Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

JOHA

M y whole body aches in a good way, and I know I am going to be covered in bruises come morning. Despite this, I have never felt more alive. Adrenaline courses through my body, and although it is the middle of the night, all my fatigue has vanished, dispelled by our little sparring match.

I was so lost in my own world that I did not even know what I needed. She found me when I least wanted to be found, especially by her. This should not have been a surprise to me, as the woman is like a bloodhound, sniffing out any display of weakness.

The very last thing I wanted to do was to spar with her, needing solitude to clear my mind, but Alyx is not the type of woman who can be denied, and she goaded me into a fight.

I knew what she was up to then, but looking back now, I recognise that she was trying to give me what I needed—an outlet for my anger. While I could have sucked it up and refused to fight with her, which would have been the sensible option and what I would have done with anyone else, with her it is . . . different. There’s something about her that does something to me. She awakens me from this fa?ade.

I let everyone believe I’m placid and easily manipulated while silently trying to keep my power. However, over time, my mind has begun to slow from having all decisions made for me. I didn’t realise it until now, though, when she literally smacked it out of me, but I’ve let Queen Mother and the advisors get to me.

If I’m honest with myself, hiring Alyx was my last-ditch attempt at doing something, anything to try and regain control, and if this doesn’t work, then I fear I will either be killed by an assassination attempt or I’ll truly become what they whisper about behind my back—the puppet king.

If anyone found us, there would have been serious repercussions. Not only is it heavily frowned upon for women to wield a sword, but Alyx was not holding back. She’s easily one of the best swordspeople I have ever fought against, and it would have raised suspicions if she had been seen fighting like that. A princess from another land who can fight better than most of the guards in the palace would cause major concern, and questions would be asked that could destroy our whole plan.

Was this a stupid, risky idea? Yes, and for far greater reasons than being discovered. I was out here without a guard, fighting against the self-proclaimed deadliest assassin in the land. No one knew that I had left my palace, and as a consequence, they would not know where to begin looking should anything have happened to me.

I may have landed a blow on Alyx, one I only feel the smallest twinge of guilt for, but I have no doubt that in a fight to the death, she could beat me. She would have to work for the kill—I have made sure to keep my sword skills up, training with Orion in secret—but I am not arrogant enough to think I could beat an assassin. My trust in her may make me gullible. She’s even told me herself that I am stupid to put my trust in her, and if anyone else had devised this plan, I would agree with her. Still, I cannot seem to push away this instinct deep in my gut that tells me she is the key. The key to what, I’m not sure. The throne? A thriving kingdom under my rule? Happiness? Am I na?ve to hope for all those things?

Probably .

Sighing, I shake my head at myself as I hurry across the palace grounds, sticking to the shadows as I make the short journey back to my quarters. Glancing up at the sky, I take in the position of the moon and realise it is far later than I thought. Orion is probably about to check on me, so I need to be quick and get back before he finds me missing.

A high-pitched whistle, one that a blade makes as it flies through the air, instantly puts me on alert. It is a sound that I know well, thanks to Orion’s insistence on training in throwing daggers. It’s knowledge that could very well be about to save my life.

Dropping into a defensive stance, I spin on the balls of my feet as the dagger makes contact. However, it seems that I wasn’t the target after all. Eyes wide, I stare at the stranger who was steps behind me as I process what just happened.

The man’s face is covered, and the light of the moon glints off his dagger. His blade falls to the ground as he grunts and presses his hands to the blooming wound in his shoulder, where he had just been hit by the whistling dagger. The weapon in question protruding from his skin is not one I recognise, and it certainly doesn’t belong to my guards.

Cursing under his breath, the male glances around for the owner of the dagger. His eyes snap to me, and I watch as he makes his decision to carry through with his mission before he begins to move towards me.

That’s when it hits me—this man is here to assassinate me.

All of this happens within a fraction of a second, my brain trying to process everything as my hand moves automatically to my waist, reaching for the sword I’m no longer carrying.

I’m not going to be able to stop him before he reaches me, and although he doesn’t have a weapon, I have no doubt that he is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Blood pounds in my ears, each thump of my frantic heartbeat reverberating through my head as I try to focus. My chest is tight with tension and adrenaline, as I’ve been caught completely off guard.

However, the mystery owner of the dagger magically appears behind my would-be assassin, materialising from the shadows like a wraith. Before I can blink, he reclaims his dagger and uses it to slit the assassin’s throat.

I watch in mute horror as the male’s blood pours like a fountain, splattering me in the process. The warm liquid rolls down my skin, and I know I should be disgusted by this, but I am too busy focusing on my saviour. He drops the assassin’s body, letting him fall to the ground and lie in a heap, clearly having no care for the person he just killed.

My eyes stay on him. His body is no longer obscured by his kill, but all I see is a cloaked figure stepping back into the shadows.

“You should be more careful.” His voice is deep, and although it is said as a word of advice, it feels more like a threat.

Before I can say anything, the male is gone. Stumbling forward, I try to follow him, but he seems to have disappeared completely, as though he were made up of shadows and dissipated now that his task was complete.

I press my hand against the wall and lean forward, squeezing my eyes shut as I take several deep breaths. What in the underworld just happened? I’m alone and still in danger, so I need to pull myself together and get back to my chambers before any more assailants jump out from the shadows.

You are the king , I remind myself. You have dealt with worse things than this, and with Alyx’s help, you will reclaim your power . Those words become a mantra in my mind.

You will reclaim your power.

Perhaps if I manifest it, it will happen. No, I will have what is mine. Once Queen Mother has been dealt with, the assassination attempts should stop. Alyx is my secret weapon in all this.

For some reason, just thinking of her gives me strength. Letting out a long breath, I push away from the building as I turn to face the body that has been left behind. Groaning at the mess he made with his blood, I shake my head and close the distance between us.

I crouch down and remove his face covering. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I feel a flash of disappointment when I see the unrecognisable face. Of course Queen Mother would choose someone who could not be traced back to her. She is smart, which is how she has managed to keep power for so long.

Huffing out a breath, I stare at the face of the dead man at my feet. The assassin has been assassinated, how ironic.

What I really want to know is how the fuck he managed to get so close to me without me knowing. If I had been alert, I would have heard him, but my mind was elsewhere. I know better than to let myself get distracted. There are threats everywhere. If anyone were to ask me, I would tell them that this was a skilled assassin, which would explain how he managed to slip past all the defences and get so close. Really, I let myself get caught up in my thoughts of Alyx and our sparring match—not that I will ever admit this aloud.

Now, I have the corpse of an assassin at my feet and his blood covering me like a macabre painting. Although I have the training to defend myself, no one in the palace will believe that I took down the assassin. However, I can hardly admit that a mysterious cloaked figure killed the man because that would raise too many questions, including why I was outside of my rooms in the first place.

Not to mention the stranger who came to my rescue. The voice was that of a male, so I know it was not Alyx in disguise. She would have been my first guess, especially seeing as this is one of the reasons I hired her in the first place, which begs the question as to who would risk sneaking into the palace grounds and saving me from an attack. Did they know in advance about the attempt on my life, or were they here for other nefarious reasons?

Now that is a thought that causes a shiver to run down my spine.

I have so many questions swirling around in my head, the most pressing of which is lying at my feet.

How in the underworld am I going to get rid of this body?