Chapter 33

Chapter

Thirty-Three

JOHA

I don’t have to feign my surprise as I stare at my advisors and the captain of the city guard in wide-eyed shock. My meeting room is full of people, all of them looking as horrified as I am at the news he just relayed to us. The fact that he came all this way to inform me personally should have warned me that something serious had occurred. Usually, any information from the city guards would be passed through my guards and advisors, not given as an in-person report.

Perhaps I misheard the captain, as there is no way anything on this scale would happen. Things like this don’t just transpire in the Uppers, and certainly not the palace. My mind is spinning, my thoughts tripping over each other as I try to formulate an acceptable response. The advisors are all looking at me. For once, they have lost their haughty attitudes and seem to be frozen in horror. After all, it was one of them who was murdered.

“What?” The question slips out of my mouth, making me sound as dumb as they believe me to be. I heard him the first time. I just can’t comprehend it.

Even so, the captain clears his throat and repeats himself. “Lord Beaumont was found murdered, and his house was set aflame. We believe his family and staff were burned alive in the fire and that it was started on purpose.”

My throat constricts painfully, and I reach for my glass of water. The cool liquid does nothing to take away the feeling, and I am no closer to knowing how to respond to this.

Leaning forward in her chair on my left, Alyx clears her throat delicately, placing her hands lightly on the table’s edge. “Are you sure they are all dead? There is no way they could have escaped?” she asks quietly, her words strained and face pained at the very thought of innocents dying.

She’s a good actress.

The captain looks awkward, not wanting to talk of death and murder in front of both Queen Mother and my betrothed, but I give a sharp nod of my head, indicating for him to go ahead.

“We have found bodies, Your Majesty. All of which fit the descriptions we were given of the victims.”

Unlike most of my meetings, Alyx’s presence was requested due to the seriousness of the situation. I’m surprised they came to this decision by themselves. I assumed I would have to force the issue to have her attend. Perhaps they are realising they cannot shut both of us out.

However, the situation is unprecedented. Not only was Lord Beaumont and his family killed, but A’lan Wrynn was found dead in the bathing house in the palace. Here, on guarded palace grounds. All of us feel on edge and vulnerable. The palace is supposed to be the safest and most guarded area in the land, yet several attempts on my life have occurred, and now this.

“The house was set alight in the early hours yesterday morning.” The captain glances around the room as he speaks. “I would have come to inform you then,” he continues. “However, it took us an entire day to get the fire under control. It required all of us as we tried to stop it from spreading to other properties. Because of this, I was unable to spare even a guard to tell you. As soon as I felt it was safe, I came straight here.”

He clearly knows how to handle disgruntled nobles, as well as preempting the questions I could feel bubbling up around me. He’s a good captain of the city guard. My advisors like to be the first to know what’s happening in the city, so the fact that the house was burned and they are only just learning of it a day later is not acceptable to them. However, when he explained the situation as he did, it is impossible to be mad at him.

Orion told me that this captain was good when he was promoted, and I see now that he was right. He put the welfare of others before bowing and scraping to the Crown.

There is still quiet grumbling in the room, although as I glance around, it is impossible to tell who is making the noise. If anyone tries to berate the captain for his actions, then I’m going to snap. I’m too exhausted for that sort of nonsense.

First thing this morning, I was disturbed by Orion barging his way into my rooms. I didn’t sleep much thanks to my midnight rendezvous with Alyx. While it had been my intention to get a little rest beside her, as soon as she fell asleep, I found myself watching her. When she sleeps, her guard is down and her face is beautiful. She looks younger, less fierce, and it made me wonder what she would have been like if her life had turned out differently.

When the sun started to rise, I snuck back to my palace and into my rooms, Orion dutifully guarding me. I hoped to get a few hours of sleep before I was disturbed, but it seems that the gods had other plans for me. My head of the guard strode into my room and told me something terrible happened, which is how I ended up here, at the head of the meeting table with Alyx at my side and all of my advisors staring at me.

