Heartless

by Zizi Cole

  This presented a couple of problems. The first problem told me that my protection wasn’t being taken seriously and someone else had taken out a contract on Malina. The second problem was that there was another assassin in the area and I didn’t know who it was. It wasn’t anyone in my circle, but I was certain that as soon as I figured out who it was, I would know them. The community wasn’t that big.

  I turned and headed back to the castle. It was important that Malina was okay. When I entered the ballroom, the ring was gone, and the crowd had dispersed. Servants were scrubbing the blood off the floor. I made my way through the castle, keeping to the shadows, so I wouldn’t be seen.

  Making my way up to the third floor, I quietly stepped into the hallway. There were extra guards all over the place. I slipped into the closest room and opened the door to the secret passage. Once inside, I made my way to Malina’s room. If I knew where the passage was, that meant the other assassin would also.

  Stopping in front of the peep hole, I glanced around to make sure that I was alone. I opened the latch and looked through. Malina was lying on the chaise in her room, surrounded by ladies-in-waiting. She stared at the ceiling, while one of the ladies fanned her face.

  “Your Highness, you need to calm down. It isn’t good for your nerves.” The woman with the fan said.

  Malina’s head shot up and she stared at her. “Calm down? I was almost killed, and you want me to calm down? I’m sorry if I am actually human and have feelings.”

  “That is not what I meant, milady. I meant no offense.”

  “That is quite enough. Everyone out.” A voice from the door commanded.

  The other ladies scattered quickly, leaving Malina alone on the chaise. She was wearing a silk robe and I could see the line across her neck where the wire had cut into her skin. The woman approached Malina and sat on the edge of the chaise with her.

  “Are you okay, Lina?” she asked gently.

  Malina nodded and threw her arms around the woman’s neck. She was sobbing into her shoulder. The woman rubbed her back and shushed her, like she would a child. As I watched the interaction, I felt slightly uncomfortable. I had never felt uncomfortable watching a mark before.

  Malina sat back and wiped her eyes. “Yes, sorry Rosa. I’m still a little shaken up. I couldn’t believe that someone was trying to kill me.”

  Rosa’s brows furrowed. “What about the young man you saved? He seemed like the sort that would slit a throat in your sleep and not think twice about it.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt me.” Malina shrugged and looked away.

  My heart skipped at beat at her statement. There was no hesitation in her voice, just resigned conviction. She knew that I wouldn’t harm her, which meant she knew that there was someone else who would.

  “Rosa, did you get it?”

  Rosa nodded and pulled a vial out of a pouch on her hip. She handed it over to Malina. Malina squeezed the vial tightly in her hand, then stood and walked to her vanity. She slipped it into her jewelry box, under a false bottom.

  “Lina, you need to go to bed. If you are asleep before he comes in, he may leave you alone tonight. He knows you have been through an ordeal and may take pity on you.”

  Malina laughed and it was a callous sound. “You know as well as I that he doesn’t care what I’ve been through or about my feelings. He just wants an heir and will do whatever he can to procure it from me. I promise you that won’t happen.”

  “I know it won’t. Now get into bed. I will be in the sitting room if you need anything. I’ll be here all night.”

  Malina took off her robe. She wore just a slip of cloth underneath the robe. She climbed into the big bed. Rosa walked around the bed, making sure she was tucked in under the blankets, and blew out the candles that were in the room. After the room was dark, Rosa left the bedchamber to sit in the sitting room.

  I could hear Malina rustling around on the bed. Staring through the hole, I could barely make out her shape. I stepped back, deciding that I didn’t need to watch her sleep, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave quite yet. I leaned against the wall and waited.

  After a couple minutes, I couldn’t help but check again to make sure she was okay. I looked into the room. Malina was standing directly in front of the spyhole with her arms crossed.

  “I know you are in there,” she hissed. “Might as well show yourself.”

  After considering my options, I decided that I would be amenable and do as she commanded. I slipped through the door that led into her room and stood silently on the other side of the bed. Nerves jittered in my stomach and my heart rate picked up. It felt awkward to have those feelings sweeping through me.

  She turned and stared at me from across the bed. Slowly, she made her way across the room, and around the bed, to stand right in front of me. I waited patiently for her to do or say whatever she planned on saying or doing. She didn’t say a word; she just threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her in an embrace I only dreamed of, for the past five years.

  When she pulled out of the embrace, she stepped back and looked up into my eyes. “Did you catch whoever it was?”

  Disappointment and failure flooded me. I knew I was about to disappoint her as well. “I’m sorry, I didn’t.”

  Her eyes dropped as she nodded. “I figured as much when I realized you were watching me.”

  “How did you know?”

  She smiled a little. “There is a draft coming through the room that normally isn’t there. It’s from the panel being open.” Her eyes grew serious and the smile disappeared. “Thank you for saving me. I don’t think anyone else would have noticed until it was too late.”

  I nodded my head slightly. “You’re welcome. I wish I would have caught the bastard, but they must know the area a little better than I do.”

