by Tara Brown
"Fair enough. Next, you will give us the tears and blood of your dragon. He must offer them to us. We must gain them freely."
I thought about it, completely ready to say no, but then a notion crossed my mind. "How many tears and how much blood?"
Her smile grew. "Excellent question. You are a smart girl. A few droplets of blood, at most five, and one tear. Nothing more. Artan is yours. No one here will harm him. We would die before injuring a dragon, especially when there are so few left.”
"I will ask him for those things. But you must swear upon each other’s lives that he will be fine and that you will not harm him."
She nodded and looked at Katy who was chewing something and spitting it into a small bowl. They nodded at each other.
“And he must trust you and choose those things for himself. I will not fight you on it, but he must choose for himself.” I looked at them and frowned. "What is the last thing?"
Mani shook her head. "That one is the hardest. You must take a life when we ask it of you. No questions."
The image of my first kill and the crimson blood trickling down his fat stomach filled my mind. I blocked it out. My hatred had grown into something unimaginable. And there in the small cottage I saw the first glimmer of hope. Witches were not something to play around with, but if all they wanted was nothing but a dragon tear that Artan would offer up on his own, I would take the help. I had spent a full month in Watergate City, and this was the first time a single person had truly offered to be on my side or help me at all.
Well, apart from Grayson.
I took a deep breath and put my hand out. "I will do as you ask."
She moved with a flash, cutting my finger with a dagger I never even noticed she had. She stabbed the tip of hers and smeared our blood together. Katy walked over, chewing on a stick, and stuck her finger out. Mani stabbed her too and pressed my finger against Katy's.
The wound tingled and stung in an unnatural way. I pulled my icy finger back. "Now I want my answers, witches. How do you know who I am?"
Katy smiled and glanced back at Mani mischievously.
Mani nodded slowly and licked the blood from her long finger.
Katy took a step closer, placing her hands on either side of my head. My arguments attempted to leave my lips, but the warmth from her hands soothed me. My eyes snapped shut and images filled my mind.
A woman with dark hair and a white shawl crept through the woods. A creature stirred in the trees, lurking behind her. Its bright eyes shone under the moonlight filtering in through the trees.
Suddenly, the woman was naked and in the embrace of a man—a naked one. I tried to press my eyes and force the images from my mind, but they stayed until it flashed and became another scene.
The woman, now dressed, sat with the witches on the same stool where I sat. She sobbed. It was my mother. She was younger, but I would recognize her anywhere.
The witches poked her finger the way they had done to mine, to get blood.
I pulled away, breaking off the images. "What have you done? Did you do this to my family?" I asked with apprehension. “Did you lure me here to force my trust and make an agreement so you can ruin my life like my mother’s?”
Katy bit her lip and shook her head. "We tried to help her—your mother. Your father was unable to get her pregnant. We made it so he was able. But it would only work once."
"What was the beast? Who was the naked man? What have you done to me?" My heart was beating out of my chest. I leapt off the stool and ran to a window. "What have you done to me? Where's Artan?" I pushed on a window but the pane wouldn’t budge. My eyes started to fuzz. My panic was making me sweat.
The small room spun. The only thing I could make out was the two wicked smiles of the witches.
Chapter Ten
I woke with a start. The fading light of the sunset was filtering in the window of the small cottage. An intense thirst from dehydration ripped through me.
Katy brought me a cup of something. "Drink. It'll calm your nerves." My lips were parched enough that I took the drink. My better judgment told me to take nothing from them. They had betrayed my mother. I had seen it. But my survival instincts forced my shaking hands to take the cup.
Mani sat on the bed beside me. "We have so many things to tell you. So many. We only have a few moments before you must be ready. Katy has changed your cloak. We know about the fondness you have for it."
I swallowed and glanced at the red cloak hanging on the wall. It was pristine and shimmering. My wash jobs had never made it look the way it did. I suspected I had just lost the scent it had carried around for me for a month.
My blades hung next to it on the wall. I felt nervous about them being so far from me.
"You must go to the masque tonight, and you must kill a man."
I wanted to back out of our deal but a whisper trickled through my mind, reminding me I wanted my revenge more. I closed my eyes and nodded. I wanted to go home more than anything. If this man had to die to get me my revenge and back into my home, then his life was nothing more than a candle needing to be snuffed out.
Katy lifted my face. "No. Don't be sad. You will want this man dead. He was the man who started the war on the far border, so that your brothers and father were distracted. The war your father and brothers were at just before Herrick came to visit was a diversion. It allowed Herrick’s golden soldiers to come in through this side and hide in the woods. Your father was so busy defending the other side of the kingdom that he never noticed. Black magic brought those soldiers into your lands."
“You know for certain the man you want me to kill is the king of the land with the border conflict?” Fire burned inside me instantly. "Who is this man?"
“He is no king. The king is his puppet though.” Mani nodded. "His name is Lord Andres. He owns a vineyard and a huge villa in the land bordering yours, the land where the war was—Montagne. He is in Watergate City to celebrate the assassination of your father. The ball is in dedication of removing the most powerful king in the lands. The men here for the celebration will start new treaties and offer your brother terrible deals, bankrupting the lands so they may piece your kingdom off with little war involved. Your lands are the most fertile."
