Assassin's Crown (The Assassin and her Dragon Princes Book Book 3)

by Ivy Clyde

  "Here you go," he said, handing me the wrapped parcel.

  It was both amusing and dangerous. Cain had already warned us about the wanted posters he'd seen in Okarijun. And yet, vendors were using them as wrappers for their wares. I took it as a warning. Until Cain, Adal, and Norvin arrived, I had to stay low.

  Moving away from the stall, I unwrapped the package. The smell of the butterscotch toffees was enticing. They smelled like burnt sugar and butter, but in a good way. Taking a deep whiff, I picked a piece and popped it in my mouth.

  My eyes closed in pure pleasure as the sweet melted on my tongue, leaving me to taste an exquisite blend of burnt sugar mixed with cream and butter. The child at the stall had been right. This truly was one of the best things I'd ever tasted.

  "Hey!" I called out to the children who were still loitering near the sweet shop. I beckoned them, gesturing at the parcel of toffees in my hand. They glanced at each other warily before coming to me. "You were right. These do taste delicious. So as a reward, I will let you have them."

  "You are jesting, lady," said a boy of about twelve. "Tell us what you want from us."

  "I want nothing." Stepping towards him, I thrust the parcel into his hands. "Share it with your friends." He stared at me with astonishment but I walked away quickly before he could focus too much on me.

  Coming face to face with a wanted poster of our group, I decided to stray away to a less crowded area of town. Even though it was dark, the market square was too well lit. It was enough to make me recognizable if someone had been looking for me.

  My wandering feet took me down a dark street with ash trees lining both sides of the avenue. There were no shops or houses here. The path wound up towards a hill. Without the lanterns and the chatter of the crowd, this place was oddly calming and serene.

  A cold breeze blew by as I walked forward. It was strange that no one lingered there. The place was close enough to the market square for it to have people walking around.

  I walked for half an hour until I reached the top of the hill.

  A tall statue of a woman stood before me. Behind her, high walls of marble rose up to the sky. I stared up at the monument once again. She was beautiful and achingly familiar. With the shafts of moonlight directly falling over it, I could see her every feature come alive.

  It was a statue of Queen Eibhlin, my mother.

  She stood there in all her glory with a wide, sweeping mantle at her shoulders. A crown graced her forehead as she stared out into the distance with a gentle smile on her face. This was not how she looked in her last moments. She'd been torn and battered to shreds, in both body and soul, by Ivan.

  Tears coursed down my face but I made no effort to stem them.

  Sinking to my knees, I sobbed, letting my sorrow take over me completely.

  "Mother...I am so, so sorry," I whispered through the choking tears, looking up into her face. "I am so sorry it took me this long to mourn you." I swallowed thickly. "Please continue watching over me. If I survived this far, I'm sure to go all the way and avenge you and father."

  It was a while before I calmed down. My heart felt several times lighter as the sorrows filling it up finally flowed out of me.

  Getting to my feet, I looked around the place. It seemed to be a shrine dedicated to my mother. The sudden realization that it was probably set up by Ivan irked me. No matter how many monuments he erected in her honor, the world knew he'd been the one to snatch it from her.

  Still curious, I walked towards the walls behind the statue. Getting closer, I saw a closed gate, blocking the way inside the grounds of a magnificently built mausoleum. There were no locks to keep away visitors.

  Pushing open the gate, I proceeded to reach the marble monument. It was beautiful, created completely from white, flawless marble. Under the moonlight, its polished stones shimmered.

  Movement in the corner of my eye alerted me. Turning that way, I poised ready to throw a poisoned dart but halted. A child stood some distance from me, staring at me with wide, expectant eyes.

  "Hello?" I called to her. She was in a tattered dress and appeared to be alone. I wondered if she was among the group of children I'd seen earlier at the sweet shop. "Did you want something from me?" I asked, walking towards her.

  Without a word, she ran the moment I got close to her.

  "Do you need help?" I asked, following her out of the mausoleum grounds.

