I eyed the swirling mixture, the smoke slowly dissipating as it neared completion. I couldn’t help the hard swallow I took as I contemplated what it meant. I was really going to do this. I would kill King Azurill. Maybe then, my family would be able to rest in peace.
Maybe then, I could find some peace, too.
As much as I hated the bastard, however, I’d never actually killed anyone before. Injured a few guards here and there, sure, but now I was being forcedto become an assassin, all because I was foolishly overconfident in my ability to steal without being caught. Even if ending the king served my own ends, it was a thought that lived only in dreams until now.
But I’d done this to myself, and now I had to face the consequences. I just couldn’t live with myself if others were forced to face them too.
“And what about my friend?” I dared to ask, raising my chin as I stared the lord down. “She’s dying, if I don’t get her help?—”
“Yes, yes.” He waved me off, irritation lacing every word, “I will send my men to pick her up.”
“Pick her up?” I asked, my pitch rising as I stiffened in alarm.
“Of course!” He smirked, relishing in reaction. “My people will watch over her and ensure she remains alive. Once you’ve succeeded, I will have her healed fully. That should give you proper incentive, should it not?”
I ground my teeth together, jaw working back and forth as my hands fisted tightly to prevent myself from reaching out and punching the pompous prick. I should have known it wouldn’t be so simple; nothing was ever straightforward with nobles.
I knew Carnelian would dangle Ula over my head until this was finished. Clearly, he didn’t believe my own life was inventive enough, but I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try to save her from this.
“I have just as much reason as you to want him dead,” I argued fiercely, and his eyebrow spiked, curiosity written all over his face. “You don’t need her.”
“Do you now?” he murmured, ignoring my last words as he continued to watch me. It took everything I had in me not to shift on my feet under the intensity of his gaze, my nerves rising at what he might see. Anonymity had been my only defense for so long; beingseenwas a nightmare beyond comprehension.
“Yes,” I stressed, shaking my head slightly. “If you heal her, I’ll do whatever you want. You don’t need to keep her captive.”
“Who said anything about captive?” He gasped as if offended, pressing a hand over his chest. “I’m merely carrying out our agreement. A favor between…business partners, even. I believe you care more about the safety of your friend than you do your own. So I will keep her safe and well while you do your job. I can’t just trust a thief such as yourself, after all. That would be incredibly foolish of me, and I’m not in the habit of being foolish.”
I bristled at his pointed tone, opening my mouth to argue once more, but he spoke again before I could. “Tell me, though, why doyouwant Azurill dead?”
His palms hit the table as he leaned over it, all but towering over me, and I had to suppress my flinch. I cursed the day I bought that damn map to his vault, and I was sure I would be cursing it and myself many times over before this was through.
Whatever he saw in me, it was too much. My nameless, invisible existence was key to my survival. If he knew who I actually was…
“I live on the streets and have nothing to my name. Is that not enough? He runs this system that sees so many with nothing left to rot, while he lords over us all in his damned diamond palace.” I obfuscated, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue.
“Hmm.” He narrowed his eyes, while I prayed to Erodite to obscure his sight and not let him see the truth of me.
Something I knew would be ever more challenging to hide in the heart of Diamond’s court.
Chapter Four
Jacinth
“Chin up.” The cursed stick struck underneath my chin again, forcing my head up. I glared at the ruby-haired woman, biting back a mouthful of insults I wouldn’t dare speak, but she merely sneered at me like I was a bug to be crushed under her shoe.
“We have extremely limited time to make a proper lady of you,” she snapped, crimson eyes flaring with impatience. “If you embarrass Ruby Court, youwillfeel my wrath, do you understand me?”
I tried not to roll my eyes. I’d heard this refrain several times already from Lady Sienna. As the lady of Ruby Court, she was counting on her husband’s plan to work just as much as he was, but she was less than impressed with his choice of competitor.
“I understand,” I ground out, keeping my chin up as I glanced at the clock hanging on the far wall. The party Carnelian sent out was due back today, and we’d received word that they weren’t far out nearly an hour ago. I was practically shaking with the need to go see Ula.
And possibly beg for forgiveness.
I was forced through another excruciating half an hour of lessons in being a lady, however. Sienna had been drilling me nonstop since the day I was caught, and nearly a week later, I wanted nothing more than to scream. I hadn’t had to worry about appearances in this way since I was a child. And what child honestly cared about abiding by the boring adult rules?
Now, I was getting the crash course I thought I’d never have reason to catch up on. Within another week, we’d be setting out for Diamond Court, and the competition would begin shortly thereafter.
They had no idea what kind of challenges I’d be thrown into, so Carnelian and Sienna decided to cover their bases as best they could. They were using the last competition as a template, but we all knew it was likely there would be some surprises. Apparently, the nature of the trials was kept under tight security, with no one outside of the high king’s inner circle allowed to know of them.
