I blinked, unsure of how to respond.Could she be reading my mind?
“If you wish to make a bargain with me, you must be honest, Analleia,” she continued.“You will tell me the whole truth, no matter how dark it may seem.Why is it you are so desperate to attend the Paravellian Balls?”
My fingers twitched.I couldn’t trust her with the truth, nor could I gain her help without it.I averted my gaze, then lifted my chin and met her eyes.“To assassinate King Zaricor.”
My first and only kill as an assassin.
A smile touched her lips.“Kill the king of Paravellia?Well, well, this is very dark, isn’t it?”A tea kettle whistled from inside the house, and she turned to the door.“First you must come and have a sip of tea with me.”
I shivered, hesitating before following her up the cobblestone path.The strong aroma of foliage and herbs assaulted me as I stepped across the threshold.It was like stepping into an overgrown greenhouse.Plants had been shoved into any bare spot and crevice that could hold them, some teetering precariously on uneven stacks of books and lopsided furniture.One wall held a crumbling hutch stuffed with jars full of remedies for every ailment imaginable.Oddly shaped and crooked framed artworks decorated any wall that wasn’t hidden by greenery.
“Sit.”
The Enchantress gestured to a three-legged stool.One leg looked rotted, and I questioned its ability to hold me.She poured the hot tea into two mugs and offered me one.I blew across the top, curling my hands around the cup for warmth as steam rose from it, but I had no intention of drinking the liquid within—no matter how ordinary it might look.
“If you’ve trained with the Dark Walkers, you’re skilled enough to pull off this assassination,” she said.“Why ask me for help with the invitations?Couldn’t you have stolen or forged one on your own instead?Bribed someone?”
I had already run through every possibility in my head.Asked every question.Thought of every setback or interference.
“We did create a fabricated invitation.”I crafted my answer carefully.“But gettinginisn’t the problem.It’s being allowed to stay that’s the issue.”
The Enchantress stared at me, waiting for further explanation.She wasn’t going to make this easy.
“I need magic to disguise my face,” I continued.“If I walk into the Paravellian Balls as I am, I could be recognized, which would be disastrous.I underestimated how recognizable a Kallistar would be.”
The scar-faced man flashed before my eyes.I know you.
I pushed the memory away, reaching for the money pouch secured at my hip.“I have plenty of gold coin.I’m willing to pay—whatever it may cost.”
The Enchantress frowned at my coin then set her teacup down, warning coating her voice.“Oh, I don’t deal in money, Analleia.”
Goose bumps traveled up my arms.I swallowed hard, remembering the girl who had bargained to save her sister.
Money was all I had to trade.
I had brought nothing else.
Hadnothing else.
I glanced at the oddities hoarded in the cottage.“What is it you deal in?”
She crossed her arms, a curious glint lighting her expression.“First I have a few questions I would like you to answer.Why are you willing to go to such lengths to assassinate King Zaricor?”
Her question caught me off guard, and I stammered.I’d only ever voiced my plans to Desmond and Nadiyah.The one other person aware of them was the headmistress of the Dark Walkers.It felt wrong, the secrecy.The whole world should know of King Zaricor’s atrocities.
“Because he destroyed my kingdom.”
If that were only the half of it.
“I need a deeper answer than that.”
If I wanted to be honest, I would’ve told her I had no desire to kill anyone.Yes, I was an assassin, but I’d only joined the Dark Walkers to learn the necessary skills for this mission.It was the only way I could ensure King Zaricor would be punished for his heinous crimes.
“I promised my mother,” I said.“And I owe it to my sister.”
A lump rose in my throat at the mention of them.Five years and the hurt cut as deep as it had the moment I lost them.
The Enchantress shrugged, picking up her teacup again.“Fair enough, but second, what is your plan to kill the king?Is it a process?Or will you waltz through the ballroom doors and immediately strike him through the heart?”