  Putting my fingers under her chin, I lifted her head, so I could examine the mark across her neck. The place where the wire had cut her skin was visible. I hated seeing her hurt in any way. She just stood there, not moving while I examined her neck. I leaned closer, trying to determine how much damage was done. When I leaned closer, I heard her breath catch. I jumped back.

  “Are you alright, Malina?”

  She nodded, but didn’t speak. She stepped closer to me and placed a hand on my chest, on top of my heart. I watched her face as she stared at me. I hadn’t noticed that she took another step closer, until we were basically chest to chest. She kept her hand between us. Rising up on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips gently to mine.

  Indecision swept through me. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t want to cross anymore lines. I had already crossed one line by deciding to protect her. Her free hand went up my shoulder and into my hair as she opened her mouth and licked my lips. She was trying to coax me into the kiss. As her grip tightened in my hair, I felt my control slipping.

  Giving into the sensations, I kissed her back, but not as gently as she kissed me. My mouth was demanding on hers and she yielded to me. Her mouth opened, and instinct took over. I put a hand at the base of her head. Using that hand, I shifted her so that her head tilted upward. My free hand slid down around her waist and pulled her closer to me, so we were touching, chest to torso.

  A click got my attention and I broke the kiss. I pressed my index finger to her lips to keep her from speaking. That was when we heard Rosa speak up.

  “Your Majesty, milady is asleep. She didn’t expect you this evening.”

  “My queen should always expect me to pay a visit. At least until she produces me an heir. Why she didn’t expect me is beyond me.” Luquin’s voice boomed through the room.

  “Yes, milord, but she has had a trying day and I insisted that she get some rest. She needs a night to recuperate from the evenings events. Mayhap you visit tomorrow evening?”

  There was sound of skin connecting with skin and Rosa cried out. Malina spun around toward the sound and I silently slipped out of the room, back into the passage way. I couldn’t afford to be caught in
the queen’s chambers. I made it back to the viewing panel in time to see Malina rush out of the bedchamber to the sitting room, where Luquin and Rosa were.

  I wasn’t able to see what was going on, but I could hear everything.

  “What is going on here, Luquin?” Malina asked.

  “This woman was trying to refuse me from seeing you. I wanted to check on you, my wife.”

  “You wanted to check on me? As you see, I’m alive and well. Thank you for your concern, good evening milord.” Sarcasm was heavy in her voice.

  “I am always concerned about my wife.”

  Malina snorted. “Luquin, drop the act. We both know you aren’t concerned about me. You never have been. If you were—” She cut off for a moment. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter what I was going to say. Like I said, I appreciate your concern, now good evening.”

  I saw her step into the bedchamber and a hand reached in, grabbing her by her hair and yanking her backwards. She gasped but didn’t cry out.

  “You do not walk away from your king and husband. I will not tolerate such disrespect. Rosa, leave us.”

  I knew I had to do something to prevent what I knew was going to happen. I rushed from the passage way and went into the hallway. I grabbed a guard, snapped his neck and pulled him into an empty room, before anyone noticed he was gone. Stripping him down, I quickly changed into his guard uniform. It wasn’t the heavy metal that they had back in the ancient times, it was a lightweight material that was difficult to penetrate. I grabbed his helmet and slid it over my head, concealing my facial features.

  Opening the door again, I slipped back into the hallway and stood with the other guards. I glanced up and down the hall. Walking into the thick of the guards, I knew what I had to do. I threw a punch at the first guard I came to and started a big fight in the middle of the hall.

  The guards took the bait and a brawl began. One guard threw another into the wall. I slipped out as the fight became intense. I could hear Luquin bellow as he came out of Malina’s room to see what was going on. This was becoming tedious, and I was going to have to come up with a solution as to what to do about Malina. I couldn’t keep interfering and risking being exposed.

  Pacing my room, I needed to figure out what I was going to do about Malina and the other assassin. I needed to get to the bottom of it, but I wasn’t sure if I could. It wasn’t part of my job and to do so would be breaking one of our basic rules. I was feeling like I was getting in over my head and not sure which way I needed to go with it.

  It didn’t matter to me if I went separate ways from the rest of the group, but becoming a target wasn’t a dream. The only way I could retire would be to fake my own death. Retire? Where did that come from? I had no idea when the thought of retirement had ever crossed my mind before.

  Suddenly wary, I sank down onto the bed. Resting my head in my hands, I closed my eyes. I knew what I had to do. I was going to have to act. It was important to come up with a way to end him, so that he knew who it was that did it. Why he had to die had shifted from professional to personal. It became personal the second I found out that he killed my son.

  I considered drowning him like he did the baby, but that wasn’t enough justice. Tomorrow I was going to put my plan into action. It was time to finish what I came here to do. First, I had to talk to Malina and tell her goodbye. I was going to have to leave right after the job was done. She was going to be on her own.

  Chapter 8

  I stood in the shadows of Malina’s bedchamber and waited for her. She was sitting in the sitting room with Rosa and the ladies-in-waiting. She was talking quietly. The sound of her voice was like a salve on a burn. It hit me like a lead pipe; I was going to miss her. The thought made my heart heavy. This wasn’t part of the plan. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings.

