by Helene Gadot
"What are you thinking about, love?" Saber asked softly.
"My parents."
Saber's smoky scent curled around me, easing the tension from my body. "Tell us about them. You don't talk about them much, but I can tell you loved them and miss them still."
I closed my eyes and clenched my hands into fists. I wanted them to know me and to know them. Maybe it was our last chance. So with closed eyes and my parents' faces in my mind, I told them the whole story. I told them the good, like the music and books and laughter and closeness we shared. And I told them the ugly.
They didn't interrupt or question me as I spoke until I was hoarse. They listened to every word whispering from my mouth. I never opened my eyes, not wanting to see their pity, trying to keep the picture of my parents from fading away.
When I finished the story, I opened my eyes to find the three of them staring at me, grim determination on each of their faces.
"What?"
Sky shook his head. "Nothing, doll. Just impressed how much you've had to overcome."
Whist snarled. "This isn't the end, gorgeous. Don't you dare believe that."
I forced a smile. "I know, Whistler."
His eyes flashed at my use of his whole name. "Good. Don't forget it. We should try to get some sleep. We'll be at the palace by tomorrow afternoon. They're moving us fast. Probably worried we'll escape."
"Will we?" I eyed the cart with little hope. It had small, barred windows too small for any of us to squeeze through and the back door was chained and locked. Even if we managed to break out, there was still dozens of guards waiting for us out there.
Whist shook his head. "No. They did a thorough search of us and these carts are built very well and they won't let us out until we arrive. We'll make our escape from the capital."
FIVE
Whist was right. The capital rolled into sight right as the sun reached the highest point in the sky. I couldn't see much out of the tiny barred window, but enough to see the glittering palace set high above the rest of the capital. I snorted. Of course it's built on the top of the hill. Assholes. They literally looked down on their subjects.
The cart rattled to a halt, and I almost toppled over, but the chains kept me stable enough to keep my feet under me. I swallowed what little moisture remained in my mouth. They'd given us a little water, but no food. I assumed to keep us weak.
My panicked eyes met Sky's, but he calmed me with his trademark smirk. "Everything will be fine, doll. For now, just do whatever they say."
I nodded. I drank them in as much as I could, memorizing their faces. If I was about to be ripped away from them, I wanted their pictures inside my head along with my parents.
The door of the cart flew open, and we squinted at the sunlight pouring in at our faces. It took a minute for me to see the swords and crossbows pointed at us.
"Climb out slowly with your hands raised."
Sky snickered. "Did you guys forget something? You shackled us to the floor. I mean, we're good, but we're not quite that good. It's nice to know our reputation precedes us though."
Mutters and grumbles filtered through from outside and I bit back the hysterical laughter bubbling in my chest. It appeared my assassins terrified everyone to the point of stupidity. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing for our situation. Probably bad.
"A guard will come in to unlock your chains. If you try anything, we will not hesitate to fill the cart with arrows."
"We'll behave. Hurry up. I want a bath."
I stared at Sky with wide eyes. He was insane. And I loved it.
A burly guard whose purple uniform burst at the seams climbed into the back of the cart. It rocked with his weight. What did he do for exercise? Toss boulders? He glared at each of us in warning before he squatted down to release us from the shackles.
As soon as we were free, I slammed into my assassins, desperate to hold them one last time. Their arms wrapped around me and I soaked in the feel of them.
"Step back from each other and get out of the cart one at a time with your hands up."
I separated from my assassins with reluctance, stepping back and fighting tears. But I wouldn't give those guard assholes the satisfaction of seeing my pain, so I sniffed and swallowed it down, setting my shoulders back.
Whist exited the cart first, Saber right behind him while Sky nudged me in front of him. Outside the cart, what looked like an entire army waited for us. I huddled in the middle of my guys, wrapping my tattered and torn green cloak around me.
"Are you guys that dangerous?" I asked.
Whist met my eyes. "Yes."
Huh.
Three men and two women separate from the lines of purple clad soldiers. They weren't in uniforms, instead they wore black trousers and shirts, the only color on them the sparkling silver of the weapons strapped on their bodies.
Sky groaned under his breath at their approach and dread pooled in my belly. Assassins, I assumed. Shit.
One of the women stepped forward and stared down her nose at the guards. "We'll take it from here."
The guard who seemed to be in charge crossed his arms. "We're supposed to lock them up, Mara."
She tossed her auburn braid off her shoulder. "The king wants to see them."
"Perhaps we should send a squad with you." The guard did not want to let it go.
Mara rolled her eyes. "We can handle those three."
"Might want to watch the girl as well. She's more dangerous than she looks with a knife."
Sky snorted and flashed me a grin. I frowned at him in response.
One of the male assassins stepped up beside Mara. "Again. We've got it from here, soldier."
The guard grumbled, but backed off.
Mara grinned at my guys. "Welcome back. Can't believe you threw everything away for a piece of skirt."
Saber growled and lurched forward, but Whist held him back. "Shut your fucking mouth. She's our kindred."
My eyes widened at Saber's unusual loss of control.
The woman reared back, shock paling her face while gasps rang out around us. "She's what?"