Tears burned in my throat. I swallowed their acidic tea down and let it help build the fire inside me. "How will I know him?" I shivered with anger and hatred.
She took my hand and clasped a small necklace around my neck. "This is going to calm you. Remove it when you wish to feel something. Put it on when you wish to be emotionless. It will stop this journey from breaking you. Making a path of blood and bones isn’t easy on any soul. This necklace was made for just this sort of purpose."
“That doesn't answer my question.” I glanced at the silver necklace. It gleamed in the fading orange light of the sunset.
“Patience, child.” She placed a bracelet with a silver locket on my wrist. It was framed in silver with a picture of the forest in the middle of it. A forest like I had never seen before. The trees were huge and thick, compared to the bushes around them. "This locket will show you an image, like a portrait of the person you are meant to kill when you are close to him or her. No one else will see the portrait, only you."
I nodded. "What will I wear to hide my swords?"
Mani's eyes sparkled. "Katy really is the most creative witch in all the woods."
I glanced at Katy and frowned. She stood and grabbed the cloak. "The cloak is enchanted now. You can wear it all the time. The cloak will hide what you need it to. It's now invisible to the human eye."
I frowned, not wanting to point out that I could see it perfectly, with my human eye. She held it up. I took it from her and pulled it on. It felt the same but no longer smelled like the woods or the boy who died wearing it. I missed the smell.
She passed me my swords and belt. I put them on and looked down, still seeing my swords and cloak. Katy took my hand and pulled me to a thin oval mirror standing at the back of the room.
I cocked an eyebrow at her when I saw it. Somehow the swords were not in the reflection, but the cloak still was. "I can still see the cloak."
Katy laughed. "Well, that’s because you're not entirely human, silly." She said it like I knew it already. I remembered the beast in my memories, lying with my mother. I was certain I didn’t want the answer to any of the questions forming in my mind. Being a half beast wouldn't make me the queen though. The witches owed me answers still. The drive to have my questions answered was put second to the desire to kill the man who created a fake border fight.
Katy's brown eyes gleamed. "Put on the dress on the wall. You're going to be late."
I looked over at the pale-blue gown. It was stunning as far as dresses went. It had silver embroidery and a low scoop neck. I sneered. "You want me to wear a dress? Kill a man, while wearing a dress?"
"Yes. A good assassin can kill in anything." She said it like it was a challenge.
I couldn’t help but wonder how far they were going to push me and exactly what they would ask of me.
I was stripped, washed, dressed, and prettied faster than any maid had ever been able to do it. My lack of fighting and arguing was no doubt an improvement. They allowed me my boots. The dress was long and heavy enough that the boots would never be seen. The neckline was low enough that there was no way anyone would be looking at the shoes. I looked down at my bare bosoms and cringed. “This isn’t exactly my sort of style.”
I pulled on the cloak and sword belt. The dress felt more comfortable with my sword belt on. The mirror showed me nothing more than a dress and a cloak. "I can't see my swords in the mirror."
"The magic of the cloak prevents you from seeing them. Look down."
I glanced down and saw the tips of the blades in the mirror.
I pulled on the black lacy masque and examined myself.
My pale strawberry-blonde hair shone, as did my green eyes. They matched Artan's perfectly. “I look like a whore.”
“You look beautiful and the man you seek enjoys the company of beautiful women. He will seek you out, ask you into a dark corner.” Katy swatted me playfully.
I imagined Artan would laugh his silly dragon laugh when he saw me dressed pretty and ready to dance the night away. I was always ragged and destroyed by the time he saw any of my dresses. He grew up with me fighting the dresses and dragging myself through the mud to ruin them.
The locket glistened in the candlelight. I held the necklace in my hand. I sighed. "I'm ready. Is there a carriage or am I flying to the party?"
Mani offered up nothing but a cocky smile as she took my hand in hers. She drew a door on the wall and opened it and we walked together—she as the old lady and me in my gown.
I didn't know how it happened, but suddenly we were on a street in the city, near the inn. Grayson's face flashed through my mind as we walked out onto the street. I couldn’t help but wonder how hard he would laugh as well, seeing me this way.
As we walked, I heard the sound of Artan’s wings toying with the night air.
"I'm okay," I whispered, just slightly tilting my head upward. My fingers gripped the red cloak. The feel of it reminded me of Maddox. My heart ached but my belly burned, knowing I would be ending the life of one person responsible for everything.
"Go down the street. On the left you'll see a large home with a gated lane. The house will be lit up for the ball. Go there and walk inside with one of the crowds."
I looked around at the busy streets. "What if they recognize me?"
Mani laughed her haggard old-lady laugh. "They won't. Don’t worry about it. But be warned. Herrick might be there."
My eyes flashed at her.
"The necklace, put it on. You must not kill Herrick yet, and not in heated passion. Stick with the plan. Kill only the face you see in the locket. No one else. There is a path we must follow."