Firstly, they told me about A’lan Wrynn. All of the advisors already seemed to know, but Queen Mother looked surprised. It was only as we were discussing how someone had snuck past the guards and into the palace to kill him in the first instance when there was a knock at the door.

It was the captain of the city guard.

All of the guards in the land ultimately answer to me, but the divisions outside of the palace generally run themselves, with appointed captains.

One stands before us now, telling us of Beaumont. We had been so focused on A’lan’s death and the safety inside the palace that we hadn’t even thought about the safety of those on the other side of our walls.

A’lan Wrynn’s death is more alarming than tragic. He was a young, fairly new noble who had been rising in the ranks recently. I never paid him much attention, but I saw him around. I am now wondering if I should have been keeping an eye on him. Was he involved in any of the assassination attempts? Is that how he ended up dead? His neck was sliced, so it’s clear it was murder and not an accident.

Beaumont, however, is a major shock. Is it worse because we already heard of Wrynn’s murder? It is not often that two lords are killed a day apart. The lords do not know about this, but there was also the fake guard who was murdered on palace grounds when he tried to assassinate me. So much death and destruction.

If it was just Beaumont who was killed, then that is one thing. He was a greedy bastard, and I suspected he was involved in some shady business for a while, so it was only a matter of time before he annoyed someone enough to die. It wasn’t just him though. His entire family and staff are dead. It is such a waste of life that I am barely able to comprehend it. Setting fire to his property and killing innocents is sick and unnecessary. The murderer went through the trouble of doing this, and it sends a message.

Alyx looks shocked and innocent at my side, her hand pressed against her chest as if needing to physically hold back her emotions.

Did she have something to do with this? Looking at her, no one would ever expect her, but I know what she’s capable of. For a moment, her eyes meet mine, and I see a burning happiness in her gaze before it shutters and goes back to looking shocked. A’lan’s death is the way I would expect her to act, quick and clean, but why him? I find it difficult to believe that he had anything to do with the attempts on my life, so why kill him? He has next to no power, seeing as he comes from a lowly family and has only just started to gain a good reputation, so why would he ruin that?

Once again, Beaumont’s death is something I can imagine Alyx orchestrating, and his dodgy dealings make him a candidate for working against me. However, if this was her doing, then her trail of destruction is making me see her in a different light. If she did kill A’lan, then I was cuddled up with a murderer last night. How could she do that and then just return and fall asleep as though nothing happened? She slept like a baby, clearly unbothered by her actions.

It is the death of the family and staff that I keep getting stuck on. If it was her, killing the rest of those people was sick. Would she really do that? During the time we’ve been working together, I have started to get to know her and see past some of those barriers she wears so well. I thought that perhaps she’d become an assassin because she had no other choice, and I had romantic visions of rescuing her from that life. However, I’m starting to realise now how much of a fool I have been. Do I even really know her at all?

I need to get out of here and talk to her.

There is still more I need to learn, but I know Orion will stay behind and get as much information from the captain as possible, filling me in later. I don’t even have to order him to do it, simply sharing a look with my friend and king’s guard. He nods, understanding what I’m silently asking for.

I sigh loudly and rub a hand over my face, aware of the advisors and guards all looking at me exactly as I wanted.

“Excuse me. My betrothed is looking quite unwell with all this talk of death. I am going to escort her back to her rooms.” Pushing my chair out, I get to my feet, and the rest of those in the room do the same, dipping their heads as per protocol.

No one bothers to stop me as I place a hand on Alyx’s back and guide her from the hall. We stay silent as we walk across the palace grounds towards the queen’s palace, our guards following closely. It doesn’t take long to get there, since the grounds are quiet thanks to the early hour, and with only a look, I order the guards to stay by the doors and continue until we get to her bed chamber.

As soon as the door shuts behind me, she sprawls across the bed, resting her arm over her face as a wide yawn splits her lips. She’s not the least bit troubled.

