Shattered Assassin

by Knight, Wendy

  She longed to be as indifferent to his presence as he was to hers. In that attempt, she ate her stew in silence and curled up on her side, feigning sleep until it finally found her.

  But it didn’t last long. Her insomnia kicked in before the moon had made it very high in the sky. She stared at the stars for a long time, trying to find pictures her father used to tell her were there. She’d never had trouble finding them before, but now they were just stars — the pictures were gone with her father.

  Unable to lie still any longer, she got up, untangling herself from the blankets. Across the campfire, Benjamin kept watch, but his back was to her. Nakomi was silent beside her, rising to her feet and padding across the grass at Kazia’s heel. They wandered away from the fire, but staying well within the confines of camp. Kazia wished fiercely for her flowers and the comfort of her garden.

  She stared at the sky again, desperate to see the pictures. Desperate to see something that would bring her father back to her, just a little. “Where are you?” she didn’t realize she had tears running down her cheeks until they splashed onto her neck. She scrubbed at her eyes with her fists, sucking in deep breaths, welcoming the cold as it invaded her lungs.

  “Still fighting the sandman?” Luke materialized out of the darkness and Kazia jumped, choking on the scream before it escaped from her lungs.

  “Good grief, Captain! You nearly caused my heart to stop.” She could see the white of his teeth against his skin as he grinned.

  “It wasn’t like I was sneaking up on you.” He was more relaxed now. The tenseness that seemed ever-present in his broad shoulders was gone.

  She took advantage of it, smiling as she shook her head. “Right. I might believe you if I didn’t know your history.”

  “I can’t have you wandering in the darkness alone, Kazia. Even with your giant wolf, the assassin could strike.”

  She sighed. “Of course not. I stayed within Benjamin’s sight like a good little princess.”

  He chuckled, sitting on the ground at her feet. She sank beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest.

  “You’ve been crying.” The smile died as he said it.

  She shook her head, risking a glance at the pictureless stars. “I miss them so much.” She expected him to interrogate her again, but he didn’t.

  “Me too. Broderick was the best friend I ever had. Your parents were extraordinary rulers. Our kingdom is a safe haven for many because of them.”

  Tears, again, soaked her cheeks and she hiccupped. “But we haven’t lost them completely, Kazia. We still have our memories.”

  She looked over at him, barely visible in the darkness. “I suppose so. But it hurts. So much I wish my heart would stop beating just to stop the pain.”

  “The day your heart stopped beating would be the day the sun refused to shine again.”

  She froze. Those were the kinds of things he used to say to her, the kinds of things that had made her want to give up everything to be with him. She opened her mouth but could think of nothing to say.

  He nudged her with his shoulder. “Remember the day we tried to teach you to sword fight?”

  She choked. “Why do you never forget that?”

  Luke threw his head back and laughed. “Brodi kept saying, ‘If I’m expected to be able to wield a sword, so should she,’ somehow not considering the fact that the sword weighed nearly as much as you did.”

  “I did just fine, thank you. If the training dummy had had feet, I would have chopped them off. It was my plan all along. An attacker cannot attack you without feet.”

  “Very true. Brodi was so sure you’d be as good as he was one day.”

  “He was so, so wrong. But he never gave up hope.” Even as she smiled, the tears came, but these weren’t the hopeless tears of before. These tears hurt, but in a good way; just as remembering her older brother hurt, but in a good way.

  Luke chuckled. “Or remember the time we played hide and seek and we locked ourselves in the armory? No one dared call for help because we were certain we’d all be whipped for being in there.”

  Kazia tipped her head to the side, smiling at the memory. “As I recall, you two eventually lowered me out a window by your overcoat sleeves, dropping me and causing me to break my wrist.” Kazia would have glared at him, but it was pointless in the darkness.

  “Oh. Right, sorry about that. But you healed fine.”

  “And no one got whipped.”

  “No, but we did get kitchen duty for the next two fortnights,” he said and Kazia giggled. She hadn’t gotten kitchen duty. Her parents believed the broken wrist was punishment enough.

  “See? They still live, Kazia. In your heart, they can never leave you. And now, you have three guardian angels protecting you — for the times when I’m not enough.”

