Rise of the Assassin (Child of an Alpha Series Book 1)

by Kaitlyn Taylor

  The door to the bathroom opened. Uncle Gabe with Deja in his arms came gliding through, ready to clean her up. She was awake but she wasn’t communicating, her body no doubt too weak to do anything but breathe. Aunt Caroline was right behind them, my mother urging us from the door to leave the bathroom so Deja could be tended to. I didn’t want to leave. I had already done that once within the last ten minutes and I regretted doing it the first time. I knew deep down that my mother was right, and Deja was in perfectly good hands with her parents looking after her.

  The second I saw my father, I rushed to his side, ready to tell him about Micah, only to find out that they had already put the pieces together. I was conflicted by the situation as he was just a kid, but at the same time he almost killed my sister.

  “We’ve never put a child in the dungeons before,” I heard Uncle Ben tell the others. “Are we really going to start now?”

  “What else are we supposed to do?” Uncle Alex whispered as if he honestly believed we couldn’t hear him. I bet Uncle Gabe and Aunt Caroline could hear him from the bathroom. If Deja had the energy to pay attention, I bet she could hear it too.

  “He tried to kill one of our own,” my father reminded them. “We can’t just let that go. I don’t like the idea of putting a kid in the dungeons, but he also can’t get away with attempted murder on a child of one of the alphas. What kind of message does that send?”

  “I want him out of this castle, Theo,” my mother demanded, her head shaking the entire time she was listening to the alphas debate the situation at hand.

  “He’s going to the dungeons,” my father sighed. “I know you heard us say that.”

  “I don’t want him anywhere near the castle grounds,” she said more specifically. “I don’t know why you all are being so calm about this. If almost losing Deja doesn’t light a fire under your ass, then what will?”

  “Scarlett, we’re trying to handle it,” my father responded angrily, almost begging my mother to stay out of it. Judging by the looks on my aunts’ faces behind my mother, I didn’t think that was going to happen.

  I couldn’t stand around any longer listening to the same conversation over and over again. I needed some air, but at the same time I didn’t want to be away from my sisters. I’d almost lost one today, and I was worried that if I let them out of my sight, I would risk losing the rest of them as well. I couldn’t think like that though. Everything was going to be fine and the alphas were going to figure this out.

  I excused myself from the room, and after my parents warned me to be careful, I left, slowly moving down the hallway, trying to figure out where I was going. I was fearful that I might run into Micah. I didn’t know what I would say to him, but I knew I would definitely throw a few punches for what he tried to do to Deja. I knew I should wait until I received confirmation that it was him, but I knew in my gut that it was. I’d never been surer of anything in my life.

  I paused halfway down the steps when I saw Declan and his father speaking in the entryway. His father glanced up at me and smiled before saying goodbye to Declan and leaving the castle. Declan turned around and locked eyes on me. I could see him looking me up and down, but at the same time I could tell he was battling with himself about whether he should forgive me so quickly. I wouldn’t forgive him that fast if the tables were turned.

  I moved towards him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, not even if it meant falling the rest of the way down the stairs. I wondered if he would walk away instead of talk to me, knowing that was something I might do if I were in his position. I had to keep reminding myself that he was nothing like me. He was a much better person than I am. He didn’t hold grudges and he actually forgave people when they apologized. I wished I was like him.

  “Hi,” I said softly when I finally stood in front of him. I could feel him looking down at me. Walking down the stairs, all I could do was look into those light blue eyes, but now that I was close to him, I was too ashamed to look at him like that.

  “Hi,” he responded just as quietly. He pushed the hair that had fallen out of the band back behind my ear before swiping his fingers under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. He bent down and placed his lips on mine, the feeling so natural and addictive. It was like he was made just for me and no one else. I forced myself to pull away from him, but our faces were still close to each other.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. It was the easiest apology I’ve ever had to say because I actually meant it. My family and I had truly hurt Declan and he deserved so much more than just an apology.

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about,” he told me as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest. My head only came up to the top of his arms, making it easy for his head to rest against the top of mine.

  “Yes, there is,” I assured him. “I never should’ve accused you of all those things. I knew in my gut that I was placing blame on the wrong person but that didn’t stop me. You deserve so much better than that.”

  “Stop it,” he demanded. “It was a fight. It’s probably not the last one either. All we can do is move on from it.”

  “How can you just let it go so easily after what my father and my brother did to you?” I asked him. “It’s bad enough that I treated you like shit, but I was just reacting to what they did. They actually set you up.”

  “Your brother and I have already worked things out,” he chuckled. “He let me get a few hits in, but we finally called a truce.”

  “And my father?” I wondered, remembering the demands I made when my father and I last spoke of the topic.

  “I haven’t seen him yet,” Declan said. “But your brother made it sound like he and I would be talking about it later today.”

  “The first thing out of his mouth better be an apology,” I said angrily.

  “Even if it’s not,” he laughed again, “it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that things between us are solid. Everything else is just a bonus.”