Whist nodded. "She's our kindred."
"Shit." Mara blew out a breath. "All right. Let's get you to the king. Hopefully that will change things." She didn't look like she believed it would. But at least it seemed like she wanted it to. Which meant, we possibly had allies there at the palace.
"We won't cause any trouble, Mara."
She sniffed. "You three are good, but you know damn well we could take you."
The other assassins fanned out behind us.
"Of course you could." Sky smiled widely at her, making her narrow her hazel eyes.
"We won't put you in restraints, but don't forget you'll have crossbows aimed at you the entire time. If you make the slightest move we find suspicious, we'll put you down."
"We aren't fucking traitors. We're no threat to the royal family."
I was completely at sea, lost in this new world we'd stepped into. One I'd never lived in, had no familiarity with. I didn't understand the subtleties and innuendos passing between the group of assassins.
And I definitely had no idea what to expect once we crossed the threshold into the palace. My hands were clammy, and I wiped them on my trousers.
I was about to meet the man who I blamed completely for my parents' deaths. It was probably a good thing I didn't have a knife on me.
SIX
Whist moved closer until his arm brushed mine. I looked over at him and he searched my eyes. For what, I wasn't certain. I offered a small smile, and it seemed to help him. His shoulders relaxed the slightest bit.
The sea of purple uniforms parted as the assassins circled us and escorted us towards the palace. Saber, Sky, and Whist kept me in the center, so close it made it hard to walk.
The palace loomed before us, large and fancy, built with shimmering white stone, gleaming pillars and columns made a forbidding entrance.
Sky sighed as the doors opened for us. "
I guess it would've been too much to ask to let us bathe first?"
"Afraid so, pretty eyes. His Majesty demanded your presence as soon as you arrived. He has a lot of questions for you. Especially about the dead royal guards you left at a safe house he'd never heard about."
Whist narrowed his eyes on the beautiful assassin. "Since you and Jarod were the only ones that knew about it, perhaps he should blame you for the dead guards."
Mara laughed. "You knew where our loyalties lied when you told us."
"Last time we're doing you a favor."
"Unfortunately, I believe that's probably true." She sounded regretful.
Inside the palace was even more opulent. The king really seemed to like purple and gold. There were hardly any other colors. Everything was carved stone and plush purple velvet and glittering gold. It was lovely, but wildly excessive. My parents worked and starved themselves to death and the royals lived like this?
They led us through a long hallway filled with portraits to a set of intricately carved doors. A hand trailed up my spine, but I didn't look to see which one it was. I was too busy staring at the doors, barely able to breathe. My chest tightened, like I was already being yanked away from my kindreds.
I never thought I would stand before the king. I never wanted to. And if I did, I had planned to spit at his feet. But if I tried it, it could get my guys killed, so I had to play nice. Which was turning the pool of dread into a stone making my steps heavy and slow.
The doors swept open, and we stepped inside the throne room. It wasn't only the king waiting for us. It was the entire royal family. The queen, the crown princess, and her two kindred souls.
A line of royal guards spread out around them, eying us like they couldn't wait to begin stabbing and shooting us with their bows. If we were so dangerous why did the whole family come to watch?
The king gestured for us to approach and the assassins nudged us forward, stopping us close enough to to have a conversation, but not close enough for me to spit on any of them. There wasn't a hint of saliva in my mouth anyway. There was something wrong with me, my body felt like I was struck my lightning, I couldn't stop buzzing.
The king glared down at us from the dais. "My three best assassins. The three I've done so much for and paid so well. You would repay me with treason?"
Whist took one step forward and inclined his head. "It was not treason, Your Majesty. It was merely an impossible mission."
The king's brows shot high. "Oh? How so?"
"We discovered Rhapsody was our kindred right before we carried out your orders, Your Majesty."
The king sat back in his throne, unable to hide his dismay or his surprise. "I see. That would make it a bit difficult. And you're certain she belongs to all three of you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. And we belong to her."
"What are the chances? And of course you couldn't kill her or you'd have killed yourself. Not to mention, it's against our law to kill your kindred. This is certainly a mess. One I didn't want back here. It was supposed to be cleaned up without so much fuss. Now, what do I do with the four of you? I doubt you would continue to serve me so loyally if I had your kindred executed, but I can't let her get away with what she's done."
The princess sat forward in her throne. "Father, she hasn't broken any laws. It's why you sent them in the first place. If you execute her and them as well, you could make a martyr out of her."
"Who would know? I have no worries that the people in this room would spread vile rumors about their king. And soon, what she's been doing will in fact be illegal. We can't have any trash off the street try to brew an uprising against us. We have enough to deal with in keeping our borders safe."
He was gripped with power and madness. I couldn't hide the disgust on my face and I didn't bother trying. He wasn't going to pardon any of us. For whatever reason, he wanted to make a spectacle of it.
"Father, I do not think it would be a good idea. Executing three of your best assassins just because of who their kindred is seems needlessly cruel. Especially since she isn't actually a criminal. We've lost soldiers and spent a lot of time and money on someone who hasn't broken the law. Perhaps there's another option."
