“He’s alive,” I confirmed.
Pity.
Cassian released a deep chuckle. “You made him ugly again,” he said before descending into laughter so fierce that he couldn’t utter another word.
I turned and grinned in response. “And ugly is good for him?” I confirmed.
“I think ugly suits him perfectly. Come on, we’d better get out of here before anyone finds us.”
“Can you hear your bed calling again?” I asked, letting him take my hand as he led me away down the corridor.
“Yeah, it’s calling my name, begging me to come to it,” he agreed with a laugh.
“I wanna come too,” I said enthusiastically.
Cassian gave me a sidelong glance and I wondered what I’d done to draw that look from him.
I wish you could hear yourself right now. Telling a man you want to go to their bed means so much more than you’re thinking it does.
“Like what?” I muttered.
My mind filled with images and I stumbled to a halt as heat raced to my cheeks. I saw what might have been memories or just pure fantasy of men and women naked and alone, kissing, touching. They were doing things I couldn’t quite explain and yet the thought of it sent my heart racing with an exciting kind of heat which had nothing to do with magic.
“Oh,” I breathed.
Yeah. Oh. So unless you’re sure you want to do that with Cassian, I’d suggest you stop begging to go to his bed.
Cassian was looking at me in a way I wasn’t sure he had before and I was suddenly very aware of what I’d suggested to him. I barely understood it and I knew for certain that I wasn’t ready to try and do it. Not with him or anyone else.
I pulled my fingers from his grip and smiled at him shyly. “Maybe I shouldn’t be offering to come to your bed with you,” I said, embarrassment heating my cheeks.
“Don’t worry, Kyra,” he said affectionately, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “I know what you meant and what you didn’t mean. And I wouldn’t presume anything else of you. Besides, your body is your own now, right? You could fry me with your magic and slam me against a wall if I got handsy with you and you didn’t want it.”
I released a laugh as he opened the door to our chamber but it died before it even got started. Because as I looked into the softly lit rooms we’d made our home within the palace, I saw someone who didn’t belong there. And he gasped as he saw me too.
I stumbled past Kyra into the room and my eyes fell on utter devastation. Drawers pulled out, the couch shredded, pictures thrown from the walls. At the heart of it all stood a boy with sandy hair and wide eyes, a short dagger in his grip.
Recognition pounded through me. This was the kid Marik had been about to whip before I'd interrupted him.
He lifted the blade, a wild glint in his eyes. “W-where is it?” he stuttered.
“Woah calm down, kid, what's going on?” I kicked the door shut behind me and Kyra looked from me to Laris, a warning in her eyes I didn't understand.
“Where i-is it?!” he demanded, shaking from head to toe. His right eye twitched and his body was jittery as he stepped forward.
Was he really going to try and take me on? He was smaller than Kyra.
“I-I need it or s-she's going to k-kill me.” Laris pointed the blade at me and I raised my hands.
“Take a breath,” I growled. “You're not thinking straight. You're outnumbered here.”
He swung the blade to point at Kyra and her mouth parted. “I'm much stronger than you,” she said gently.
Laris shook his head. “J-just tell me where i-it is!” he yelled and I lunged forward, grabbing his wrist and disarming him in seconds.
He struggled wildly as I pinned him to my chest, tossing the blade to Kyra. She caught it out of the air with a grin as she eyed the hilt.
I locked my arm around the boy's neck and he wheezed as I applied pressure. I just needed to calm him down – like right now idiot, or you're gonna pass out!
He clawed at my skin, but finally fell still and I eased my grip.
I pushed him toward the wrecked couch and the wine in my veins meant I used a little too much force so he went flying over it.
“Sorry kid,” I grunted, staggering a little as the alcohol made my thoughts fuzzy.
He jumped up behind it, starting to shake again.
“G-get back,” he begged, raising his hands. “J-just give me the lamp and I'll g-go.”
My stomach knotted. He wanted the lamp. Which meant Gothel must have sent him.
Shit, what were we gonna do?