  The child stopped, wordlessly beckoning me.

  Her behavior was strange. She looked frightened and wary of me but continued to lure me away. I looked all around me, wondering if I was being followed. Oddly, there didn't seem to be anyone there.

  Curious, I followed the child, wondering if she was mute. Perhaps, she really needed someone to help her. Keeping my wits about myself, I followed her down the hill and into the market square. The girl was always a few feet away, leading me away from the crowds and into a quieter area.

  Suddenly picking up speed, she ran through partly opened gates of a vast building. Stopping, I looked up at the vast house, fenced in by tall walls. It seemed like government house or a place of administration.

  Slowly, I stepped forward to peer in through the gap in the gate. The girl had disappeared by now. I bent down to look from a wider angle when a hard blow landed on the back of my head.

  I blacked out before I could even gasp from the surprise attack.

  18

  My eyes fluttered open in the dark, followed by a throbbing pain in the back of my head. A moan escaped me as I gingerly touched the spot with light fingers. There was a large bump sticking out of my scalp. Still staying on the ground, I tried to remember how I'd got the injury.

  Visions of a shimmering marble mausoleum, a skittish girl drawing me away from the hilltop and a strange building flashed by my mind. The last thing I remembered was peering through the doors to look for the child.

  A splash of ice-cold water fell on me, drenching me through my woolen clothes.

  "Get up!" shrieked a disturbingly familiar voice.

  Head still pounding, I slowly sat up to look at a sneering Helena through the bars of a prison.

  "Ha! I never thought I'd see that look on your face, bitch," she said with a sneer. Her dark eyes flashed as her mouth curved up into a sinister grin. "The expression I really want to see on that ugly face is that of terror and pain. After what you did to my brother, you deserve to be cut up in pieces!"

  I chuckled despite a shiver running down my spine. "You think these prison bars will keep me at bay?"

  "I didn't bring you here to keep you locked up." She gestured at the men behind her. "Drag her out." As they unlocked the cell, she glared back at me. "Don't even think of resisting or I'll have that child killed."

  The men moved in to haul me up to my feet. "You know about the child?"

  "There's that look again," she said, chuckling softly. Her black eyes glittered manically. "I sent that filthy runt to lure you here." She stepped close to me when she was sure I was secured by the guards. "After everything you've done, you still have the gall to walk around the city freely. I saw you, buying sweets and giving them away. Did such petty charity make you feel big?"

  "I know who I am," I said, meeting her gaze. "I don't need to pretend to be a princess or saintess to prove anything."

  The remark earned me a slap across the face. Stepping away, she signaled for the guards to drag me away.

  I could get away from the men pulling me forward but I still needed to know where I was and where exactly the exit was. For now, it looked like an underground tunnel with cells housed in both sides of the pathway.

  We'd walked some distance when the groans of people reached my ears. Looking ahead, I saw several human hands wrapped around bars of the prison cells. The sound of their collective groans became louder. An awful stench threatened to choke me the closer we got to the cells.

  "Let us out! Please, spare us!" they chanted in weak, pleading voices.

  Passing by the cells, I saw several
men packed inside the small prison cell. Their clothes were dirty tatters, barely hanging onto their bodies. The men were thin with layers of grime coating their faces, hair, and bodies.

  "Who are they?" I asked as we passed by more cells filled to their capacity with such emaciated men.

  "They are slaves," answered the guard to my left. "You are one of them now."

  "Where did they come from?" There hadn't been any wars in the four kingdoms for centuries except for the time of Ivan's rebellion. As far as I knew, any rebels that lived were burned by Ivan.

  "They are people who didn't pay taxes on their land or committed similar offenses."

  "What about their families?" I asked.

  "Probably dead..." The guard on my left frowned at me. "Stop asking questions, girl. You won't be living through the night from what I know. Worry about yourself before these poor souls here." His grip on my arm loosened slightly as he stared ahead.