  Her heart stopped again. She should get up, go back to bed. Anything. She shouldn’t let him say things like that, but she didn’t have the willpower to stop him. Not even close. Instead she retreated to humor. “Are you admitting, Captain of the Royal Guard, that you might one day need help protecting a princess barely bigger than your boots?”

  “Ha. If that princess is you, yes. You’ve always been adept at letting trouble find you.”

  “Because I was following two boys who were adept at leading me right into it.” She smiled, grabbing the sound of his laughter and holding it.

  He heaved himself to his feet and held his hand out. “We have a long day ahead of us. Maybe you can sleep now.”

  She grabbed his hand and let him pull her up, tired muscles screaming. “Maybe I can if you sing to me like you used to.”

  “Shhh!” He clapped a hand over her mouth and she could see the whites of his eyes widen in alarm. “Do not tell my men I can sing. I have a reputation to uphold.” She giggled again, against his hand, and she could see his smile when he was so close. “Now. Can I trust you to keep quiet if I move my hand?” She nodded solemnly and he took his hand away. “Back to bed, Princess. I couldn’t remember the words to those songs anyway.”

  Kazia rolled her eyes at him as she climbed back into her bed roll. She could remember the words perfectly.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  IT TOOK THEM THREE MORE DAYS of travel before they were within sight of her Uncle Jeffery’s estate. It was nearly as big as the castle, but not even close to as beautiful. Kazia shuddered and shared a look with Nakomi. “There is a darkness about this place,” she murmured, quiet enough that only Nakomi could hear her.

  Luke glanced back at her. Wondering how on earth he had heard her, she just gave him a weak smile and he turned around. She hadn’t talked to him since that first night, except for brief pleasantries, but the awkwardness between them was gone. Thank goodness for that, at least.

  The surrounding villages weren’t well-cared for, which was part of the reason her father had given Jeffery this land — it was sparsely occupied. It had caused quite a scandal, or so Kazia had heard, but it was all before her time. Duke Jeffrey of Kayn was the King’s only brother, and he had been furious — he should have been given the most prime real estate in the entire country, or at least he thought so. If Kazia had been the one granting land, she would have given him land in her dungeons. But her father was a much kinder person than she.

  Jeffery had been in line for the throne and had given it up to marry a commoner. A very pretty commoner, but a commoner nonetheless. Apparently, he had thought his parents would ignore centuries of traditions and crown him king despite his non-royal wife, but he had been very wrong. It was something he had held against Kazia’s father ever since.

  The duke and his wife, Lady Kristina, met them at the wide front doors. “Princess! We’ve been so worried. When our troops didn’t come back—”

  “Your troops didn’t return?” Luke asked, dropping from the saddle. He held a hand up for Kazia and she took it, gratefully sliding off her horse. Jeffery’s eyes narrowed at the insult — a captain should never interrupt his betters. Kazia hid a smile. In her opinion,
Luke knew exactly what kind of betters he was speaking to.

  “No… you didn’t accompany them back?” Kristina widened her blue eyes, letting her gaze travel up and down Luke’s frame without even trying to be discreet. Kazia wanted to glare or spit or something. Stop that, she snarled at herself, the voice in her head reminding her of Nakomi. It isn’t your place to worry about whom Kristina purrs over.

  As if reading Kazia’s mind, Nakomi growled, low in her throat. “Oh my! Good heavens, get that beast away from me!” Kristina screamed, diving behind Luke, her claw-like nails digging into his bicep.

  Kazia opened her mouth, not entirely sure what she was going to say but positive it was not going to be pleasant, when Luke spoke before she could. “M’lady, the wolf is Princess Kazia’s personal guard and has done an exceptional job of protecting her. She doesn’t leave Princess Kazia’s side. You understand, of course, that we have to take all measures of precaution to keep our future queen safe.”

  Kristina paled, and Kazia wondered if it was the thought of her as queen or the thought of having Nakomi in her house.

  “But what about my troops? You didn’t travel with them at all?” Jeffery whirled on Luke, furious, demanding answers.

  “No. We were afraid they would attract too much attention so we sent them on ahead of us. They should have arrived by now.”

  “Captain…” Kristina batted her large eyes at the man who was her son’s age, twisting a blond curl around her finger like she was a five year old. “Can you promise me that hideous beast won’t attack me? I would hate to mar my face. I’m told it’s beautiful.”

  Kazia wanted to vomit. Or sic Nakomi on her. She suppressed an evil smile and fanned her face. “I hate to be a bother, but I’ve been in the sun far too much the last few days and I really need to lie down. Can that be arranged?”

  Luke swung to look at her, shame coloring his cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Princess. I can’t believe I—”

  Kazia opened her mouth to reassure him, because berating him had definitely not been her intent, but Kristina beat her to it. “Think nothing of it, Captain. The fault is mine. I was distracted.” All this without a glance in Kazia’s direction. Here I am, over here! Kazia mentally waved her hands over her head.

  Nakomi growled. Kazia laced her fingers through the wolf’s fur.

  “But my troops…?” Jeffery asked.

  “I’m sorry, Uncle. I wish I could tell you where they are.” Kazia watched the stable hands lead the horses away and longed for a soft bed. And a bath. She smelled worse than those horses.

  Kristina finally released Luke and turned in a swirl of silk skirts, sashaying through the door. “The barracks for our troops are behind the house. I have an excellent view from our chambers.”

  “Of the… barracks?” Kazia asked, frowning. What a very odd statement.

  “No, of course not. There is a lovely river running near the barracks. It’s a beautiful sight. Captain, you are free to take your men out there now.”

  Luke inclined his head. “Thank you. I will as soon as I’ve secured Lady Kazia in her chambers.”

  “Oh Captain.” Kristina slapped him playfully on the shoulder. “There’s nothing to fear here. We are much more secure than David’s castle.”

  Kazia’s head snapped up and she felt her nails dig painful half-moons into her palms. She wanted to strangle the woman. But a cat fight in the main hall would probably be frowned upon by someone, so she kept her mouth shut. It was hard. She bit her cheek until she tasted blood and she still fought to control her temper.

  “We thought the castle was secure as well, m’lady.” Luke’s voice was cold, but Kazia could hear the pain under the ice. Luke held himself responsible. Someone had told her she screamed for help for several minutes before the guards responded, but Kazia couldn’t bring herself to ask him where he had been. She’d had enough pain and whatever his answer was, there was little chance it would bring her any peace.

  Luke checked the entire room before announcing it secure and allowing Kazia to enter. “Thank you, Captain,” she murmured as he passed her.

  “I’ll have guards stationed at your door on at all times, your highness.”

  She nodded, already searching for the bed. Crystali was undoubtedly arranging her bath, even though she had to be as tired as Kazia was. “Aunt Kristina, where is Braydton? I haven’t seen him.”

  Kristina froze, her face paling before she plastered on a bright smile. “He’s traveling. You know how young men are — so anxious to experience the world.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m sure he’ll return before you leave — since you’ll be with us for quite some time.” Kristina patted her arm as she whirled by in her rustling silk skirts.

  Kazia choked on her horror — quite some time? She had been assured that her castle would be ready to return to soon. What if it wasn’t? What if she was kept here indefinitely? She closed her eyes, tried to find a semblance of inner peace, and took a deep breath. Then she repeated the process in reverse, finally forcing her eyes open. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your kindness in this time of need.”

  “It was a sad thing, indeed. My brother was much too young,” Jeffery said, shaking his head.

  As if any age is a good age to be murdered in your bed. Kazia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Clearly, she was too tired and soon she’d be actually saying the caustic comments running through her mind on a nearly constant basis. “If no one objects, I would love a brief rest before dinner.”

  They left her, with Luke promising, again, to have soldiers stationed outside her door. “Captain, let your men rest. We have our guards nearby,” Kristina said as they moved away down the hall.

  “It’s my job to keep my future queen safe. Please don’t think me ungrateful for the offer.” Luke’s voice was a bit cold, and Kazia smiled.

  As Kazia had suspected, Crystali had a bath ready for her. She languished in the hot bath until it had lost all its warmth, letting the heat soak into her aching muscles and attempting not to fall asleep and drown herself. That would be awkward. She untangled the braids from her hair and spent far too long washing it. Then she got out, curled up in her robe, and fell asleep in the chair by the fire.

  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 wan
ted 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.