Chapter Four
The guards loaded usinto the back of a prison cart and shackled to the floor. They chained Saber beside me with Whist and Sky on the other side. Saber smiled sadly at me while Whist yanked at the chains with his mouth set in a hard line. Sky leaned his head back against the side of the cart and squirmed around a bit to get as comfortable as he could in there. I did my best not to scream, keeping my breathing deep and slow. I hated being trapped, locked up. It’s why I spent so much of my life under the sky.
I met Saber’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. Do you think the king will be lenient with you three once he finds out we’re kindred?”
Whist snorted and rattled his chains, his angry eyes burning through me. “Not something we’re concerned about. You think we’ll go back to being his loyal assassins if he kills you? Just slide back into our lives like nothing happened?”
I flinched back at his fury. “But I don’t want to be the reason you’re killed along with me.”
Saber inched closer to me until we were almost touching. “It’s not going to come to that. We’ll get you out of this.”
“How?” I twisted my arms in the chains so I could erase the last inch of space between us. As soon as we touched, tension bled from me. I could snuggle into him with my head on his shoulder.
Saber tilted his head so he could whisper to keep us from being overheard by the guards eying us with suspicion through the bars of the door. “Don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out. We have friends in the princess and prince and they have influence with their father. It’s also our home turf, we know all the nooks and crannies. It’s not over, love.”
I wanted to believe them, to trust them, but seeing so many guards around us, armed and ready to stab us at the slightest provocation, I couldn’t see a way out of this. Not for all of us. But I planned to do my best to make sure the three of them made it through. Whatever I had to do.
This was always where I was headed. I should have known better. My parents certainly taught me better. There was no happily ever after, there was no way to run far enough to escape who we were and what we could have in this world. My parents ran every few months, a new village, a new life, always trying to start over. But it always had the same ending. We were run out of each village when they found out my parents weren’t married or kindred souls. When they found out I was a bastard. And they always found out.
Faligrey ended up being a small world. Visitors from other villages spilled the beans, sometimes it was me who trusted the wrong kid. Sometimes word just spread. But our clean slates never lasted more than a few months. And I watched my parents waste away, giving most of their food to me, working shitty jobs just to keep us from starving. They tried their hardest to give me a happy childhood, but they couldn’t hide their exhaustion and pain and loneliness from me. They couldn’t hide the circles under their eyes or trembling limbs or when my father started coughing up blood.
It didn’t take long for my mother to fall ill along with him. And I couldn’t find anyone to help them.
So I watched them die.
They withered away, growing weaker and weaker no matter what food I stole for them. No matter what herbs I brewed and dribbled into their mouths. No matter how long I played their favorite songs to keep them with me. I played until my fingers bled.
They still slipped away. Within minutes of each other. It was hard to believe they weren’t actually kindred souls since they loved each other so much. I was fourteen and on my own and had been since that day ten years ago.
Until my three assassins appeared from the shadows and changed my life. I had hoped we’d get a little longer before it was all ripped away.
“What are you thinking about, love?” Saber asked softly.
“My parents.”
Saber’s smoky scent curled around me, easing the tension from my body. “Tell us about them. You don’t talk about them much, but I can tell you loved them and miss them still.”
I closed my eyes and clenched my hands into fists. I wanted them to know me and to know them. Maybe it was our last chance. So with closed eyes and my parents’ faces in my mind, I told them the whole story. I told them the good, like the music and books and laughter and closeness we shared. And I told them the ugly.
They didn’t interrupt or question me as I spoke until I was hoarse. They listened to every word whispering from my mouth. I never opened my eyes, not wanting to see their pity, trying to keep the picture of my parents from fading away.
When I finished the story, I opened my eyes to find the three of them staring at me, grim determination on each of their faces.
“What?”
Sky shook his head. “Nothing, doll. Just impressed how much you’ve had to overcome.”
Whist snarled. “This isn’t the end, gorgeous. Don’t you dare believe that.”
I forced a smile. “I know, Whistler.”
His eyes flashed at my use of his whole name. “Good. Don’t forget it. We should try to get some sleep. We’ll be at the palace by tomorrow afternoon. They’re moving us fast. Probably worried we’ll escape.”
“Will we?” I eyed the cart with little hope. It had small, barred windows too small for any of us to squeeze through and the back door was chained and locked. Even if we managed to break out, there was still dozens of guards waiting for us out there.
Whist shook his head. “No. They did a thorough search of us and these carts are built very well and they won’t let us out until we arrive. We’ll make our escape from the capital.”