  “We’re solid,” I smiled. He bent down again and pecked my lips, his hands wrapped securely around my waist. I could stay here forever if no one interrupted us. Too bad there was an assassin plotting to kill all of us.

  “I saw Liam just a minute ago before you came down the stairs,” Declan said, refusing to let go. “He said Deja wasn’t feeling good.”

  “He sure knows how to downplay it,” I sighed. I pulled my head away from his chest so I could look up at him. “Deja was poisoned and almost died. Luckily, Uncle Gabe was able to figure out what she had been poisoned with and saved her in time.”

  “How the fuck did that happen?” he asked, urgency in his tone.

  We sat down at the foot of the staircase so I could tell him everything we had just gone through. I told him about Micah and how I was trying to help him, and about the guilt that was beginning to eat me alive. I was the one who brought Micah into the castle, giving him the opportunity to take advantage of my sister who wasn’t at full strength. It was a mistake I would never let myself forget.

  “It’s not your fault,” Declan whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I sank into his side, feeling his lips peck my forehead just as my head rested comfortably against his chest. “You showed him kindness and there’s nothing wrong with that. You had no idea he would do that.”

  “This is why I’m not nice to people,” I told him. “If I was my usual self, I would’ve kept walking towards the tavern instead of offer him food and a bed.”

  “Why were you going to the tavern?” Declan asked, knowing an alpha’s daughter should be nowhere near a place like that.

  “I was trying to find you so I could apologize,” I answered. “I didn’t like the way we left things.”

  “You had to know I would come back…”

  I hesitated. “I wasn’t sure this time.”

  “I’ll always come back.” He pressed his lips on my forehead again. “No matter what happens, I will always come back.”

  Just like that, I knew everyth
ing was going to be okay.

  Chapter Twelve

  Deja slept the rest of the day with her mother sitting by her side. No way was anyone else going to get a chance at hurting her with Aunt Caroline next to her. She seemed to be recovering much faster than she was previously, which we all took as a good sign. The alphas found Micah in his room. He admitted to the crime the second they all surrounded him. They tried to ask him why he did it, but he refused to answer. The alphas spent the rest of the day in my father’s study debating if Micah should be kept in the dungeons or moved to another location. I wasn’t aware of anywhere for prisoners to stay other than the castles in the other territories, but I got the impression the alphas had something else in mind.

  “They’re not going to kill him,” Declan assured me. “He attempted to kill Deja, but he didn’t succeed. No one has ever been executed for attempted murder.”

  “Is he safe down in the dungeons?” I asked him, not surprised by the confused look on his face. I shouldn’t care about his safety, but I just couldn’t help it. I saw him as a child manipulated by a crazy sorcerer. I wasn’t defending what he did, I was trying to understand. If his choices were do what the assassin told him or be killed, I could understand why he would choose to do as he was told. His parents were gone … he was face-to-face with a murderer … what else was a kid supposed to do?

  “Do you want to see him?” Declan asked me, knowing I wasn’t going to let this go.

  I rolled my eyes. “The guards won’t let me down there.” We were sitting on one of my couches, Declan leaning into the arm of it as I leaned into him. Ever since we had established our commitment to each other, it was like I couldn’t be away from him. After almost watching my sister die yesterday, he was the only one capable of convincing me that everything was okay now. I felt better when he was around, because even if no one else was, he was on my side. He might not agree with me, but he supported me. It still amazed me how quickly our lives became one, but now that they had, I couldn’t believe there was ever a time where we weren’t this way.

  “They will if I’m with you,” Declan assured me as he forced me up.

  “I don’t even know what I would say to him,” I said as I refused to leave the couch.

  “You’ll figure it out when you get down there,” he said, gripping my hand firmly when I finally reached out for the palm that was waiting for me.

  I wasn’t sure what I’d get out of talking to Micah. I was hoping answers, but even if he gave them to me, would I really be satisfied? Nothing he said would ever justify what he did. I wanted to believe that it would, but I knew deep down that I would always look at him as the kid who almost killed my sister. I might be able to forgive him one day, but I’d never forget. Even if I wanted to, I knew my mind wouldn’t let me.

  “How long do you think it’ll take to get him to talk?” I asked as we made our way to the first floor of the castle. “My father said last night that he hadn’t said a word after they put him in the dungeon.”

  “Hopefully not long,” Declan said. “The executions start at midday, which means we only have about an hour before we need to be out there.”

  “I hate Execution Day,” I muttered under my breath.

  “Nobody likes it. But it’s part of our traditions, and you know how the alphas and the councils get about shit like that.”

  We had gone down the stairs just before the council hallway and then we moved down a long tunnel until it started to widen. A large wood door stood between us and the prisoners. All we needed to do now was get past these two guards.

  “She’s not supposed to be down here, Declan,” one of them said. “Her father has strict rules about her interaction with the prisoners.”

  “It’ll just take a second,” Declan assured them. “We just need to talk to the prisoner the alphas brought in yesterday.”

  “The alphas will have our heads if we let her in here,” the second guard reminded him.

  Declan looked both of them in the eye. “I promise no harm will come to you.”

