Chapter 5 Isi
ISI
My blade had just impaled someone’s flesh.
The man grunted. Quicker than I could think, he shoved me away. He slapped his hand over his abdomen and I’d swear light winked briefly before extinguishing.
I tumbled backward, landing hard on the ground. He was on me before I could recover, knocking me backward, pinning me with his much-larger body.
A sharp gasp jerked out of me. