The Prince's Wing

by Amber R. Duell

  Faramond snapped his fingers. “Speak, boy. I’m a busy man.”

  “An assassin attacked the prince today,” I said without preamble.

  “Yes,” he said slowly. “It wasn’t an order, or you would’ve been warned. A damn shame she acted on her own. She was one of our best.”

  I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. If the Red Asters couldn’t control their own people, bigger problems were brewing. But, on the other hand, if she was one of their best, they were scraping the bottom of the barrel.

  Faramond’s chair creaked as he leaned his elbows onto the desk. “Is that why you’re here? To whine about being taken unaware?”

  “No.” I gritted my teeth at the accusation. “Although, I can’t say I’m happy about it either.”

  Faramond combed one ink-stained hand through his hair—he lifted his quill with the other. The papers piled on his desk were covered in scratched out words and illegible scribbles. “You have intelligence to share, then? Something that couldn’t wait?”

  “The prince is getting married.” I said it as if it should’ve been a shock to him, but I knew, deep down, it wasn’t. Not when King Jonty’s bastard was involved. “He’s engaged to Countess Odelia’s daughter.”

  Faramond smirked.

  I balled my hands into fists. Conniving bastard. “You had one of your other Asters suggest it, didn’t you? They convinced King Edric that it would help ease tensions.”

  “It won’t help the false king, but it will certainly help us.”

  Us. Because I was an Aster too, whether I liked it or not. I hated the king, but I didn’t much like Faramond either. There had to be a middle ground, but neither side was willing to come down from their mountaintop to find it.

  “Is she meant to kill Bastian?” I asked. “Marry him, kill him, and take the throne herself?”

  “Bastian?” His smirk grew crueler as he scratched the quill through the parchment, leaving a large hole. “I’ve warned you repeatedly not to get attached to the pretender prince. He’ll die just like his father will, otherwise this was all for nothing.”

  My eye twitched in an attempt to keep my face expressionless. Bastian wouldn’t die because I wouldn’t let him. “He—”

  Faramond stood so quickly that his seat clattered to the floor. “Don’t you dare try to defend him again. You’re walking on thin ice, Saer. If I can’t trust you to do what the Asters need you to do, you’ll be dealt with just like any other traitor. Am I understood?”

  Dealt with. Killed. No matter the unique position an Aster held, fuckups weren’t permitted. Wavering loyalty wasn’t permitted. And leaving the Red Asters was definitely not permitted. I would like to see him try to kill me, though. If the assassin at the temple was one of their best, I dared him to send someone after me. There was Bastian to think about, however. His safety. So, I swallowed my pride and said, “understood.”

  “Good.” Faramond pointed to the window. “Now get out.” I was halfway onto the roof again when the Aster leader added, “Return next week. I have a job for you.”

  In my twenty years as Faramond’s puppet, he’d never given me a job. Not in addition to being the Prince’s Wing, anyway. I’d pushed him too far tonight, asked him too many questions. There was no free thought allowed within the Red Asters, no walking away from their cause—there was only obedience or punishment.

  A shiver ran down my spine. “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter Three

  While King Edric’s concern that Bastian would one day steal the throne was ridiculous, it saved me from sitting through meetings all day at the prince’s side. Years ago, I bested both of the King’s Wings at a public exhibition and was promptly barred from the Main Palace, special events being an exception. Faramond nearly had a stroke when I told him what happened.

  I sighed as I left Bastian at the main gate and headed for the royal gardens. There were bigger things to worry about than the king’s vanity. Like the job that Faramond had for me, if the future princess had a murderous agenda, and whether more Asters would go rogue. I sighed a second time. Everything would be fine—I’d make sure of it. No one was killing the prince, even if it meant I had to start sleeping at the foot of his bed.

  Slipping into the overgrown, forgotten nook of the garden, I stretched out on my favorite bench. It was perfectly situated beneath a large oak. I tipped my head back to see the morning sun breaking through the foliage. The leaves danced, creating patterns of light with branches that broke across the entire canopy. A sense of calm accompanied the soft rustle, and I closed my eyes to let it soak in.

  Here, I didn’t have to suffer the curious glances of the nobility or listen to their whispers about why I wasn’t guarding the prince inside the Main Palace. Even the king doesn’t trust him, they said under their breaths. And it was true, but I didn’t care as long as Bastian did. No one dared speak to me—some because they were intimidated and others because my parents had chosen the losing side of King Edric’s coup. I was used to the looks, the rumors, but that didn’t mean I wanted to subject myself to it unnecessarily.

  “My lady?” came a woman’s voice from the other side of the large hedge. My eyes flew open and I held my breath, listening. “My lady, where are you?”

  Damn. Running into some lord’s lost daughter was not on my agenda. All it would take was for someone to find us alone—honor would be called into question, and I’d be at the center of a shit storm. But not only would I never touch a woman against their wishes, I wouldn’t touch them if they begged me to. I’d visited the royal brothel when I was younger because I was curious and stupid, but I wasn’t allowed to start a family. Why risk the scandal of consorting with a lady or, worse, the heartache? So, I stayed on my bench, waiting for the trouble to pass by.