“Cassian,” Kyra said in a loud whisper as if Laris couldn't hear her. I turned to her and she pointed to her head then wiggled her fingers like a spider.
“What?” I hissed and she cupped her hand with her mouth.
“In his brain,” she said loudly.
I looked to Laris with a dawning comprehension and my heart stalled in my chest. “Hey kid...” I approached slowly. “Did Gothel do something to you? Did you see a beetle maybe..?”
Laris blinked several times, shaking his head then nodding fervently. “It h-hurt,” he whimpered.
“Come here,” I beckoned. “Let me help you.” I wasn't sure exactly what I was planning to do. I couldn't exactly do brain surgery on the boy.
“N-no one can h-help me.” A tear slid from his eye.
The door opened and I turned sharply as Aladdin entered the room, a swagger to his walk until he spotted the mess before him. “Oh man, did the party come back here?”
“No.” I jerked my head at Laris. “We have a small issue.”
Krya tapped her forehead, miming the bug again.
Aladdin frowned at her then looked to me for an explanation.
“A Gothel issue,” I muttered and his eyes widened in realisation. “He's looking for the lamp.”
Aladdin nodded firmly then strode across the room with a dramatic sigh. “Alright, better give it to him then hadn't I?”
He marched into his bedroom, returning a second later with a gold candlestick. “We disguised it as this.” He held it out for Laris and the boy sidled around the couch, reaching for it with trembling fingers.
Before he took it, he convulsed and Kyra let out a yelp. “The bug! The bug is doing something!”
Laris grabbed his head in both hands with a heart-wrenching wail. He stumbled into me and I didn't know what to do but hold him upright as he started jerking violently in a seizure.
“Help him!” I called to Kyra and she looked to Aladdin who was standing there with the candlestick still outstretched.
“Wish it,” I growled, turning Laris to face me. His eyes were bloodshot and darting everywhere.
“I wish the kid didn't have a bug in his head,” Aladdin said and Kyra looked to Laris hopefully.
I shook the boy. “Say yes- agree!”
He opened his mouth but only blood came out before he fell still in my arms, lifeless, entirely dead. My heart thundered as I lowered him to the floor, his eyes gazing glassily back at me.
Anger rolled up inside me like a sea storm. “Gothel,” I snarled, my hand tightening into a fist.
“Great, now we have a dead body to deal with,” Aladdin sighed.
I snapped around. “Is that all you care about? This boy just died because of the Queen's vendetta against us.”
“Que sera sera,” he said with a shrug.
“No not que se-pissing-ra, Aladdin.” I rose to my feet, pointing at the kid. “We can't let Gothel get away with this.”
“He's right,” Kyra said, nodding. “That poor boy...”
“What do you want me to do, mate? He's the one who broke in here and tried to steal from me.”
“Because he's under Gothel's con-” Teeth sliced into my arm and pain scored a path through my skin. “Ah!” I lurched around, finding Laris taking a bite out of my flesh. I backhanded him and he hit the ground again, but only for a moment. He flew to his feet, his face contorted in a snarl, his bloodshot eyes flicking betw
een us.
“What the hell is wrong with him?!” Aladdin cried, snatching a blade from his hip.
“He's dead but...I think that bug is controlling him,” Kyra breathed in disgust.
Before I could respond, Laris came at me again and I shoved my full weight into his shoulder. He stumbled back but barely reacted to the strength of my blow, diving at me again, snarling and snapping his teeth. My fist connected with his jaw and it hung loose as it broke. My gut swirled as he didn't react to the pain of the injury, lunging past me and diving at Aladdin instead.
“Oh hell no!” Aladdin ran forward to meet him and I unsheathed my scimitar, sure that whatever had happened to Laris, he was far beyond help.
Aladdin started stabbing but Laris didn't slow even as blood oozed down his front from countless wounds. He swung the candlestick at him, but Laris moved in a flash, knocking it out of his hand.
“Kyra, I wish for a hammer,” Aladdin said through his teeth, shoving the boy back as Laris tried to bite him with his broken jaw.
