“Okay.” Calix whispered, turning to us. “According to the map, King Tieran’s room is to the right from here, Prince Vesper’s to the left, and Prince Zakat’s straight down the middle. Follow your maps, keep quiet, and be quick.” He looked over all of us critically. “Ready?”
“Ready. Let’s go.” I nodded as everyone agreed. I looked at the others, especially Emmie. “Be safe.” Emmie just gave me a look that I couldn’t quite read before Harpina shuffled her away tothe middle arch. Eryx gave me a quick nudge in farewell before he and Callisto disappeared to the left, leaving me with Calix.
He grabbed my hand and began pulling me along. He summoned darkness to cover us, shadows that let us see out, and prevented others from seeing in. Creeping through the palace, I tried to ignore the beauty of it and not look around. We had a job to do.
We stayed against the walls, turning corners carefully. Only a stray guard or two was left, and we just waited for them to turn before slipping past them. My heart beat quickly in my chest, and I’m sure my palm against Calix’s was sweating. We followed the map and got to the hall containing the bedroom of King Tieran, but unfortunately, two guards still stood in front of it. Calix let go of my hand and took out his sword, giving me a look. I unsheathed my own and nodded to him, preparing myself for what may come.
Calix immediately sent out his shadows to take the guards prisoner. They hovered in the air, mouths gagged as they looked at us with wide, scared eyes. I winced, hating that I felt awful for them. These men participated in slavery; I shouldn’t care.
But I remembered the guard who tried helping me in Dusk, who armed me despite the fact it would have meant a death sentence if anyone found out.
“Can’t we leave them?” I begged, tugging on Calix’s sleeve.
He looked back at me with furrowed brows, but his look quickly changed to a sympathetic one as he looked into my eyes and saw the battle I was waging with myself. He reached up and moved my hair behind my ear, the gentle action so at odds with the fierce look on his face.
“We can’t be seen here.” He whispered, ducking his head toward mine. “They’ll remember us, Asteria. This is the only way.” My face fell but before I could ruminate on it, Calix turned and beheaded them with one quick slice. I turned my head tothe side as the blood sprayed. Calix grabbed my chin, pulling my head back to face him.
“Now you see the monster everyone else does.” He growled, his teeth grinding and his eyes growing hard, shoving down the pain in them.
“This isn’t you being a monster, Calix.” I argued, shaking my head. “It’s doing what we have to. Just because it hurts, doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing. Stop moping.” He let out an incredulous chuckle at my words, but I meant them.
I grabbed his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me. Aware of the time passing that we desperately needed, but this needed to be said. Calix was just as important as our plans.
“Some might think you a monster, and maybe you are.” I shrugged, carelessly, emphasizing how little that meant to me. “But if so, it’s to battle worse monsters. Those who enslave humans and treat them as disposable resources. Who torture and kill them for no reason. Maybe you have to become a monster to kill a monster, I don’t know. But if you are one, then you’re the monster I want on my side, protecting me.”
Calix swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. His eyes were shining as he looked back at me. “I’ll always protect you, my réalta. No matter what happens, no matter who might be part of my life, I’ll always do whatever it takes to protect you.Always.”
My heart beat even faster now, and I licked my suddenly dry lips, while his eyes followed the motion. The fire that always simmered between us began to burn, but the sound of boots scuffing the floor, not too far away by the sound of it. They eventually reached us. We both jolted, quickly breaking apart and slipping inside the king’s bedroom.
It was thankfully empty, as predicted. Multicolored lounge pillows and large poufs laid across the floor over rugs with intrigue designs. The warm sun came through in shafts from the windows—which were actually pointed arches in the wall, onlythese were covered with a screen made up of small rising suns and geometric designs. They left the room half in shadow as the sun slotted through it. Potted plants surrounded every corner, overflowing and giving the room a wild feel. A divan against the largest arch in the wall was covered with papers that piqued my interest.
To my great surprise, the bed was round, sitting on a platform with several layers of yellow and turquoise fabric looping above it sort of like a canopy, and draping down. Teal silk sheets with orange pillows graced the bed, and instead of a traditional headboard, a round mosaic with a Phoenix in the middle took its place. But it was the desk against the other wall that we needed.
Calix pulled out the folder we brought, containing all of Cyrus’s plans with blood magic, and put it dead center on the desk, where the king couldn’t miss it. I let out a sigh of relief with our task completed, now, we just needed to get out. Calix grabbed my hand and we made for the door. Only when we opened it, I shrieked, and Calix pulled me back by the waist and slammed the door closed.
Guards, an entire battalion of them, awaited us outside the door. They threw magic at us right away, but Calix’s quick movement prevented me from being hit. They crashed against the door, shouts and the sound of weapons clanging rang in my ears.
I panted, leaning on my knees to catch my breath and calm my heart rate from the scare. When I stood up, I had to hit Calix’s forearms to get him to let me go, as he was still clutching me tightly by the waist. I pulled my sword back out, since Calix already had his in hand, and I noticed his magic holding the door closed as he began seeking out another exit.
“There’s only one way out.” I reminded him, panic rising. “You saw the map as I did.”
“Fucking Tartarus!” Calix swore, anger furrowing his brow. “Stay behind me. I’m going to bring the door down and send out a wave of shadow to knock them down. It’ll give us the advantage. You’ve been trained how to use that sword, now’s the time to use it.” Calix grabbed my shoulders, giving me a hard nod, but I saw the fear in his eyes. Not for him, but for me.
So, I did what I could to help ease it. I swallowed my panic, firmed up my stance, gripped my sword, and put on my game face.
“Let’s do this.” I nodded firmly.
He smirked at me, giving me a sultry once over. Clearly, he enjoyed the sight of me ready for battle. He kissed my forehead tenderly, and in the next moment, the door fell, and Calix charged into the hall. I stayed behind him as promised, and watched as a blast of darkness knocked the guards down in one fell swoop.
I stabbed my sword down into the chest of a guard who didn’t get back up fast enough, then quickly turned and raised my sword to block the blade of a guard who charged at me. I parried his blow, and he looked surprised, and I determined I would prove the flaw of believing a woman can’t handle a blade fatal—I used his surprise to dance around him and take him out at the knees, kicking the back of them and causing him to fall to knees in a hard thud. I took the opportunity to slice my sword across his neck from behind, watching in satisfaction as he gurgled blood, before falling face first to the floor, dead.
Another guard was up and barreling toward me, so I went on the offensive. I swung, and he blocked my blade, so I increased the speed of my thrusts, and eventually got a hit. Calix was working through the guards much faster, but I kept at it, blocking, striking, parrying, thrusting. It was like a dance, and I just had to not miss a step. Finally, I was able to get in a strike down his chest that opened him down to the naval, and he fell tothe ground. I was panting with exertion while Calix was already taking out the last guard.
Calix turned to me, his eyes wild and fierce, and looked me over carefully, checking for any injuries. I nodded to confirm I was okay, and he grabbed my hand, pulling me along as we ran through the halls. My nerves were rising though—I didn’t like this at all, my instincts screaming that something wasn’t right.
“How did they know where we were?” I asked Calix as we ran, shaking my head.
“I don’t know.” Calix admitted pensively, swinging his head back to look at me. He had a grave expression on his face, and I liked that even less. We turned a corner, and I gasped as I stumbled back in shock. Calix steadied me, but squeezed my hand tighter, and I could feel the anger in the way his fingers tightened around mine. I swallowed hard, shaking.
