by A Lonergan
Nico looked up from his cake, startled. “Who?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Willow,”
He cracked a smile and shook his head. “The only reason she looks at me is so that she doesn’t have to look at you.”
“I doubt that very much.”
“You catch more of the maiden’s eyes than I do.” Nico laughed and took a sip of his wine. “She would never look at me the way she looks at you.”
“And how is that?” I leaned back.
“Like she can’t figure you out.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I laughed with him and swirled my spoon in the dessert before me. “She’s pretty.” I was starting to feel the effects of the wine on me.
Nico’s face broke out into a huge grin. “Yes, she is.”
“The genies want me to get to know her.” I picked up my wine goblet and thought better of it before I set it back down. I was dining with my Guards and didn’t feel the need to lose all my cares tonight. Prince Adder was also present, but he didn’t care for my company and I didn’t care for his. He had already pulled two of the serving girls into his lap and I was wondering how Willow had managed to evade him when he looked up sharply. Right at Willow. Had I done something in my buzzed haze?
“You look familiar.” She ducked her face and tried to pass him by, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. I sat up straighter and watched carefully. I could see the change in Nico’s posture in my peripheral.
Willow straightened her shoulders and lifted her face before she smiled sweetly. It was almost too sweet. It wasn’t an expression I had seen on her before. “No, I don’t think we have met. I would have remembered.”
Adder’s eyes narrowed before his posture relaxed. “I know what it is!” he exclaimed. “You look like every other working class woman in Arinal.” I didn’t believe it for a second, he knew her from somewhere. He had a knowing gleam in his eyes. Adder loved secrets.
After dessert was over and we were all stumbling back to our rooms, I made sure I was the first to stumble out. I stayed in the shadows beside Adder’s room and waited. He didn’t have his usual armful of women and he was muttering to himself. “Rutting wretch!” He shook his head. “How had I missed her? Of course she would come now!”
I stepped out as he fumbled with the lock on his doors. “Having an off night?”
Adder’s eyes flashed to me. “Most certainly not.”
“It seems like luck isn’t exactly on your side.” I said, with a smirk.
Adder smiled this time. “It’s not on your side, my friend, because if dear Willow has come a knockin’ there will be more death around here, more than just your little serving wenches.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to mean?”
He leaned against the door casually, like we were old buds. “Throw a knife at her and watch. If you want to know who she is, you’ll do it.”
My jaw came unhinged. “I’m not going to do that! She could die.”
“I guarantee that she won’t.” Then he disappeared into his room.
Chapter Eleven
Willow
Madam Colver wasn’t involved in our planning, so my days went on as normal. Work was never-ending and I was starting to miss my trainings. I was losing my muscle mass and I missed the feeling of steel between my fingers. I was starting to lose weight, and I didn’t feel as flexible as before.
I pushed my cart down the hallway, but stopped when I felt like I was being watched. I couldn’t give away my knowledge, no normal serving girl would know she was being followed. But I couldn’t play dumb if I was going to save myself. I ducked slightly to the left and lifted my hand into the air. I caught the blade meant for my head. The throwing knife fit perfectly between my fingers. I turned around slowly and held the knife out to the King.
I curtseyed.
He gaped at me.
“I know you aren’t that surprised.” I remarked. “Someone must have told you and you must have trusted them, or you wouldn’t have attempted it. A very risky thing to do, indeed.”
He blinked at me a few times. “I don’t exactly trust Adder, but I figured if anyone were to do it, it should be me. I would have been able to heal you if anything.”
“I wondered if Prince Adder was going to tell you or not.” I whispered.
“What are you really doing here?” Anger tinged his words.
“I am here to find Princess Claudia.” Relief sagged his shoulders.
“Adder told me that death follows you wherever you go.”
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t off, but I needed to tread carefully. “Prince Adder loves the theatrics.”
“So you aren’t serving class?” I watched as he swallowed and wet his bottom lip.
I shook my head. “Nope, my mother married the first commander of the Emperor’s guard. She’s a fine Lady, and I should be too, if they hadn’t trained me for destruction.”
I tried to tell him as much of the truth as I could, because I hated the secret. I hated the job and I hated my employer. It also didn’t help that he wasn’t the man that the Emperor had made him out to be. It didn’t help that I was already a dead woman. There was nothing I could do now but wait for my impending death if I didn’t kill the man in front of me. He would send for me eventually if I didn’t give him an update. I couldn’t tell him my title though, no matter how much I wanted to. If I did, it would be a death sentence.
The man standing in front of me finally sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “You won’t find Princess Claudia here, she ran away to elope with someone from the Mortal Realm.”
I gasped. So that was apart of all the strange things that had happened too. All the rumors that surrounded this kingdom. “She didn’t tell her father.”
“So he sent you to retrieve her and kill whoever is responsible for her disappearance.” The King looked me in the eye, and I nodded. “You have the perfect opportunity to do so.”