  The room became silent, and I watched as Malina entered the chamber. She slipped her robe off and dropped it on the chest at the foot of her bed. She climbed up onto the bed and turned in my direction.

  “You can come out now. Everyone is gone for the evening. I know you’re in here.” Malina told me softly.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  She shrugged. “Just did.”

  I stepped out of the shadows, so that I was a couple feet from the bed. I stared at her for a minute, memorizing every inch of her face. “I need to talk to you.”

  “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

  I nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. “I have to finish my job. I already told them I could only do part of it, and I have you under my protection. I am going to go after Luquin tonight, then I have to leave. I just have to make sure I can go in and do what I need to do without waking him.”

  Malina laughed. “Tobias, you don’t have to worry about him waking up. I drugged him tonight. I slipped sleeping elixir into his wine. I do that when I can’t deal with him. I don’t have the energy to deal with him tonight.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “That will make my job a lot easier. Thank you.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” She said suddenly.

  I looked into her beautiful green eyes. “I am going to miss you, too. I don’t understand that, since I haven’t felt anything for years, but I do.”

  She leaned over and hugged me tightly. I wrapped my arms around her and smelled her hair. It smelled of roses and lavender. That smell would stay with me for the rest of my days. She pulled back and looked me in the eyes. She had tears filling hers and spilling over the edge. I used my thumb to wipe a tear off her cheek.

  “Don’t cry,” I whispered. “Everything will be okay. You are going to be okay, I promise.”

  “How can you promise that, when you won’t be here?”

  “I just know. Malina, I’m going to make sure you are safe. You may not see me, but I’m always going to be here for you.”

  I wasn’t sure when I made that decision, but once I said it, I knew I meant it. I was going to stick around, unnoticed, so I could keep an eye on her for the rest of my days. As long as I was still breathing, I would make sure she was alright.

  I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her on the lips. If this was going to be the last time I would ever get this close to her, I wanted to make it a memorable moment.

  She reacted to my kiss immediately. She pressed her lips on mine, urging the kiss on. I complied and licked her lips. She tasted like honey. Malina opened her mouth in invitation and that was all it took.

  I leaned forward, forcing her to lay back on the bed. She pulled at my shirt, pulling it off, over my head. I positioned myself so I was above her. Malina moaned and lifted her legs to my hips. I groaned into her mouth. I was trying to keep myself in control, but I was only hanging on by a thread.

  I felt her hips raise off the bed, and I knew I was a goner. I pressed my lower half against her and felt her hands on my pants. A part of me couldn’t believe that this was happening, after all these years, but I forced my mind to shut down and just feel.

  Malina broke the kiss and pulled her shift over her head, exposing her nude body to me. I felt a shudder of excitement go down my spine. She raised up to kiss me again and I felt her legs pushing at my pants. I trailed kisses down her neck. I reached her breasts and put my mouth over one.

  Suddenly there was a bellow. I rolled off Malina to see Luquin standing at the door to the bedchamber. Malina gasped and covered herself with the blanket. It seemed like time froze for a couple moments, while we all stared at each other.

  Luquin broke the spell by lunging at Malina. He didn’t go after me; he went after her.

  “You stupid whore!”

  Malina stared at him with wide eyes, speechless. I knew what she had to be thinking, since she said she drugged him so he would sleep through the night. It seemed impossible that he was awake now.

  I charged and hit him in the middle of his torso, to keep him from touching Malina. My shoulder connected with his side and we tumbled to the opposite side of the bed. We slammed against the wall with a resoundi
ng thud. I knew the noise was going to bring the guards and then we would all be fucked.

  Luquin threw a punch and hit me square in the mouth. When he looked down at me, recognition flashed through his eyes.

  “You are the disrespectful priest. I am going to enjoy this, and imprisoning you.” He laughed.

  “You’re wrong, Luquin. I’m not a priest. And I am going to do more than just disrespect you. I want you to know who I am before I do it, though. I am the one that fathered the babe you had drowned the moment after birth. I am the man that has loved Malina for as long as I can remember. You are going to pay for what you did to my son. It’s not like I wanted, but this will have to do.”

  I grabbed the hair comb that was sitting on the bedside table. I flipped it and shoved the pointed end into his chest. He stumbled back, looking down at his torso. The comb protruded from the wound, but it was embedded deep into his chest. He dropped to his knees, staring at it in amazement. I knew that I punctured his heart and possibly a lung. He gasped; it was a bubbling noise. I stood and watched as he drowned in his own blood.

  I glanced over at Malina, who was against the wall, eyes wide. She stared at the scene before her without speaking. A crash against the door drew our attention. She looked back at me with panic in her eyes.

  “You have to get out of here. They will kill you on sight. You won’t have a chance to fight your way out.”

  “I’m not letting you take responsibility for this, Malina.”

  She walked up to me and kissed me lightly on the lips. “Please, let me do this. I’m going to die anyway if that other assassin has the chance, so I want to do this on my own terms. Go. Be safe.”

  She pushed me toward the secret passage. The crashing of the door urged me in motion. As I went into the passage way, I heard a thump and then Malina crying. I looked through the panel to see her eye was blackening. She must have hit herself with something to blacken her eye.