  A twig inside the hedge wall snapped behind me, and I tensed. No one came here—that was the point. The royal gardens were immaculately groomed, full of fragrant flowers, and elegant sculptures. All things that drew nobles in, unlike the weeds and family of rodents living at the base of the oak tree. This tiny square of chaos was mine. The crack came again and I swung my legs over the bench, sitting up.

  The far hedge shook, then a woman fell from between the wide leaves.

  The hell…?

  I darted forward to catch her before she landed in the dirt, ruining her gown. The intricate pattern sewn into the gray fabric and strands of gemstones swooping down to decorate her upper arms were worn only by high-ranking nobility. When she looked up, my breath caught. She was absolutely stunning with delicate features, honey brown hair, and amber eyes. I couldn’t recall seeing her at the palace before, and I would have. The dress highlighted her narrow waist and perfect breasts in a way that would draw the eye of every man in the room. Even those who shouldn’t be looking. I cringed as I steadied her and took two steps back.

  “Thank you,” she said, sounding breathless.

  I clenched my jaw. Her voice was as pretty as a songbird and I hated myself for wanting to hear it again. “Your ladies are looking for you.”

  “I’m sure they are,” she mumbled, examining a scratch on her forearm.

  “If you stay here, I’ll direct them—”

  “No,” she blurted. “I mean, no. Thank you. I’m… trying to get a moment to myself.”

  I met her gaze and lifted a brow. While I understood the desire to be alone in a place where alone didn’t exist, she couldn’t stay here. Not with me, and not alone.

  “They’ll find me soon enough,” she reasoned.

  “Undoubtedly.” I caught myself before I could grin at her attempts to smooth her hair into place. With the number of beads woven through the locks, it was going to take an expert pair of hands to fix. “And once they do, which of us do you think will feel their wrath?”

  She paused, looking me over, and I couldn’t help wondering what she saw. My dark hair, swept back and tied with a leather cord, my light green eyes, and sharp jawline. Or was it the black pants, tunic, and jerkin with the silver wing pi
nned over my left collarbone. The bracers on my arms and the sword at my hip. Did she see me or did she see a Wing? I hated myself for caring about the answer. After years of never being seen as a person, it shouldn’t have still bothered me.

  She shrugged. “No one has to know you saw me.”

  “There are no secrets here,” I warned.

  It wouldn’t be surprising if the entire palace knew we’d met before midday. She flashed a brilliant smile that hit me like an arrow right in the chest. Fuck no. I had to get away from her now. No good would come of this.

  “Do the birds speak?” She made a show of looking around. “The ants?”

  “Only the flowers,” I said, hinting at the Red Asters. Her easy laugh told me she didn’t comprehend the warning. My eyes narrowed. “This is your first time visiting the palace, isn’t it?”

  She sobered. “Is it that obvious?”

  Extremely. She was too unbothered to be a regular visitor. Getting lost and avoiding the maids was bound to get her in trouble if her family found out, but it was the careless way she treated the repercussions that gave her away. That, and the fact she’d seen the Wing on my chest and not reacted. “It is,” I assured her. “You’re not afraid of me.”

  Hesitation flashed through her large, beautiful eyes. “Should I be?”

  I lifted a brow. Should she be? No. Not unless she was planning to track down the prince and threaten his life. “That doesn’t make a difference.”

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “Everyone else avoids me so, for that reason alone, you should be wary.” Not everyone at the palace was kind and there was no way for her to know which type of man I was.

  She cocked her head, her waist-length hair catching in the beads on her arm. “I would’ve thought you were popular.”

  I huffed. “What gave you that impression?”

  “Because…” Her cheeks blazed red and she stood straighter, giving me a clumsy curtsy. “I haven’t introduced myself yet.”

  “You’re not supposed to,” I told her with a touch of humor. Had she not been taught court etiquette? It was refreshing, but not wise. “You’re supposed to be introduced by a mutual acquaintance or not at all.”

  She waved a hand through the air as if the idea were ridiculous. “I’m Karina.”

  Karina. As in the bastard daughter engaged to Bastian? No—it was one of the most common given names in Eradrist. At least half of the ladies at court were named Karina. And no daughter of Count Odelia would be this… unrefined. The engagement wasn’t public knowledge yet and Bastian’s fiancée was still in Port Black.

  “And you are…?” she prompted.

  I cleared my throat. “The Prince’s Wing.”

  The smile immediately fell from her face. Ah. There it is. The fear. The wariness. Perhaps I should’ve given my name instead, but this was for the best. The unfamiliar thread drawing me toward her needed to be brutally cut—something my title was sure to do.

  “I thought you would be older,” she said after a long moment.

  My eyes widened. “Older?”

  “A seasoned guard,” she clarified, cheeks pink.

  Experienced, she meant. But I had my fair share of that in my twenty-two years. While I hadn’t seen a battlefield like most of the older men in the army, I’d been slaughtering would-be assassins since I was thirteen. Before my first kill, I’d fought Bastian’s assailants off long enough for guards to arrive. And I still wore the scars to prove it.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re underestimating me,” I said, half-questioning.