“I need to find the killer. The one killing all the girls.” I said. I wasn’t going to stay on this topic any longer.
“You cared about her.”
“I don’t care about anyone,” I knew he was talking about Fin. I turned away, I was finished with this conversation. I would have never treated my Emperor like I did him, but he wasn’t my king.
“I don’t believe that for a second, I saw the way you reacted in that room. Why are you running away again?”
I turned back to him at that. “I am not running. I have no use for this conversation.”
“And if I were to throw you into the dungeon for treason and conspiracy for murder?” He lifted his chin.
I held out my hands. “Bring the shackles.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re stubborn.”
“I’m just getting started.”
He spun on his heel and was gone. I tried to slow my breathing and the adrenaline rushing through my veins. I didn’t know how he had affected me so much, but somehow I had liked it.
Nico found me later and cornered me. “I knew there was something about you.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and grinned at him. “You think you can intimidate me?”
His lips thinned out as he weighed what he was doing. “You’re a part of your Emperor’s elite?”
That was a name for it. I nodded. But I wasn’t going to give away what I was. If I was part of the elite, that meant was deadly enough. He didn’t need to know I was the deadliest.
“Do you think you could take me?” Oh, he was feeling insecure.
I smiled. “How cute,” He bit the inside of his cheek at my response. “I think I could teach you a thing or two, and like wise.”
“When was the last time you trained?” His eyes assessed the visible parts of my body. There weren’t many, I made sure of it.
“I tried to keep up with it on the ship, but I struggled with sea sickness.” I continued to dust the banisters, as I moved away from the guard, but I kept my eyes on him.
/> He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “As soon as your death is faked, we will start up on your training again.”
I turned around quickly. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
He was already gone.
Tonight was the night I was going to fake my own kidnapping and eventual death. I watched all of the girls extra close and made sure they were all safe. I couldn’t imagine leaving them. I had made sure to not get close to any of them like I had started to with Fin. I tried to not listen to their stories, or get to know them. I could only know them as a face from now on. All of my clothes were carefully packed, and the king said he would make sure that the bag was carefully handled by Madam Colver and then given to him. My invisibility cloak was hidden under my pillow, and as soon as I got to the morgue tonight, they would put it on me. I would be a literal walking ghost.
I tried to dress in my thickest nightgown, knowing that I would be looked upon and identified. I held the potion in my hand tightly and swallowed my nerves. I couldn’t believe I was going to do this, but it was important. It was imperative to the survival of the other women. There hadn’t been a hit in awhile, so it would make sense for it to happen now. Or maybe, the bodies hadn’t shown up yet. Whatever the reason was, I was ready to uncover the culprit.
The glass in the center of my palm was hot. Nico had said it was because of the magic being contained there. Magic that would make me appear dead until they could give me the antidote and cover me in the cloak. I trusted that they would get it to me in time. I brought the vile to my lips and the door started to squeak open. I dropped the vile in my surprise and my heart rate started to pick up. I knew the magic was gone now. Madam Colver would have announced herself, as well as a guard. The only thing left was the killer, as she snuck into the room. It was too dark to make out any features.
I took a deep breath and focused on my stealth training, I had to pretend I was sleeping or this would never work. Except, I was the target and I realized it too late. Just as the rag soaked in magic came down on my mouth, I was able to shout, “CALL THE KING!” My attacker must not have known I was awake, which gave me the slightest upper hand. I thrust my elbow into his eye and brought my knee up to his groin, or what I thought to be it. It didn’t faze my captor. He continued on with the rag against my nose and mouth. As the girls around me started to realize what was happening, he was already pulling my limp, paralyzed body through the door. All I could do was wait for the inevitable.
Chapter Twelve
The King
“WHAT!?” I had tried not to lose my head, I had honestly tried, but I was no longer in control of my emotions. “What do you mean she was taken?”
She was supposed to fake her kidnapping, but everything that the girls were telling me didn’t add up. She wasn’t supposed to fight and it was Nico who was going to dump her body or bring it to the morgue, or whatever. I wasn’t entirely sure on all of the elements of what was supposed to go down. Just that Nico had almost been attacked by the women waiting in the room, and that many of them were distraught over what they had witnessed.
The glass bottle that I had given the black haired beauty had been found crushed on the floor under her bed. My heart was in my stomach and I knew we didn’t have much time. It was the night before the ball, of course it was the perfect opportunity for the killer to strike again. The possibility of my own guard to strike again. My stomach flip flopped and I almost vomited all over the floor. I hadn’t been proactive enough. I hadn’t relieved the violent guards when I knew they had a taste for blood and darkness. I should have found the guards that had taken interest in her, immediately after little Fin’s death. I should have done it before then. I should have done more, and now another death was going I leaned over and braced myself against my knees. I should have done more when the other three had washed up before her. I should have ripped the truth from all the guards before I let it get this far.
“I want you to interrogate every single guard, especially the one that had an eye for Willow on the first night,” I roared.