I ran forward, snatching the back of the kid's shirt and throwing him off of Aladdin. He stumbled to his knees and snarled at me, leaping into the air again. I brought the scimitar up and severed his arm clean off. He didn't stop, falling on me and clawing at my shirt with his remaining hand.
Aladdin smashed his new hammer against his head and the kid slammed to the ground.
“Again!” Kyra cried.
Aladdin didn't stop hitting his head until I dragged him away by the arm. Blood and death hung heavily over us as we stood above the wrecked body of Laris. The kid's hair shifted and a mangled beetle crept from the wounds, scurrying onto the floorboards. I slammed my heel onto it with a grunt, twisting my shoe back and forth to make sure it was good and dead.
“Holy shit,” Aladdin breathed.
I raked a hand over my hair as I turned to him, my stomach hardening at the sight of the blood splattered all over the room.
“Red red red,” Kyra whispered, her eyes glazed.
“Don't look,” I said with a frown but she seemed transfixed by the boy's broken body.
Aladdin dropped the golden hammer Kyra had conjured, kneeling down and starting to roll Laris up in the carpet he was laid on.
“What are you doing?” My heart was thundering and my thoughts were haywire.
I am made of steel.
I am number two hundred and eighty seven.
No, I'm just a man. And now I'm a killer too.
Shit.
Aladdin glanced up at me. “A hand, mate?”
I knelt down, my throat tight as I set my mind on what we had to do. We had no choice. We couldn't let anyone find this; they'd think we killed one of the royal guards. Even if he was just a trainee, he was still protected by the Osarian crown.
We rolled the carpet over and over into a long tube and Aladdin got to his feet, placing his hands on his hips as he assessed our work. I rose beside him, my teeth tightly clenched. He cupped a hand to my cheek but not in his usually patronising way for once. “Get that guilty look out of your eyes, Cassian. We did what we had to. It was self defence.” He clapped my cheek and I scowled as he stalked toward Kyra. “Can you deal with this mess, please?”
She seemed to come out of her trance, gazing around at the wrecked room and nodding quickly.
“Good, I wish for this place to be spotless and throw in a replacement carpet while you’re at it.”
“Can’t you get rid of the body too?” I asked Kyra but she shook her head.
“I can’t affect him unless he agrees.”
“I think he’s long beyond agreeing,” Aladdin said, moving back to the carpet and lifting one end.
Wordlessly, I lifted the other and we stared at each other.
“What are we gonna do with it?” Aladdin asked.
I took a breath, keeping my thoughts controlled as I planned out how to deal with this situation. “It's late, there'll be a watch at the gate and a ground circuit every thirty minutes.” I glanced at the clock. There's just been one so we've got until two o'clock until they circle again. If we can get past the inner palace guards first then we're good.”
“So where exactly are we gonna dump this guy?” Aladdin asked as if it was the most casual question in the world.
“The river,” I said firmly. “It runs through the north part of the gardens then out into the city.”
“Good luck,” Kyra said dreamily as she used her magic to tidy the room and wipe away the blood. She gave us new clothes without a word and soon the blood lining my skin was gone. The bite on my wrist stung like hell, but Aladdin quickly wished that away too.
When we were ready, I placed the carpet on my shoulder and Aladdin did the same as I turned and led him to the door. I poked my head out with a steadying breath.
All was quiet.
“Come on,” I whispered and we stepped out into the corridor, the door shutting behind us with a quiet click.
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I led Aladdin toward the servant's stairway, knowing it wasn't as highly guarded. We stepped into it and a flaming torch on the wall gave us enough light to see by as we carried the body down the steps as silently as we could.
“Pause,” I breathed as we reached a set of double doors at the bottom.
“-goin' for a smoke,” a male servant said.
“If you leave me to clean all of these dishes alone, Farim, I'll kill you!” a woman called after him.
“I won't be a minute,” he snapped, then his footsteps sounded beyond the door. “Stupid woman, what are they good for if not cleaning dishes?”