My jaw clenched as I tried to control my breathing. The idea of him being there and me not being allowed to kill him was devastating. I slipped the necklace around my neck. It shimmered in the dark, as if taking light from the sliver of the moon above us. I felt it pulling everything away. My pain over the losses I had suffered, my heartache over Maddox, and my guilt over my father's death—all of it was gone. Nothing but the clean, cool night air lingered around me. I exhaled, wondering what kind of payment this magic took, what it cost to be free of the humanity inside me. Magic had a price, I knew that. It was common knowledge that if you went to a healer for anything, there could be a cost in another aspect of your life. Or if you went to a witch to make a man love you, you risked many things for that love.
"When you kill Andres, make it dramatic. Let them know vengeance has come for them. When you are ready to leave, climb to the rooftops and Artan will bring you back to us."
“You’ve spoken to my dragon for me?” I looked at her haggard face but couldn't feel the doubt I knew I wanted to. "Why are you helping me?"
Her eyes softened though they were black as night. "We want the same things. Your brother is not the rightful heir to the throne. His actions will have consequences and as the most powerful kingdom in the lands, those consequences will find their way into all of our lives. This is the just thing to do."
I brushed her off. "Not this again." I pulled away and walked down the alley. I didn’t know exactly how to be a lady in a dress at a party. I knew how to be on display, but not how to socialize with people, not in the right way. A princess, especially a young one, was never part of the party as much as she was part of the show.
My boots made soft sounds on the cold stone street as I walked toward the house I would apparently recognize.
The lights of the houses that lined the street were bright, making me feel like I had every eye upon me. The busyness of the street increased as I drew nearer. I closed my eyes for a second and let it all sink in. I didn’t have the nerves I should have, but I knew my mind and body wanted to worry.
When I rounded the corner I knew I was in the right spot. The house was lit up with torches everywhere. It looked magical. My reaction was one of awe at the beauty. Our township never looked this fancy. But the reaction was muted inside me. The necklace sucked out the joy and any appreciation for anything wonderful that I might feel. It was then that I became aware of the price of the silver jewelry. Or rather the cost on my soul.
I turned and walked through the massive black gates. People in finery were at every turn. I was impressed; I couldn’t feel it or comprehend it, but I was.
The silver necklace on my neck almost glowed; it sucked everything from me so efficiently.
I slipped up the drive to the huge front steps. I could remember my castle this way—lit up fancy and readied for a ball. I never appreciated it. I would do anything to see that again. Not the memories I had of the fires raging and destroying everything, and taking everyone I loved and dearest to me.
I glanced around as I climbed the stairs.
A man in a top hat and suit stood at the front door. He smiled at me and tipped his hat. I smiled back, noting his dark-blue masque was not as fine as the lace one I wore.
I floated into the grand entry and looked left and right to assess which direction I should walk next. Couples danced straight ahead of me in a ballroom. To the right, men seemed to be clustering into intense talks. No doubt talks of my father's death.
I had no anger. I was as cold as ice.
I looked to the left and decided to walk that way. The refreshments were lined up along the wall with men and women chatting innocently next to them.
"Would the lady like a drink?"
I glanced at a man in a masque with a tray of pink drinks. I smiled and took one. "Thank you."
He nodded and walked off.
My swords at my side should have been making me nervous, especially when I caught a glimpse of myself in the wall of mirrors across from me. In the crowd I could see my red cloak and dress. No swords were in the image, except the tips hanging out the bottom. But it just made me smile.
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Soft music from a piano, accompanied by a young man singing with a sweet high voice, caught my ear. I walked toward the sound, stealing glances at the locket but no image presented itself to me. There was no one for me to kill.
I sipped my tart drink, trying not to grimace at the taste as I watched the people dancing in the large room. The music started to get inside me somehow. It was trying to make me feel something but the necklace forbid that.
A deep voice whispered into my nape, "I don't suppose I have seen a sight like this before." I glanced behind me to find the deep voice belonged to a handsome man with dark hair and a dark masque covering his eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“You look exquisite, ravishing. Like a beautiful young woman, one I don't suppose you knew you were before tonight.” He had dark-blue eyes behind his masque but it wasn't his eyes that caught my stare. It was the sensuous smile. I felt nothing but couldn't tear my gaze from his lips.
"You are forward, sir." I brushed him off as politely as I could.
He looked down at his drink and then up at me through his lashes. "Not as forward as I should like to be, milady. Would you like to remove your cloak?"
My eyes widened but I smiled and tried not to react at all to the fact he could see the cloak. I didn't fear it, but I wondered if he could also see the swords. "You would dare speak to a lady that way, sir? And no. For your information, I am perfectly fine with my cloak on." I couldn't be dramatic or worried or panicked, so I just gawked at his divine mouth, lost in it with no feeling.
My finger slid along the rim of my glass as I stared without even attempting to deny the obvious attraction my body was locked in.
"You certainly are fine, milady. I think even more beautiful than I imagined a girl like you. I have a hard time maintaining my composure around such a creature. You are by far the most beautiful woman in the room. Surely you must see it?" He sounded as if he was mocking me. It was the oddest thing, and I wished I could feel my way through it.
I shook my head. "No, sir. I do not spend my precious moments comparing myself to the other women in the room. I have obligations that require my time."