"You are not yet Queen, Indigo. And what do you suggest? We give her a job? Lock her in the dungeons and let her kindreds visit her once a week?"
"No. I thought we could give her a chance to see we aren't the enemies she thinks we are. You can show her mercy."
Ah yes. Mercy. For not breaking the law. For speaking truths about those who believed they could do no wrong.
At least the Princess seemed like she wasn't a complete spoiled fool. Too bad her father appeared to be in excellent physical health.
A door opened on the side of the massive room, and a beautiful man sauntered inside, his blond hair gleaming, a lazy smile on his handsome face. "You started without me, Father?" It was the prince.
He turned his head and caught my eye and all the air sucked out of the room. I couldn't breathe and my body flushed with heat and tightened. What was going on? It was impossible to look away.
A blinding smile spread across his face and he leapt towards us. Before anyone could say a word or stop him, he swept me into his arms and pressed a kiss to my lips. The pain and tension fled, something inside me locked into place.
It broke whatever spell I was caught in and I jerked back, forcing him to drop and release me.
The king was on his feet and screaming. "What is the meaning of this? Have you lost your mind, boy?"
The prince turned back to his father. "She's my kindred. I've finally found her."
SEVEN
No. No no no no no. This couldn't be happening. I jerked away from the prince and shoved myself behind my assassins. The king perched on the edge of the dais and started commanded his son to return to his throne. The prince kept trying to push past Whist and Sky, but they refused to move. Princess Indigo laughed so hard tears streamed from her eyes and the queen stared at her temper tantrum throwing husband with malicious disgust in her eyes. Interesting. Perhaps the king didn't have the support or respect of any of his family.
Chaos surrounded us and I was suffocating, drowning. It was one thing to choose to accept the bond with my assassins, to choose to take a step back from my political protests, to start a new life with my new family. It was a whole other thing to join the royal family I've spent most of my life protesting against. And that was if the king still didn't decide to execute all of us anyway.
The prince finally realized he wasn't getting to me and finally heard his father. "Enough." He barked out the word in a sharp, deep voice.
It did the trick.
The king shook with rage. "This is unacceptable, Aster. There is no way this... this girl is your kindred soul. You must be joking."
The prince moved to stand in front of us. "It is no joke, Your Majesty. She is my kindred soul. You cannot kill her. She is my only kindred soul. It would be against your laws."
"We cannot have a seditious musician who stands against everything we are join the royal family."
Princess Indigo arranged her face into a placid expression. "Your own laws make it so, Your Majesty. And think of the positives to this. Those who have agreed with Rhapsody's songs will be silenced when she joins our family. And we can take into account her ideas and beliefs to better run the country. Perhaps it's time for some changes."
"What changes? Our country is thriving and perfect. And everyone but this girl here and a few other outliers are happy with our laws." The king sounded like a petulant brat.
Princess Indigo shrugged. "Then why does it matter so much about her songs?"
"Because it makes our citizens think and some start to believe there's something wrong with Faligrey."
"And if we have citizens who disagree with our laws, we should take their concerns seriously to show we care about them. This is the perfect solution. And you cannot keep Aster from his kindred soul. Since she has four, she's clearly his only one. It would b
e cruel and he would be unable to continue our line."
The king's shoulders slumped. "Fine. He can have his kindred. If she can prove her allegiance to the crown, give up her music, and go through etiquette and royal history lessons."
"And if I refuse?"
Everyone jumped when I finally found my voice. Watching them talk about me like I wasn't there had stolen my words, the shock too strong for anything to break through until the king said I had to give up my music.
The king's eyes glittered with malice. "If you refuse, you do not get your new kindred."
I refused to hide my disdain for the man. "Then I refuse."
A nasty smile spread across his mouth. "Then enjoy your last remaining days with your other kindreds in the dungeons."
Saber stepped up to my back to whisper in my ear. "Go with it for now. We'll figure something out."
It felt like I swallowed barbed wire. "Fine. I accept your terms."
"Excellent. One more thing. You and my former assassins will be put under house arrest. You will go nowhere without a squad of my royal guards. Wouldn't want you trying to escape your fate."
Damn.
"Fine. Your Majesty." The words barely made it past my gritted teeth.
"Excellent. You can return to the assassins' rooms. Maybe once you've bathed, you'll look a little more human."
He was such a dick, even worse than I had ever imagined. And I'd imagined him as a baby-eating monster.
Saber and Whist took each of my arms and after bowing to the King, they ushered me out the door. Whist remained behind to speak with the prince. I overheard him telling Aster to give me time.
He was going to need a lot of it. Several lifetimes worth.
There was no fucking way I was agreeing to any of it. Especially not bonding with the damn prince. The king could not be my father-in-law. I'd rather slice my own throat.
It pained me to leave Whist behind. I hadn't had that problem in a while, but the stress and worry must have brought it back. I rubbed my chest as Saber and Sky dragged me along, guards trailing behind us, confused and shocked murmurs passing between them. My mind whirled as I tried to figure out a way out of this. My chest grew tight with panic. I shouldn't have waited so long to flee to Havisam and start new lives instead of chancing remaining in Faligrey since I didn't want to give up my music.