Nico gave me a grim look. “It wasn’t him.”
I gulped. “Why do you look like that?”
“We found him and several other guards gutted by their own swords just a few minutes before all this happened.”
Relief sagged my shoulders that I wouldn’t have to be the one responsible for what was happening, that it obviously hadn’t been them.
Nico continued on and held his chin high. “I interrogated him after we found the other girls.” He grasped his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white. “I know you didn’t order it, but it was my place as the commander. I would have told you, but everything has happened so quickly.”
All I could do was nod my head. I felt ridiculous that I hadn’t ordered it sooner, but it did no good for me to think this way, he hadn’t been guilty to begin with. At least, not this time.
The ball was tomorrow and we had prep to do, I couldn’t cancel the ball based off of a servant, even though she technically wasn’t a servant. Willow was a lady, and there was nothing I could do to thwart what was happening. Especially because she was in disguise. I couldn’t blow her cover. I was sure that back in the Emperor’s keep she had her disguise as a Lady there too, why wouldn’t she have tried that approach before being a servant? I was sure the Emperor knew about the ball happening.
All of these questions swirled around in my head until I could have sworn I was dizzy. Then a thought occurred to me. The sewage tunnels, under the dungeons. How else was someone getting in and out of the castle? Of course!
I raced forward without a second glance, Nico was already gone to rally more men, I would have to go alone. I just hoped I wasn’t too late.
Chapter Thirteen
Willow
Darkness.
My eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the darkness. I tested my hands that were bound to the wall, but found that there was no escape. How had I let myself become this rutting stupid? How had I managed to get myself in this position for someone else? At one time in my life, I would have never laid down my life or my position for another. But this kingdom was different, it was making me feel different. It had made me soft. It wasn’t about survival anymore, it wasn’t about Claudia anymore, especially because she was long gone and had finally escaped the man that I never would. Her father.
“You are a pretty thing.” a woman said from somewhere in the room. I didn’t know why I was surprised that it was a woman behind this.
“I’d be even prettier if you would take these binds off of me.” I said, sweetly.
“You must think I am stupid, for I would never do that.” She snickered into the darkness. “I know exactly who you are Willow Bane.”
Very few knew my real and full name. I swallowed hard. Who was this woman? How had she discovered me? Was she one of the Kong’s elites?
A chuckle echoed around me. “What I can’t figure out is what a Lady is doing parading around like the help in a rival kingdom to her own?”
She didn’t know exactly what I was and that was a relief, but based on the way she spoke, she was high born, as well. Probably higher up than myself if she knew who I was and I didn’t recognize her voice.
“So, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” I asked.
“My questions weren’t answered, do you honesty believe that I am going to answer yours?” She laughed again and I could hear her footsteps on the ground. There was a drip from somewhere, so we had to be close to water, or underground. I was leaning closer to the underground scenario, based on how dark and quiet it was…
Except, it wasn’t that quiet because after a minute, I could hear the squeaks of rats and the woman holding me captive shrieking.
“I came here as a spy,” I was weaving my web of lies even bigger.
“Oh?” I heard a snap and light enveloped the room before it was contained in a glass orb on the ceiling. The very low ceiling. I couldn’t tell where the rut I was and it was causing panic to rise wi
thin me.It seemed like I was in a dungeon of some sort, but based on the blackness of the stones around me, I didn’t think we were in the castle. And if we were, we were deep underground that hadn’t seen a person in a long time. The cuffs around my wrists and ankles were rusted and I wondered how they were even holding me in place. “Magic is a wonderful tool that your kingdom doesn’t take advantage of. Could you imagine how powerful your city would be with it?”
I said the only thing that came to mind. “My Emperor doesn’t have magic, he wouldn’t be powerful, he would be overruled.”
She lifted a perfectly sculpted black eyebrow and that’s when I noticed something. Her coloring was similar to mine and her short black hair matched my locks now tangled against my back. “You aren’t from Rosalia.”
She shook her head, her lavender eyes twinkling. “No, my brother and I are not from this continent.”
I frowned. “So, it was your brother raping the women and you kidnapping? The perfect heist.”
She smiled, her white teeth gleaming from the shadows. “Not exactly. My brother is no fun, but he could have been if he hadn’t banished me.”
I was having a hard time following her. She wasn’t making any sense. Then there was a banging on the wooden door across from me before a man came through. The hallway was black behind him and the stench was even worse. It was a mixture of death and something else that I couldn’t pinpoint. A man with dark hair and elven ears tossed his victim at my feet. I barely got a look at the man as he was in and out in a few seconds. I would have thought him almost quicker than me.
As the door slammed closed behind him he muttered, “You’re going to love this one.”
The woman lifted her fingers and the man flew across the room and was shackled beside me in no time. She had barely lifted a finger. The brown vegetable sack was ripped from his face and I gasped. I would have recognized that face anywhere.
