

  She cocked her head. “I will try to do better next time.”

  He laughed. “I’ll know you a hundred years and you’ll still be a mystery.”

  “And that is a bad thing?”

  “No. Not bad, exactly.” His face flashed a bright red. Her blue eyes were clear and curious as she watched him.

  Her eyes never left him as he cleared his throat and stood. “So, I started some dinner, nothing exciting. You want to wake up Cade and see if he’s hungry?”

  “Why does it matter? I’m never hungry when you shove food at me.”

  He glared at her as he moved off toward the kitchen. She watched Cade a moment as his muscles twitched in sleep before kneeling on the couch next to him. She took his chin in her fingers, turned his face to her, and waited as his eyes rolled open and focused on hers. “Apparently it is time for one of your many meals.”

  His forehead wrinkled as she released his chin and stepped back. “So I take it that Brendan has returned?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you feel better now?”

  “No. I would feel better had he ran into trouble then I could yell at him for being stupid.”

  He shook his head. “You are a complex creature, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  Laughter curled his lips as she stared at him. He came to his feet and took her hand as he turned toward the kitchen. Brendan stood over the stove stirring something in a frying pan with a smile on his face as they walked in. “Finished with your beauty rest?”

  “Well, aren’t you charming today. Have we had any word?”

  Brendan shook some spice into the dish he was working on. “Trey has Gregor, and Darius is talking to the Tribunal now. Gregor seems to have a great deal of information on all of us. When he saw the damage to Darius’ house he went from my house to yours to Trey’s until he found one of us.”

  Eylsa nodded. “He insisted on knowing, in case something happened.”

  Brendan’s eyebrow rose in question. “You mean, in case one of us made him angry.”

  “That is not what I said.”

  Brendan smiled. “So are we all settled in?”

  Cade shook his head as he pulled cups from the cupboards. “Eylsa is going to be staying in the room at the far end of the hall. You’ll need to decide where you’ll be staying.” He moved closer to Brendan and kept his voice low. “Someone was not happy with you when you left. Think she was a bit worried.”

  Brendan laughed. “There goes my charm again. One day it might do me some good.”

  Eylsa was on her feet in a blink staring toward the living room as the door opened. Cade flashed a reassuring smile as he led the way back out of the kitchen. Darius tossed his coat onto the couch and rubbed his temples. Cade’s smile slipped sideways. “That good, huh?”

  Darius shook his head. “I’m not sure who’s going to be more of a problem, Arna or Keena.”

  Brendan laughed. “Welcome to my life!”

  “Cade, what do we have so far?” Eylsa was watching them all with sharp eyes.

  “Enough to give me nightmares, but I don’t know if it will satisfy.”

  “Well, we’d better get to it.” He took Eylsa’s arm and led her back into the kitchen.

  She dropped to a chair and watched them while they whispered. “So you must give these people something or they will not help us?”

  Darius sank into a chair across from her. “In a way, yes.”

  “Is that not what angered you when Keena did it?”

  Brendan sighed. “This is different than that.”

  Her brow furrowed. “How?”

  He stared at the wall behind her as he rubbed his face. “This isn’t really a favor, it’s more like proving that the benefit of helping you outweighs the risk.”

  “And that is okay?” She watched Cade as he slipped from the room before she returned her attention to the men around her.

  Brendan pulled a chair up next to her and leaned on his elbow. “It is okay.” Cade rushed back in, handing Darius a sheet of paper. “Some things are acceptable to ask for in exchange for what you want and some things are not.”

  Eylsa buried her face in her arms. “This all seems very complicated.”

  He laughed, patting her arm. “You’ll get used to it.”

  “Our world is much less confusing.”

  He raised a finger. “Less confusing, but not better.”

  Darius glanced up from the paper, his eyes haunted. “Eylsa, do you remember when you first came to live in Lithia?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Can you tell me about it?” His pen poised over the paper.

  “I was fifteen. Master came to the school wanting to see what they had to offer. Wasn’t unusual really. He watched some of us fight and in the end he purchased me.”

  Darius handed the paper back to Cade, who began scribbling. “You were only sixteen when we first met, so you had only been with them a year before that?”

  She nodded. “A year is the standard to allow bonding. We are taught to follow our masters but it is always helpful to bond with them.”

  “Bond how?” Brendan leaned toward her.

  Her eyes slid from one man to the next. “They take time to feed and care for us so we feel closer to them.”

  “To make you more willing to kill for them.” Darius rubbed his hands.

  Eylsa watched him. “No. More so we are willing to listen to them. Take orders and the like.”

  “Call them Master?”

  “Yes.”

  Brendan stood moving back to the stove and plating up the food. “Whose idea was it for you to marry into the family?”

  Her eyes clouded over though her face remained stoic. “Ashlan. He was always obsessed with the idea of an assassin queen; I think it made him feel powerful.”

  Brendan handed her a plate. “I can see how having you around can make you feel invincible.”

  She rolled her eyes. “He thought to use me to intimidate any who might challenge him.”

  “Which is likely to happen in a group like the Trinity.” Cade chewed his pen. “So after the…bonding…what happened?”

  “Mavrin was worried about trusting me at first.”

  Brendan’s face was calm but his eyes shot to Darius.

  “The Trinity is a very cutthroat organization. Trust is not something they come to easily.”

  * * *

  Brendan dropped his gaze, moving food around on his plate as he hid the smile on his face. Such a small
victory, but the wave of possibilities swelled his chest with accomplishment.

  “And what did you do to gain his trust?”

  “It is not my place to gain his trust, it is my place to obey.” Her voice was flat.

  Cade glanced up from his paper. “Okay, so what made him decide to trust you?”

  “I cannot speak for him.”

  Brendan’s head rolled back as he stared up at the ceiling. “You are ridiculous, you know?”

  Her expression did not change as she turned toward him. “All I can tell you is what happened, not what he thought. An assassin is not a confidant; he did not share with me any thoughts or motives—it was not my place.”

  Brendan couldn’t hold his exasperation. “You knew what Ashlan’s motives were.”

  A slight rouge tinged her cheeks but no other emotion shone through her calm mask. “Ashlan never fully understood the distinction of an assassin. He wanted what he wanted no matter the reality of the situation. His thoughts were clouded by his vision. There is a line between assassin and owner that should not be crossed, but he could not see that. They fought often about it.”

  “The king, he didn’t want Ashlan to marry you?” Darius sat forward, his curiosity piqued.

  “Many times he forbade it but Ashlan would never listen. He wanted his way and in the end his stubbornness was winning.”

  “Until you left.”

  A weight settled on her shoulders and she slumped down into her chair, fatigue radiating over her entire body. “And now they both hunt me. One for wounded pride and the other for his property. They will not let me go until I am recycled and they get their investment back.”

  Brendan laid a hand over hers. “People cannot be property. What do you mean by recycled?”

  She curled in deeper on herself. “If they can catch and return me, they can…get a replacement.”

  Brendan felt his face blanch. “Replacement?”

  “A purchase of an assassin is a large investment, it comes with certain guarantees, one of which is an equal replacement if your purchase does not meet a certain set of expectations.”

  He cringed. “How…reasonable.” He shook the web of horror from his mind. “The string of murders, when we first met…were those the first assignments King Mavrin sent you on?”