  I could tell he hated his job as a guard. There was compassion in his heart, yet he was forced to work here. I couldn't blame him. He was probably doing it to feed his family and not end up as one of the men inside the cells. There had to be plenty others in the government who had no power to oppose the conniving nobles or the cruel royals.

  The narrow tunnel opened up to a wide arena, fenced in by rising tiers of wood-constructed rows. I looked all around the circular hall, wondering what fresh hell Helena prepared for me.

  The guards let me go, followed by a gentle push until I was standing in the middle of the central space. They left me by myself. Next moment, the sound of a hundred feet filled up the area. The seats of the arena were steadily being filled with the captive men I'd seen earlier.

  I whirled around, looking in every direction until my gaze fell on the figure I was searching for. Helena was perched at the highest tier, staring down at me with a haughty, self-righteous expression. She really wanted to see me punished that night.

  Fear poked at me, but I kept its cold whispers at bay. There was no point in panicking until I could determine what I was really against.

  Detecting movement behind me, I tore my gaze away from Helena and turned around. Three large men stood before me, glaring at me imposingly. They looked different from the men who'd been shepherded into the galleys of the arena. Apart from being tall and muscular, they wore leather vests and breeches. Thick, dark beard covered most of their faces, leaving me to focus on their dark gazes.

  "Are you the fake saintess's mercenaries?" I asked, gesturing to the spot where Helena stood.

  "Break her pretty mouth first," said the man in the center.

  "I would rather fuck that mouth," mumbled his companion to the left.

  "Fuck her after she's broken. That's what the princess commanded," instructed the leader.

  So, this was her plan? Hire mercenaries to break my body and then get me raped in front of the poor peasants who'd been taken in as slaves?

  I looked back at Helena who glared at me with a triumphant expression. "Is that it?" I shouted over the mumbling crowd. The place fell silent at once. "You want me to fight through your hired help?"

  Helena stayed quiet but next moment, one of the mercenaries moved forward to attack me. I was quicker than him, dodging the punch he threw at me. Bending away, I swiped needles between my fingers. Before he could straighten himself, I stabbed at his neck. It was only a few seconds before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

  His remaining companions glanced at each, their looks of confidence vanishing instantly. They came at me together. Standing my ground, I threw my darts at each of them. Both of them crashed to the ground before they could get close enough to me.

  I looked back at Helena. "I'm done playing with you," I shouted. "Your men are dead, so let me out of here."

  "You won't leave this place alive!" she screamed. Moving her gaze from me, she looked at the men gathered below her. "Capture her, kill her. I will award freedom and gold to anyone who can finish her off."

  The peasants were all too weak to pose any serious threat to me but it would be impossible to take them all at once. Besides, I didn't want to hurt them. They weren't there by choice. The sound of a hundred moving feet had me look all around myself. Men were inching closer to me. A few remained back in the tier, looks of horror in their faces.

  "Fight her or die!" shouted Helena. The air was suddenly being sliced by swift-flying arrows, hitting the men who hadn't moved from their places in the arena. Armed soldiers gathered around Helena, standing poised with arrows strung to their bows.

  "Stop it!" I cried as the bodies of the shocked men collapsed among the seats of the arena.

  "They must fight you or die," shouted Helena. "There is no other way to escape this place."

  The slaves inched close to me. Most looked scared but a few had determined expressions on their dirty faces. The very first moment I saw them, pity was all I felt. Even as they readied themselves to kill me, pity was still all I felt. Torn from their homes and families, they were caged up like animals, rotting away in their own filth. Treated worse than animals, they were given no other choice.

  It was all too much.

  Magic, both inherent and acquired, raged and broiled inside me. Ignoring the mob closing in on me, I stared at the spot where Helena stood. She was too far away. Lucky bitch! Or we would have all seen you burn.

  Bringing back my attention to my vicinity, I let the magic flow out of me. Flames exploded from both my palms, illuminating the shadowy pit used for slave fighting. The crowd jumped backward but I had no intention of burning them. Instead, I lay waste to the wooden seats that were closest to me. A ring of fire erupted all around us.

