Ari applied pressure to the cut on his face. “Shit. The Living Shadow. The twelfth assassin, and the deadliest. I know nothing about them. They always work alone. I’m surprised they even rescued Durnip. And it was also odd that they targeted me first instead of you …”
“It sounds like you’ve been labeled as an enemy,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you apologizing for?” Ari shrugged. “Don’t look so worried. No matter how tough the Living Shadow is supposed to be, the real duchess still lives. If it hadn’t been for you, thenIwould have killed her first, not number twelve.”
Antonia clutched tighter to his leg. “I’m sorry. I ruined all your plans.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Ari patted her head. “I can handle any shadow.”
I didn’t feel nearly as confident, but I wanted to reassure the child. “Of course! Ari is the strongest assassin, don’t you know?”
Antonia’s tears started again. “I did what he told me. Was that bad? Am I bad?”
“No, no, it’s okay. It’s better to cooperate in situations like that.” I waved my hands.
Ari’s face turned stern. “No, it’s not okay. It’s understandable, and I forgive you. That doesn’t mean it’s always okay to put yourself first. Someday, you’re going to be capable of doing more than you were in that moment. You’ll have the power to protect other people as well as yourself. If you feel bad, then remember this feeling and be braver next time.”
That seemed awfully harsh to me. Antonia gulped and stopped her tears. She nodded.
It took us a little while to coax Antonia enough to make her let go of Ari’s leg. Then we took her downstairs to visit the royal doctor’s office. Although she had no outer injuries besides a pinprick to her neck, I was still worried enough to insist on it. We left her there while Ari went to arrange a permanent guard duty around her. After what had just happened, we couldn’t leave the young queen alone again.
As we walked back from the doctor’s office, I said, “Antonia already felt guilty enough. There was no reason for you to make her feel worse.”
Ari shook his head. “I respect you for your easy ability to forgive your near death. But Antonia is not an ordinary little girl. She’s a queen. There will come a day when putting herself over other people will turn her into a tyrant as bad as the late King Uctor. There may come a time when she is called to die for this kingdom in return for all the power and privilege she currently holds. If she’s not willing to do that, then I will do everything in my power to support her abdication. But this kingdom cannot survive another bad monarch. Even a mediocre one might break us. An ordinary person with ordinary levels of selfishness, given the absolute power of a queen, becomes a monster. Monarchs can only go one of two ways: They must be selfless or tyrants.”
The words rang true. Yet my heart could not accept them. “She’s a very small girl to bear such a burden.”
“My parents raised me to believe in noblesse oblige. By the time I was Antonia’s age, I already understood there were circumstances under which they might sacrifice my life for the duchy. Since Antonia never knew her parents, I’m doing my best to impart the lessons she needs to learn.” Ari shrugged. “Power is a burden, but it beats being powerless. Every child in this city who is starving because of the late king’s selfishness would trade places with Antonia. Hell, they’d have traded places even when she was getting beaten, because plenty of them get beatings without the crown.”
I knew Ari was right, because I’d once been a starving child on a barren farm. “Even so, I’d hope for a better life for children than starvation and being asked to carry adult responsibilities.”
If only the world could be better. I didn’t have the power to upend the entire system of monarchy, not even in my current unique position, but I’d like to move the world in a better direction. If I could get a few minutes from the crises to breathe.
Ari patted my shoulder. “We’re already making progress toward helping this city. Then, the country.” His gaze grew pensive. “It’s been a long time since I thought about anything except revenge. Next time we have a break from assassination attempts, let’s sit down and come up with a better plan. I still have lessons on leadership rattling around in my brain.”
Since he’d reminded me of my danger, I asked, “Can I have one of those rings?”
Ari clutched at the necklace under his shirt. “No, I stole these fair and square.”
“But they originally belonged to the duchess.” Admittedly, I didn’t have any legal or moral right to the Blood Duchess’s possessions, despite me currently using them. My shoulders sagged. “I’m afraid of being attacked by another of the Twelve Avengers. The Living Shadow seems able to pop up anywhere.”
“Their power has conditions. Admittedly, I’m not sure what they are … which means it’s difficult to say when you’re safe.” He tilted his head, considering. “Most of these rings take skill to use. If you accidentally triggered the ring I used earlier with a stray thought, then you might summon up a barrier through your arm and chop it off.”
“Oh.” I winced. “Never mind.”
“I didn’t say no. I was considering what might be safe to give you.” Ari removed the chain from around his neck and pulled off a ruby ring. “This one lets you detect danger. From now on, I’ll stay close enough to you that you can always shout when you need help. If you keep an eye on the ring, you’ll be able to summon me whenever you need me.”
I slid the ring onto my finger. “Thank you so much.”
“That ring was one of my favorites.” Ari winked. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
I flushed. “You think I’m cute? But this is the duchess’s body …”
Ari laughed. “That part certainly is strange for me. I meant your mannerisms are cute.”
This only made my blush deepen. Was I reading too much into that laugh? I could be. I was awful at reading people.
To disguise my nervousness, I examined the ring on my finger. “How does it detect danger?”
