31. Vesper
Even if we had somehow found our way past the impossible walls in front of us, a happy ending still felt like a delusion. Like it couldn’t exist.
Not for us.
I knew this wouldn’t be problem-free. I knew that living in the palace with her was one of the least safe options for us. Especially while the king was preparing for war.
I knew Father was unhappy with the outcome of my job, and I also knew he would somehow come for me, so I was waiting for the universe to drop the other shoe.
“He’s been taken to Gabriel,” Cedar said as we walked down the hallway together. It had been my request that she be the one overseeing his transfer.
Not that I trusted her. If anything, she was the person I trusted the least in this world. But she knew far more about the situation than I wanted anyone else to know.
“Thank you,” I said as, for the first time, real relief filled me.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Tate to be stuck at home with my parents. There was no telling what they would do now that I had failed them.
They hadn’t been as hard on him as they’d been on me. The time I spent training at the boarding school getting my ass handed to me was time he spent going to a normal school, hanging out with kids his own age.
Of course, Father still trained him in his free time. Going over the importance of our role in society and why we did what we did.
But he never took the beatings that were meant to prepare us for even the toughest jobs.
Until the night I went back home. That was the first time they had him join in.
“They didn’t let me near the drop-off,” she said with a forced smile. “But I saw him meet with Gabriel. Or at least I think it was him. Same hair as you with the snake tattoo. Not many people out there look like that on purpose.”
Her quip forced an unexpected burst of laughter to spill from my lips. I shook my head and sent her a grateful smile.
I wish I could have gone, but leaving the palace and the princess had its own set of risks.
“Thank you, truly. I’ve been worried about him. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”
Her expression softened, and she slapped her hand against my bicep.
“I know,” she said, then her eyes shifted to the hallway before coming back to me. “Things are looking good, Vesper. But keep your eyes peeled, okay?”
Her seriousness caused my heart to still.
I looked around the hallway. There were only a few maids at the end of it and they looked preoccupied with their duties.
I leaned close to her.
“It’s not over, is it?” I whispered, my gaze shifting to hers. “Tell me what you know. Please.”
For the first time, a sort of regret crossed her face.
“I can’t,” she answered with a grimace. “Just know I’m on your side. Always, okay?”
“When have you ever been on my side?” I asked in a low hiss. “Tell me—am I or am I not your job?”
She let out a scoff and shook her head. “If you don’t see everything I’ve done as being on your side, I don’t know what to tell you.” She looked down the hall, her eyes narrowing. “Good luck with everything.”
A part of me wanted to call out to her as she turned and walked back down the way we came, but I stopped myself.
It wasn’t my job to try and smooth this over. Yes, she had helped, but she wasn’t being as truthful as she could be, and at that point, I couldn’t afford to be in the dark much longer.
It isn’t over. Her words told me that much, but her expression told me even more. What does she know, and is that the cause of her pained expression?
I shook my head. The princess was waiting for me. I didn’t have much time to waste.
Our routine had been the same over the weeks following my “rescue” from my family’s house.
I still stayed in the guard dorms. Mostly to save my own face. Most people knew the princess and I were together, but in a work sense. If I started staying in her room like she wanted me to, there would be no denying I was her plaything and not her guard.
The princess didn’t care, even if the rumors surrounding the prince’s demise went from him being a traitor to the princess having an affair.
I continued down the hallway, only to almost run right into one of the maids. I looked down to say something to her when she grabbed my wrists and pulled me into one of the dark, unused corridors.
Before I could even look at her face, my instincts kicked in, and in seconds, she was pushed up against the wall, my sword at her throat.
I was ready to slice it through her neck when her voice stopped me.
“Stop, Vesper! It’s me!”
I paused, recognizing the voice. When I pulled back to take her in, my heart stopped in my chest.
I knew her. Not only did I know her, but our families were the same.
Long brown hair pulled up into a bun. Hazel eyes. Three—no, four—small moles on her face. She was in the standard maid uniform the palace supplied, but hers had a turtleneck instead of the standard crew neck.
Nadine.
I hadn’t seen her in years. The last time had been at the boarding school my family sent me to. We were in a few classes together. At the time, the students tried to memorize every family symbol and child who was a part of the school. It was part of the information we were allowed to know about how the organization worked.
Our fathers knew each other. Just like us, they had gone to school together. But after we graduated, I never saw her again. That was the point. We were sent to different parts of the country, with each family settling in a specific place to carry out the orders given to us.
If she’s here, this means…
My hand immediately went to her turtleneck to make sure the person in front of me really existed.
She shouldn’t be here. No one should.
My breath caught when the pitch-black image of a dragon came into view. It was stark against her skin, the image startling me.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Had Cedar known? Was that why she gave me that look? I thought I had time. At least more than a few weeks before they would ship one of my own here.
I pinned her harder against the wall, my hand ready and my sword still on her neck.
Slice it. It will be easy. The issue would be getting rid of the body. Obviously, I couldn’t just murder a maid in the middle of the palace and walk the halls with her bloody body over my shoulder.
“Did my father send you?” I whispered, my eyes narrowing at her.
My heart was erratic, beating loudly in my chest, and none of the techniques taught to me were any use in calming it down.
She caught me off guard.
Her eyes widened, and she brought her bottom lip between her teeth. A face of pure innocence. One that might have had another person putting away their weapon. But it only had me pushing it harder into her.
Maybe it would be worth getting caught. The princess could probably help me clean it up.
“I come with a message. But before I say it, please don’t take this the wrong way. You have to understand that I never wanted?—”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. None of the act,” I growled. “Did they or did they not send you here to make sure I completed my task?”