  "What...what are you?" mumbled a man near me. Flames from the burning wooden tiers were reflected in his wide, fearful eyes.

  "I am getting us out of here," I replied, noticing Helena and her guards escaping through a door at the topmost tier. Glancing back at the hesitating crowd before me, I took a deep breath before speaking. "Calm down," I said in the loudest voice I could muster.

  Every pair of eyes turned towards me.

  "I am getting us out of here. The fire will not burn you but those who've kept you chained down here. Will you follow me?" I stopped breathing, wondering whether they would choose to stand with me.

  "Can you really get us out of here?" someone shouted from the crowd.

  "I will try my best. That much I can promise you."

  Fire raged all around us. If I wanted, I could douse it but I'd rather see this evil establishment crumble to ashes.

  "Come on!" I shouted, running into the crowd. The men parted to let me through them as I created an exit through the wall of fire. Entering through it, I motioned for them to follow me.

  We ran to the topmost tier of the arena to reach the door through which Helena escaped. It led the way into a narrow tunnel ending with a staircase. I climbed it, hoping it would lead us out of the building.

  At the top, we came onto another corridor. It was deserted but I knew why. The floor beneath our feet was trembling. It could give way any time and throw us back into the dark pit from where we came.

  With a backward glance at the men, I shouted, "Hurry!"

  At least a hundred pairs of feet thundered after me as I ran down the hallway, breathlessly coming upon a massive doorway. I halted.

  "Why aren't we moving?" someone asked from behind me. "We're almost there."

  I raised a hand to signal silence. "Stay here. Let me go out first. Be ready to run when I call for you." I turned around to see the grimy faces of the prisoners. They had hopeful expressions despite their ribs sticking out of their thin chests. I nodded at them before moving to the doorway.

  An arrow flew towards me the moment I stepped out of the door. I was fast enough to dodge it but more were shot at me. And one of them embedded into my shoulder.

  Shit!

  Stumbling backward, I took a moment to gather my fire. Letting it rage all around me, like my body was a lit beacon, I stepped out i
nto the courtyard. The soldiers who'd been striking at me stopped, staring at me with wide, panic-filled eyes.

  "Burn," I whispered, sending out a seven-headed dragon, shaped from the flames that engulfed me. Each of those heads, separated into a dragon, snapping its jaws at the soldiers who were at the front line with arrows strung to their bows.

  The men burned, screaming into the night like wild beasts. The soldiers behind them dropped their weapons and turned around to retreat. Pain flared inside me as the arrow dug deeper into my muscles. Ignoring it, I called for the men to come out.

  "Run! Run into the hills and woods," I said as they gathered around me. Their gazes were fixed on the long arrow sticking out of me. "Go now. The soldiers and guards will be distracted for a while. It’s me they want. It will give you the time to hide yourselves."

  "We'll take you with us, lass," said an older man with wisps of dirt-matted gray hair. "I am not leaving you behind."

  I shook my head. "Just go. They will come back for me. Please..."

  "Come on," said a few of the others. They ran forward on bent and limping legs, escaping past the tall gates that fenced in the slave arcade. I waited until the last of them fled out of the gates before collapsing to my knees.

  My hands gripped the arrow's shaft and pulled hard. A cry escaped me as flesh and skin ruptured with the head's removal. Tears of pain coursed down my cheeks. Pressing a hand to the wound, I took a few shuddering breaths.

  The sound of boots falling on stone reached my ears. More soldiers were coming my way. Behind me, flames spread through the building, burning it from deep within. I smiled despite the bleeding wound at my shoulder. At least the slaves were free and this cage was burning.

  "She's there!" Helena's voice came from the distance. "She's injured. Capture her now!"

  I raised my head to glance up at her. She was close by now, close enough for me to burn...

  Only a small wisp of my magic escaped me as a dark shape suddenly moved before my vision. Screams erupted further ahead, telling me Helena was burning despite the little magic I was able to send her way.