Shattered Assassin (5 page)

The assassin surveyed the estate. It was large, and there were many easy entry points. The estate guards were lax at their posts, especially given the fact that they were supposed to be protecting their future queen. If she didn’t know better, she would think they
wanted
her to come in and finish the job. Cold eyes scanned the property, deciding which point would house her the best while she waited until the time was right. It would be soon.

She wouldn’t let that she-devil live another week.

She picked a big evergreen to build her nest. She climbed easily up its sticky branches, choosing one of the fattest to hide her pack where it would not be seen. She was grateful that winter had not set in. That would make this whole endeavor much more difficult. But the air had yet to turn cold. The princess was supposed to be married on the fall solstice, a month away. This job must be done before then, which meant she had to move quickly. She slid back against the trunk of the giant tree and smiled. Now, to wait.

The knocking at the door caused Kazia to tumble out of her chair, flopping on the floor like the most ungraceful of fish.

“Princess?” Luke pushed the door open, sword drawn, as she scrambled to cover herself.

“Just a moment, Captain! Good grief,” she screeched.

He saw her by the fire and smiled, relief lightening his eyes as he lowered his sword. “I’ve been knocking for several minutes. I thought something had happened.”

“Something
did
happen. I fell asleep. People do that,” Kazia grumbled, rearranging her robe without looking up, praying that her hair hid her fire-red cheeks.

“Shall I call Crystali to help you dress?” Was that amusement she heard in his voice? She bit back her indignation.

“No, thank you. I can manage.” What she really wanted was for him to just be gone so the blush flaming across her cheeks would fade already. She crossed the room and pushed him out the door, wanting simultaneously to smack him and smile at him. She did neither, instead shutting the door and turning the lock. She knew queens were supposed to have assistance dressing themselves, but she was not a queen. She only needed help for fancy ball gowns, especially the kind with a hundred tiny buttons up the back. If she’d needed help with the simple tunic she pulled on now, it would mean she was truly pathetic and didn’t deserve to call herself an adult. She yanked the tangles from her hair and braided it. It wasn’t intricate and beautiful like when Crystali did it, but it stayed out of her way. All she wanted was to eat and go back to bed, and with that goal in mind, how her hair looked didn’t matter. Especially when the only person whose opinion she cared about didn’t even remember she had hair.

He waited for her in the hallway. “Did you get any rest at all or have you been standing here the entire afternoon?” she asked as she shut her bedroom door behind her.

He frowned. “You aren’t supposed to worry about that. Worry about being safe.”

She tipped her head sideways, regarding him for several seconds before she started walking again. “I would assume you would keep me safe much better if you were well-rested.” Behind her, she heard him choke back a reply, and allowed herself a wicked smile.

Dinner was one of the most boring events in recent memory. She tried to follow the conversation, but they talked about things related to their village and outlying lands and parties they were hosting and décor Kristina wanted and her
cats
, and Kazia wasn’t familiar with any of it. Not wanting to be rude, she cleared her throat. “You have a beautiful home, Kristina.”

“Oh, thank you, dear. We try but…” she trailed off with a dramatic sigh.

“Kristina, please. Don’t start this again.”

Kazia looked from Jeffery’s scowl to Kristina, who seemed to be tearing up.

“Well, she should know, shouldn’t she?”

“Know what?” Kazia asked, not entirely sure she did actually want to know.

“It was very kind of your father to give us this land, of course,” Kristina said.

Ah. Kazia was sure now that she didn’t want to know.

“But it seems this land is…” Kristina dropped her voice to a whisper that Kazia had to strain to hear down the length of the table. “Haunted.”

Kazia sat back in her chair, trying not to let her jaw drop open in disbelief. Near the door, Benjamin and Luke both choked and sputtered. “Haunted.” Kazia quirked an eyebrow.

“Yes. It seems the ghost is in love with me. It follows me everywhere.”

“It… what?” Kazia felt herself on the verge of choking as well. Whatever Luke and Benjamin had was contagious.

“Kristina, this is ridiculous. There is no ghost.” Jeffery threw up his hands, exasperated. His soup spoon clattered to the table, rolling once and falling to the floor.

“I know you don’t believe me! But there
is
a ghost and if she’s going to be the queen she can do something about it!” Kristina burst into tears, sobbing so that her shoulders shook. Jeffery sighed and snatched up his fork, digging into his meal like there might be peace found at the bottom of his plate.

Kazia, grateful to be at the other end of the table, could only bite her lip and pray for a quick rest of the meal. Last she knew, queens were not mediums who could send ghosts on their merry way.

She was nearly asleep in her soup when the door to the dining room burst open and a man raced in. Luke immediately drew his sword, stopping the man in his tracks. “Captain, he’s one of mine. Stand down,” Jeffery said, rising to his feet. “What is the meaning of this?”

“M’lord, your troops…” The man trailed off, out of breath and pale.

“Yes, what of them?” Jeffery squinted at him, as if he could peer through the man’s skull and find the answer more quickly himself.

“There was an ambush. They’re all dead, sir.”

Kristina screamed, her goblet crashing to the floor. Wine splashed across the carpet, deep red like fresh blood. Kazia stared at it, remembering another room, and blood, so much blood. “Brodi,” she whispered. The room spun and she fought to hold on to consciousness.

“Princess? Kazia!” She heard Luke calling, as if from a great distance.

The blood seemed to run at her, growing hands, reaching, reaching. She screamed, scrambling out of her chair. She turned to run, blind, seeking Nakomi, but crashed instead into a solid chest and bounced back, nearly falling.

“Kazia!”

Luke
. She shook like a rattled tea kettle, trying to draw strength from his hands on her arms. “What did you see?”