  She gave me a lopsided smirk. “Stories about you are well known throughout all of Eradrist and beyond. You singlehandedly defeated both of the King’s Wings so, no. I believe you’re as dangerous as they say.”

  I tilted my chin up, pulling my shoulders back, in some sort of unconscious desire to make her afraid. To give her a reason to be cautious. “Most ladies at court will change direction if I’m walking toward them.”

  “Perhaps their reason for that isn’t fear,” she suggested. “Maybe you unknowingly have the entire court wrapped around your finger.”

  I snorted. “You really are new to court.”

  “You mean I’m a breath of fresh air?” She gave a stilted curtsy. “Why thank you, my lord.”

  Her eyes gleamed with amusement as she smirked and, for a moment, I forgot the point I had been making. I was too caught up in her essence. The light that shone from within her, unreserved. Then I blinked. I was dangerous. That was what I wanted her to understand. But perhaps she was the dangerous one.

  “Stay here,” I told her in a gruff voice. “I’ll fetch your ladies.”

  “No need,” Karina said and hurried through the opening in the hedge before I could stop her. She looked back just before she disappeared and called, “You never saw me.”

  I plopped down on the bench and let out a heavy breath, staring at the place she just stood. If only she were that easy to forget. Especially when I wanted to see her again already. After only having spent minutes in her presence, I knew that was ridiculous, but I’d never experienced such an instantaneous draw to someone before.

  Pull yourself together.

  Women were off limits to me unless they worked in a brothel. And I had another woman to be concerned with. One who was currently living in Port Black with the Countess, where she was likely hatching plans to murder Bastian. A murder I had to prevent without guaranteeing my own death at Aster hands.

  Chapter Four

  After growing up in the palace, little surprised me about people. I’d watched nobles lie and cheat and scheme my whole life. Murder plots had unfolded before me as families grabbed for more power, for titles and gold. Brothers slayed brothers. Uncles banished nephews. Fathers sold daughters in marriage to the highest bidder.

  So, when supplies were delivered to the empty Women’s Palace over the last seven days, it was expected that rumors would fly. The gossip spread like wildfire which led to letters being sent to distant relatives seeking a place for themselves at the capital. More than a dozen families had already coincidentally come to court. No one knew if Eradrist was getting a new queen or a princess, but the idea of either was enough to drag power-hungry lords from their personal estates.

  A daughter placed in the royal household as a lady’s maid would boost the family’s position. All I had to do was wait, watch, and carefully select one of the chosen women to report to me. Once Lady Karina arrived from Port Black, I needed eyes and ears inside to help learn her intentions toward Bastian.

  Soft footsteps drew my attention from the sunlit patterns above me, the oak leaves slowly thinning as cooler weather blew in. Swinging my right leg over the bench, I sat up, ready to react as necessary. To bow or duck behind my tree to avoid doing so. I flicked a glance at the wide trunk. Hiding was definitely the preferable choice.

  “You’re here,” a female voice said.

  Too late to hide and avoid social interaction.

  Wait. That voice…

  I held my breath as my gaze slid to the entrance in the hedge. Karina picked her way through the overgrown grass, golden hair twisted with strings of pearls that matched the strands cascading off her light blue gown. My pulse leapt at the sight and I jumped to my feet.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d be here again,” she said when I was silent. “It doesn’t look as if anyone visits this place much.”

  “That’s why I like it,” I said with a clenched jaw. Was she trying to test me? Or, maybe use me to get herself sent back home? Her father likely brought her in hopes of becoming a lady’s maid, but if she didn’t want the position, it would only take the slightest whiff of impropriety to get herself rejected. “What are you doing here?”

  She stopped beside the bench, tipping her head back to look up at me. There was at least a foot difference in our height which was twice that of most Eradristian women. “I wanted to see you.”

  “Why?” I blurted.

  “I felt bad
about the last time we met.” She swiped her skirts to the side and perched on the bench, patting the spot beside her. “Sit with me.”

  “I’m fine standing.”

  Her smile fell slightly. “I’m sorry for running off. My mother warned me that you were dangerous.” She looked pointedly at the sword on my hip.

  I raised a brow. “That didn’t seem like the reason you left.”

  “Right, well…” She blushed slightly. “After thinking about it, I realized that, your skillset is something to be admired, not feared.”

  “Oh?” I crossed my arms, staring pointedly at her.

  She nodded, smiling again. “You’re not your parents, so the people who distrust you for that reason are small-minded. And the king trusts you to protect his son so you’re clearly not a bad person.”

  Except, technically speaking, I was a trained assassin—just like the Aster I killed in the temple. The difference was that I worked on the defense, but I was a murderer regardless. “I would love to know how you came to that conclusion.”

  “Instinct,” she said, half-questioning.

  I held back a snort. Instinct? That was a one-way ticket to ruin at the palace. “What else does your instinct tell you?”

  “Don’t trust people who say you can trust them,” she said, using her fingers to count. “Leave the turtles alone. Stay away from the edge of cliffs. Treat all snow as if it were yellow, at least in a city.”

  “What’s wrong with turtles?” I asked, though for the life of me, I wasn’t sure why I latched onto that.

  “I don’t know.” She grinned sheepishly. “Something, though.”