Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

ORION

I ’m seething.

In fact, I’m so furious that I can barely look at Joha, who whistles happily at my side, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

The journey back to the palace is uneventful despite the number of eyes on us the whole time. Little rats watch our every move, reporting back to their master. We’ll be lucky if the whole city doesn’t know that their king was stumbling amongst them by tomorrow morning. The consequences if the Queen Mother finds out are beyond thinking about, but I know for sure that my life would be forfeit.

Losing my life for my king isn’t what enrages me though. If I’m put to death, who is going to look out for him then? He’ll have no one. That’s something I cannot allow.

We get back to the palace in silence, the king realising that I need some time to decompress. Making sure we’re not being tailed or watched, I sneak us back into the palace grounds. It’s disturbingly easy, something I’m going to rectify later. The guards are going to feel the brunt of my anger, which is probably something I should feel bad about, but I don’t. If Joha can just walk out without anyone noticing, then anyone could just wander in, especially if they are trained in stealth.

As I lead him through the maze of the palace grounds, I feel his eyes on my back, but he says nothing. We have to be careful. We ditched our stolen cloaks at the gate. If anyone saw the king dressed so casually, it would only raise suspicions, and everything that happens in the palace gets back to the Queen Mother.

Stupid. So fucking stupid.

What was he thinking? If he’d told me his plan before we left, I never would have let him leave, which is exactly why he didn’t tell me. He only fed me enough snippets of information to gain my help. He’s sneaky and far smarter than anyone gives him credit for, which is how he managed to use my weaknesses against me.

However, it’s not just Joha that I’m angry at, but myself. How could I let him convince me to waltz into the Lowers and speak with an assassin of all people? My job is to protect him from people like her, not enable the meeting.

How did he even meet an assassin in the first place?

No, I don’t want to know. Just the thought of it is giving me palpitations, and I don’t fancy adding images of Joha stumbling around the Lowers with an assassin to my list of nightmares.

My duty to the Crown is everything, but it goes deeper than that. Joha is my king, and I will protect him with my life, but as my best friend, I want to make sure he flourishes in every aspect. Seeing how unhappy he is breaks my heart, and I don’t know how to fix that. He’s family to me, and not being able to help him makes me feel useless, which is why I let him talk me into this ridiculous plan today. His eyes lit up in a way I’d not seen since before his father died, excitement pulsing from him. That and the fact that I knew he would find a way to go with or without me. He’s already proven that he’s able to sneak from the palace without attracting attention, something I’m begrudgingly proud of—not that I’ll ever tell him that.

I’m sure that part of his excitement is that she’s a woman who isn’t bowing and scraping or trying to get into his good graces. From what we saw of her, I could tell she was beautiful, and the danger she offers was probably a huge thrill for him. She’s unobtainable, making her the perfect challenge. Joha is far smarter than he lets anyone believe, but I know my friend, and a pretty face can influence his actions. He wouldn’t be that foolish though, would he?

Marriage. That’s what he’s proposed to her.

Anger surges within me again as we finally make it to the king’s palace and can let our guards drop a little. He’s offered an assassin a crown and for her to pose as his queen. We have no idea who this woman is, and while his explanations made sense with his unique sense of logic, no sane person would hand this sort of power to someone whose career is killing people like us. She’ll learn secrets that could topple the monarchy, and we have no guarantee that she won’t sell the information to the highest bidder.

Entering Joha’s private chambers, I inspect it for danger before gesturing for him to enter, slamming the doors behind me. My body is tense and ready to fight, and from the looks he keeps sending my way, Joha is obviously expecting me to explode. No, I’m going to stay professional. I’m going to be the best guard he’s ever had and will stick to him like fucking glue. He’s not going to get away from me for a second.

“I think you’re about to blow a vein in your forehead. It’s pulsing,” he calls out, his voice deceptively light. When I retreat to my usual spot and say nothing, he rolls his eyes. “Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the day?”

That’s all I need to break my vow of silence. Hands balling at my sides, I stride over to him, forcing myself to hold back and not throttle him like I want to. “What were you thinking?” I demand through clenched teeth.

“That didn’t take much,” he comments with a snort. “We need someone in the palace who is on our side. Someone who can pass as a noble but has the skills to move silently through the palace and keep tabs on what’s happening behind my back.”

Grabbing onto the doorframe, I squeeze until it groans beneath my fists. “Then you train one of the noble’s daughters—someone we can trust, Joha. She’s an assassin! What makes you think she won’t just turn on you and slaughter you in your sleep?”

All pretence of amusement flees his expression, his eyes hooded and brow furrowed as he meets my glare. “It will take too long to train someone. We have to act now?—”

“Why?” I cut him off, demanding the answer. Releasing the doorframe, I gesture wide to show my confusion. “What’s the sudden rush?”

His face flushes with anger, an expression I don’t see often. “Because the attempts on my life are getting more and more frequent. Because if I have to pretend to be an airhead for one day longer, I might just do Queen Mother a favour and throw myself off the Imperial Mountains!”

I’m shocked by the outburst, and I realise that it’s not anger I see on his face, but desperation. I’ve never seen him like this before, and I don’t know how to react. He’s been struggling for a while, but he’s so strong that I never realised that it had gotten so bad for him.

I am a failure.

I’m supposed to be his best friend, and I missed how much this has been weighing on him.

“Joha . . .”

Realising what he just admitted, he seems to deflate before my eyes, releasing a long breath. He scrubs his hands over his face and huffs out a sigh. “Don’t worry. I’m not really going to do it. I just . . . Something has to change, Orion.”

The vulnerability in his voice breaks something within me. He’s sharing this with me because he trusts me, and I need to make sure I don’t break that trust by messing this up. Rubbing a hand over the stubble of my shaved head, I feel the anger drain from me, replaced by reluctant acceptance.

Joha is no fool, despite what everyone else thinks. I know his mind works ten times faster than most. He will have thought this through, so if he thinks this can work . . .

“You really think she’s the person to do it?”

Joha meets my eyes, his gaze steady and sure. “Yes.”

“Fine.” I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. It seems that it’s going to happen either way, so I might as well help him so he doesn’t get himself killed. “Tell me everything about this plan of yours, and I mean everything.”

His eyes light up despite my lack of enthusiasm, and he gestures for me to follow him to the large wooden dining table in his adjoining chamber. The walls here are covered in windows that look out to the Imperial Mountains, and half of the table is covered in books and scrolls. Taking the seat at the head of the table, he waits for me to sit next to him and leans forward eagerly.

“I first met her when she saved me from some bandits.”

I groan loudly as he grins. Of course. Bandits, because what else could possibly make this story worse than it already is?

Wincing, I gesture for him to continue, bracing myself for more truths.

It’s going to be an uncomfortable few weeks.