  “You don’t have that kind of power,” the first one laughed.

  “Yes, he does.” I pushed passed Declan and dealt with the guards myself. “He’s to be bound to me, which means he has the same rank as the alpha family members.”

  They both looked at Declan to confirm what I said was true. I don’t know why no one ever believed me when I said something. They always had to get confirmation from a man first before they took what I said seriously. Typical.

  I could see in their eyes that they knew they had no choice. I wasn’t sure if it was because they feared me or Declan, but I let myself believe that it was me. They opened the door, pushing it wide open so that several iron bars were visible. A guard standing on the other side of the door popped his head out to inquire about the disturbance. He seemed so inconvenienced by the interruption, as if he had something better to do.

  “They’re here to see the kid,” the first guard told him.

  “He’s not supposed to have visitors,” he responded, looking down at me, recognizing who I was without looking twice. “And she’s not supposed to be down here.”

  “We’ve already gone through this,” the second guard said. “Just do it.”

  The third guard rolled his eyes and then motioned for us to follow him. I couldn’t believe the attitude these guards had. I had only ever interacted with the guards that stood at the entrances of the castle and the ones at the gates, and they were much more serious and professional than these guards. I guess when your job was to look after the criminals sitting behind iron bars, you could get a little snappy. They must get bored during their time down here.

  “Five minutes,” the third guard said as we walked down the line of criminals. It was smaller than I imagined, but then I remembered this dungeon only housed the criminals from our territory. There were around the same number of criminals in all the other dungeons across Medova. The third guard was cute if he thought we were leaving after five minutes. If I didn’t have answers, I wasn’t going anywhere.

  Declan pulled me into his side as some of the criminals reached their arms through the iron bars. They didn’t appear to be trying to grab me, but they did want my attention. Declan wouldn’t let me stop long enough to figure out why, which was probably for the best, but he had to know my curiosity wouldn’t let this go.

  Micah was being held in a separate room all to himself. Due to his age, the alphas felt he wouldn’t be safe mixed in with all the other criminals. We came up to a wooden door a lot like the one we went through when we entered the dungeon, only this one was smaller. The guard took the keys from his belt and slowly went through each one, taking his time trying to find the correct one. I was about to say something, but Declan looked down at me and with pleading eyes asked me to let it go. I didn’t want to, but Declan had been down here before. He knew how things worked. His father was in charge of the dungeon. Every arrest and release went through him, and every execution needed his signature on it as well as the alphas. Declan grew up coming down here, preparing himself to take his father’s place one day. I wouldn’t want that job, but it would explain why his father was such an ass to everyone, including his own son.

  The guard finally opened the door, and in the middle of the room was Micah, on his knees with a white jacket pinning his arms to his body, making it impossible for him to hurt anybody. The sight of him like that almost broke me, but I pictured Deja screaming in her bed with blood dropping from her mouth onto the sheets. I couldn’t feel sorry for him after what he did, but when he looked up to see who had entered the room, I noticed one of his eyes was swollen shut and his lip was busted all the way down to his chin. He wasn’t healing, making me wonder if a sorcerer spelled him so that he wouldn’t. Would Uncle Alex actually do that to a child? I didn’t want to believe that. I chose to believe it was one of the other sorcerers that were in the vicinity.

  The guard slammed the door behind us, making me jump. They were so cranky down here in the d
ungeons. Whether this job sucked or not, they really needed to learn how to be more professional.

  “Micah,” I said softly as I bent down in front of him. I wanted to comfort him, but I fought that urge. I got straight to the point. “Why did you do it, Micah? Why did you try to kill Deja?”

  “Because he told me to,” he whispered, wincing, indicating that it hurt him to speak thanks to the gash in his lip. I couldn’t believe he answered me. He wouldn’t say a word to the alphas, and I’d expected him to do the same with me.

  “Who told you to hurt her?” I asked more specifically. Even though we all but confirmed it was the assassin, I wanted to know what Micah knew, so I played dumb, hoping he would give me what I was looking for.

  “I don’t know his name…” He cringed as he spoke, tears slowly falling down his cheek. “I saw him kill my mother. He didn’t go in her room, but he blew something underneath the door and the next day she was dead. I didn’t think he heard me or knew I was there, but he found me in the stables right after he put you two to sleep.”

  “He was after you that night?” Declan asked.

  “Yes,” Micah responded. “He said he couldn’t have me telling everyone that he was going around and testing his creation and told me to join him or he would kill me.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, trying to look into his eyes, only for him to go out of his way to avoid me.

  “He forced me not to,” he said.

  “I don’t understand,” Declan muttered.

  “He made me sign a blood oath,” Micah answered. “I had no choice. Even though my mind tried to fight it, I couldn’t say anything to anyone to warn them or stop myself when he told me to poison Miss Deja.”

  Blood oaths were serious and rarely used. It involved the blood of the two parties and it basically bound one to the other. The only way to break a blood oath was to die.

  “Do you know why he’s coming after us?” I asked. “Why is he targeting the alpha families?”