I bashed the door open so hard he hit the opposite wall and slumped down unconscious.
Shitbag.
We stepped over his body and hurried past the kitchen door, jogging down the corridor. Aladdin's smothered laughter reached me and I bit down on my lip to stop a grin. The wine was still very much in my system and I didn't want to admit I'd found that slightly amusing despite our current situation.
The scent of smoke sailed to me and I frowned, glancing over my shoulder, finding Aladdin puffing on a cigarette he'd evidently stolen from the servant.
“What?” he questioned around the butt then lifted the packet to offer me one.
Footsteps caught my ear and I shoved the carpet up against the wall. Aladdin caught on quick, placing it upright and we pressed our backs either side of it. I snatched the packet of cigarettes from him and lit one with the matches tucked inside.
Two guards marched our way and Aladdin started whistling – which was definitely overkill – as we both stood there smoking.
“Hey,” one of the men addressed us and I instantly recognised him. Salim and I had trained together, but the other guy I only knew by his face. “What are you doing down here?”
“Smoking, mate,” Aladdin said, shrugging one shoulder.
I held out the packet to Salim, knowing he loved the things when he was off-duty. “Want one?”
He eyed the packet greedily, then shook his head. “Can't.” His eyes slid to Aladdin. “Oh, Count Nazari, I didn't realise it was you.” He bowed low and the other guard followed suit.
“Well now you know,” Aladdin said dryly, taking a drag on his cigarette. “Is there a rule against standing down here smoking?”
“Well...we don't usually allow servants to smoke in the palace.” Salim looked to me with a frown.
“He's my servant so do you get to say what he does too?” Aladdin asked with a threatening look.
Salim opened his mouth but the other guard elbowed him. “Just this once.”
They bowed and were about to leave when Salim's gaze fell on the carpet standing between us.
My heart stuttered as I shifted closer to it.
Shit shit shit.
“Why have you got a carpet?” Salim asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. He reached out to it an Aladdin batted his hand away.
“Hey, that's my carpet. And it's expensive as shit. So can you not put your greasy fin
gers all over it?”
Salim's brows raised. “It's the middle of the night and-”
“And I like my carpet.” Aladdin stepped forward, feigning a stumble and I moved to steady him as he laughed deliriously.
“He's drunk,” I said under my breath to Salim. “He does shit like this all the time. I'm just doing my usual job and making sure he doesn't kill himself.”
Aladdin started stroking the shiny buttons on the other guard's shirt.
Salim backed up, giving me a look that said better-you-than-me-mate and walked away. “Good night then.”
Aladdin waved to them, stumbling back into me and laughing until they rounded a corner.
He dropped the butt of his cigarette and stamped it out under his heel. He gave me a triumphant grin and I stubbed my own out on the wall – the palace wall.
When I looked up I found Aladdin twirling a gold coin between his fingers.
I frowned, baffled by him. “Did you just steal that from a royal guard?”
“I did.” He shrugged.
“Really? While we’re doing this? He could have caught you,” I growled.
“Firstly, no one catches me. And secondly, I needed to know if a man made of steel carried any gold. And look, he did.” He waved the coin at me then pocketed it.
I stared at him for several long seconds then snatched up my end of the carpet.
He picked up his end and we headed along to the nearest exit, slipping out into the grounds.
“Do you not wanna ask me about how it went with the Princess?” Aladdin called as I guided us along a path that led to the back of the palace.
I ground my teeth in annoyance, not answering.
“Because it went really well.”
“Good for you,” I bit out. I wasn't going to rise to his bullshit anymore. I knew who the Princess wanted and I was starting to make my peace with that, as much as it crushed my insides and made it hard to breathe. I was still definitely making progress on accepting it.
“What no punch in the face this time?” Aladdin taunted. “Even though I had my tongue in your precious Princess's mouth?”
My teeth were grinding to dust in my mouth, but still I wouldn't answer. He wanted to rub it in my face. He wanted my reaction. And I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of it.
Forbidden Fairytales- The Complete Series Page 38