“Blood,” she whispered. “So much blood.” She refused to open her eyes. Refused to see the blood. But it was there, in her mind, and she couldn’t escape it.

“Did you see the assassin?” Kristina was there, pulling on her arms.

Someone else yelled, “Bring me the smelling salts!” and Kazia thought it was Benjamin but couldn’t be sure.

She would have to open her eyes if she wanted to see, but they fought her, wanting to stay tightly shut and
safe.
She pried them open, avoiding even the hint of a glance at the spilled wine on the floor.
Wine. It’s just wine. It’s just wine.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t see anything except the — the blood.”

“I think the princess has had enough excitement for one day. I’ll accompany her to her rooms.” Luke took a firm grasp on her upper arm, leading her away.

“But his troops? What happened to his troops?” she asked, fighting the dizziness that was trying so hard to suck her in.

“It isn’t something you need to worry about,” Luke said tightly.

“It
is
, Captain.” She wrenched her arm from his grasp, teetering dangerously as the room spun. She held her ground by sheer force of will. “They were supposed to be protecting me. Those men died for me!”

Luke cast her a long, sideways glance, but said nothing. They rounded the corner to her chambers, where Heath and another of Luke’s men stood guard. “Has anyone come or gone?”

“No sir. And the wolf has been prowling constantly. Nothing has disturbed her.” The door was open, so the men could see in while watching the hall, and Kazia could see Nakomi in the middle of the room, nose to the air. Luke led her in and sat her in the chair by the fire.

Crystali, appearing out of nowhere, pressed a cup of something warm and chocolatey into her hands while Luke prodded at the fire, coaxing it back to life. “Watch the hallway.” He directed his men while he went throughout the room, making sure, Kazia assumed, that it was still secure. As if anything could have snuck past Nakomi. But she didn’t point it out. She was so tired. She just wanted to sleep.

“Princess, I was wondering, we sent a missive to your fiancé after your — after the attack. Do you think we should send another, informing him of this new development?” Crystali stood just outside Kazia’s field of vision. Nakomi appeared at her side and Kazia stroked the thick fur, letting it calm her, praying that the images would fade.
So much blood.

“I don’t see why he would need to know this,” Luke said, his voice muffled as he checked under her bed.

Kazia rolled her head to the side to watch him. “Since it concerns his future wife — and because he is now in the position to become king of my kingdom, I assume keeping him updated would be the intelligent thing to do.”

Kazia just caught sight of Crystali’s smirk as she turned to go. “I’ll see that it is sent right away, your highness.” Nakomi disappeared into the shadows, reappearing several yards away, sniffing the air.

“Thank you.”

“Will you be requiring anything else tonight?” Crystali paused in the doorway, glancing back at her with a concerned frown.

“No, thank you. Just sleep.”

“We’ll be outside the door, should you need us,” Luke said, following Crystali out. He shut the door behind him with a sharp click and Kazia frowned. He confused her. She didn’t like to be confused. And she was too tired anyway. Her bed was so far away, hiding in the long shadows where the light from the fire couldn’t reach. “Nakomi, come.” She patted the side of the chair and her wolf came obediently, settling at her feet. Kazia curled in a ball, and was asleep before the coals even began to glow.

CHAPTER FIVE

_S
HE WOKE IN THE DARKEST HOUR
of the night. Nakomi sat next to the chair, watching like she’d been expecting her master to wake. “One day, I will sleep until dawn,” Kazia informed her, stretching her cramped muscles. Sleeping curled in a chair for several hours straight had not been the most intelligent thing she had ever done. Intelligent. Yes, she used to make the smart choices. She was marrying Randolf — that was a smart thing to do. But ever since the attack, nothing she did or said was smart. “I’m a wreck, Nakomi.” She shuffled across the room, flopping on the bed and staring at the canopy above, but sleep didn’t return. She laid there for several minutes, willing her eyes to close before she gave up, heaving herself to her feet. She patted her side and Nakomi joined her at once.

The door creaked when she opened it, and the two guards — Luke’s men, one she knew and one she didn’t, greeted her. “I need air,” she said.

They exchanged a panicked glance. “Your highness, we aren’t to leave your hallway. We can’t protect your room and you if you aren’t in the same place.”

Kazia nodded. “I understand. Nakomi will accompany me.” She started down the hall and the one she knew — Heath — moved to intercept her, eyes wide. Kazia could see the fear of his future queen battling with the fear of his commanding officer.

“Princess, please, if we let you out the captain will skin us alive, as well he should.”

“No, he should not. I won’t go out. I’ll stay in the manor. I’ll stay in this hallway if it will make you feel better.”

Again, they exchanged a panicked look.

She changed tactics. “Heath, do you remember when we were younger, and you were my sparring partner?” Sparring partner indeed. He had kindly refrained from chopping her to bits while she heaved her sword around and tried not to chop off her own arm.

The barest hint of a smile replaced his panic. “Yes, Princess.”

“Then think of me as your friend. Please. I am not here to get you in trouble. I will stay in your sight at all times. I promise.”

He finally relented, and she spent the night wandering the halls, well within his sight. She admired paintings and tapestries and the ornate marble statues standing at the stairwell landing. When the sun was just above the trees and the new guard came to replace Heath and his partner — who had never offered his name and who hadn’t said a word all night long, she finally started yawning and went back to bed.

The sun was setting when she woke. Nakomi glared as Kazia sat up, annoyed that she hadn’t been outside for over twelve hours. No one besides Kazia dared do it. Leaving the giant wolf in a bedroom to prowl as she pleased was one thing. Taking her
out
of the room and surviving was another thing entirely.

Kazia changed into something not quite so rumpled and swung open her door. Two new guards were there and she smiled her sweetest smile. “I need to take Nakomi out. Would it be possible to find someone to accompany me?”