Frustration and anger bubble in my gut as I watch her relax on the bed as if the last hour’s meeting was nothing more than an inconvenience. Does she care in the slightest about all the innocent lives lost here? I stew in silence, getting more and more worked up.

I can’t hold myself back any longer.

“Did you have anything to do with that?”

There is a long pause, and when she lowers her arm, she stares at me incredulously. “Is that what has you in such a twist?” She sits up, still pinning me with her gaze. “Is that why you have barely been able to look me in the eye? Or is it because you let yourself be vulnerable the other night?”

Jerking back like she smacked me, I scowl and shake my head, not understanding the relevance of what she’s saying. Why bring that up now?

“That has nothing to do with this.” I try to keep control of my voice as I speak, making sure it’s low and even. “Did you kill those people?”

She arches her brow, giving me a look that tells me she thinks I’m being stupid. After a moment, she snorts, but there is no amusement behind it as she pushes herself off the bed and stands at her full height.

“What is it with you men? You know why you hired me, right? I’m an assassin. This is what I do.”

I can’t allow her to talk her way out of this or speak in riddles. This is important, and I need to hear it from her. “Did you do it?” I ask, my voice deadly calm.

“Yes, I did. Both men were involved in trying to kill you.” She looks exasperated, not understanding why I would be upset about this. “You wanted me to work out who is behind the attacks and keep you safe, and that is what I’m doing.”

My stomach sinks. Does she truly have no conscience? She killed so easily and then pretended to be shocked by their deaths when surrounded by others. I have no idea how to deal with this. All I know is that I have made a huge mistake.

“You’re a monster.” I meant for it to come out as an accusation, yet my voice is weak and full of shock. “How could I have ever thought having you around was a good idea?”

For a second, I see hurt flash across her face and I feel guilty, but it’s gone in a second and is replaced with a smirk that I’m used to seeing. She saunters over to where I stand, the tension in the room high. “I don’t know. I told you it was a bad idea to hire an assassin.” Her voice is a purr as she speaks, sounding as though she’s enjoying my anger and horror. “If you didn’t want anybody to die, you should have hired a guard or some noble warrior. That is not who I am.” Despite her tone, I can tell that she’s angry at me, although I can’t fathom why she would be the one hurting right now.

“I didn’t expect you to kill innocents, Alyx!” I take a step towards her until we’re toe to toe, and I stare down at her. “What kind of a twisted demon do you have to be to kill a child?”

There’s a pause, and her face suddenly clears as she absorbs my words. “You really think I killed all of those people?” She laughs, shaking her head. “Beaumont and the baby lord, yes. I killed them and feel no regret. What I can’t believe is that you’d really think I would kill staff and children just for being at the house. They can’t help who their boss is.”

Confused, I stare down at her, no longer sure of anything.

“There were bodies found.” I trail off, suddenly feeling a cold chill as I realise I might have made a mistake. Burnt bodies that would be almost impossible to identify.

Alyx nods slowly as she watches me put everything together, her arms crossed over her chest. “Yes, bodies I stole from the morgue. I faked their deaths and gave them money to start a new life, then I put the bodies in the house and set it alight. Why do you think I chose fire? It sends a message and erases all traces of who they were, leaving only their bones.”

“You didn’t kill innocents.” It’s not a question. I feel stupid for not speaking with her about this and assuming that she did it. My heart lifts a little, knowing that she does have some sort of moral compass.

“No, but you have to realise something,” she starts as though she’s able to read my mind and see where my thoughts are heading. “I am an assassin. I’m not a good person, and I can be ruthless. I have killed innocents in the past when I had no other options, and I will do it again if I have to.”

My feelings are so mixed. She killed two men under my rule, and I wasn’t bothered about it other than when I thought she killed the children and staff. I should be disgusted by all death. When did it start to become acceptable?

“You hired an assassin, and now you don’t like how I work. You can’t have it both ways, Your Majesty.”

She stalks from her room without another word, and I feel like I’m just as stupid as everyone thinks I am.