She grimaced. “Yes, but?—”
I pushed her away in disgust. A babysitter. She would be the one to constantly feed information to my father and the organization, constantly watching and waiting until I completed my job.
We are not safe here. I need to kill her.
“Tell them I don’t fucking need it,” I growled and turned away, unable to keep my body from shaking with fury. “I have it under?—”
“That’s not all.”
I turned back to look at her. The scared act she had been putting on was gone, and a full-on smile spread across her face. This was the type of person who went to the boarding school. She had a job to do, and not only would she get it done flawlessly, but she would also have fun doing it.
This is the type of person the school breeds.
Ruthless killers who took joy in the terror they were putting their victims through. She thought this was a game.
“You have a week,” she said with a light laugh, “before I take matters into my own hands.”
I’ll kill her. Kill her and dump the body somewhere like they did the feeders. I will need to wait until night. Have Cedar guard the princess. No one will ever?—
“Should I be worried that you’re not paying attention to me?” Aurelia asked from her vanity, brushing her slightly damp hair from our time in the shower together.
She had told me about throwing her old one out the window. Looking at the room, one would never suspect she had ruined it. The window was back in place and allowed the sun to shine through. The vanity had been replaced with another one just like it. Not a thing was out of place.
Just like the king when it comes to covering up anything related to the failed wedding.
I wished their hiring was as good as their cleanup. Seriously, how many of us would be able to sneak in here before they noticed?
“Needy now, are we?” I asked, giving her my best attempt at a smile. She seemed to accept it.
She didn’t need to panic, not over this. It was my mess, and I should be the one to clean it up. Maybe I could even get Cedar’s help. If she wasn’t too mad at me for my comment earlier, that was.
“Hey, our contract states that?—”
“Have you ever thought of leaving?” I asked her.
She pursed her lips together and straightened. An oddly serious move from her.
“Many times,” she admitted. “Growing up as a spoiled princess wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”
There was a joke woven through her words, but there was something heavier behind them, too.
“I mean after the wedding,” I said and shifted, my eyes searching the room. I don’t know what I was looking for. Something to make sure there was no one listening in. The thought that Nadine could be anywhere, watching us, was getting to me.
The feeling of being watched, whether it was true or not, caused my skin to crawl. All I could think about was keeping the princess safe. Getting us out of here. Anything. They were too close for comfort.
Atlas crossed my mind. The magical artifact was hidden away in my room, so if worse came to worst?—
“Are you asking me to run away with you?” she asked with a smile. When I met her gaze, she laughed and turned back to the mirror. “Father would be after us in an instant. Especially because he can’t afford for his property to fall into the wrong hands. And don’t get me started on that crazy father of yours. You still have a job to do, don’t you remember?”
All too fucking well.
“Atlas, she has passage?—”
“Is there something I should be concerned about, Vesper?” She was facing the mirror, but her eyes were on me.
I swallowed thickly. Yes. But I didn’t want to burden her with it. I could handle it myself. I just needed time to think.
“Has your stepmother stopped bothering you?” I asked, unable to come up with anything else.
She held my gaze for a moment longer before looking back at herself. A smile played on her lips.
“I haven’t had a chance to visit her yet,” she said. “Though I will soon. It had to be perfect, you see?—”
She was interrupted by a knock. Her eyes flitted to the door, and a smile spread across her face. “Oh, finally! Come in!”
And then, as if things couldn’t get worse, Nadine’s face peered into the room. My hand reached for the sword on my back. My body was tense.
“Sorry, miss, I just had to get oriented?—”
“After Father killed the last one,” Aurelia said, giving me a look. “I found myself in the market for another. She will be my new one, starting today. Came from Dalia’s family with glowing reviews?—”
I had to tune out her words, unable to keep my rage in check. Nadine stood there, her hands folded against her stomach, looking like a picture-perfect handmaiden for a princess like Aurelia.
You have a week,her smile said. Her eyes were on me the entire time while Aurelia introduced her.
I debated killing her right then and there. We were alone in the room with only Aurelia. At least there would be no witnesses. But there was always a chance that she could sneak past me and hurt Aurelia before I had a chance to kill her.
They are better prepared than I thought. I could see the strategy. They were trying to fuck with my head. Get me scared, so I’d either hurry up or fuck up.
And it’s working.
But if they thought I’d just let them interfere, they were fucking wrong.
“Get rid of her,” I ordered Aurelia, not even sparing her a glance. “You don’t need a handmaiden.”
“And what, have you take over?” Aurelia asked with a scoff. The sound of her standing reached my ears, and her hand was on my shoulder in moments. “You can’t expect a spoiled princess like me to live without a handmaiden, can you?”
She was saying it to annoy me. To continue our playful game.
But I wasn’t playing anymore. Not when they were forcing my hand.
“Come help me with my hair. Father has guests today,” she said and motioned for Nadine to follow her back to the vanity.
I stood by, watching helplessly. When the princess wasn’t looking, Nadine sent me a wink. It took everything in me to stay planted.
I turned to watch them in the mirror as Aurelia explained how she wanted her hair. Nadine nodded along, her hands gently taking Aurelia’s long locks in her hands before she began twisting them away from her face.
Those hands were too close to Aurelia’s neck for me to relax. I had seen those same hands handle weapons, covered in the blood of our classmates. Her eyes met mine in the mirror, telling me she was remembering the same.
You have a week.
I’d be damned if I allowed her to be near Aurelia for even a second longer.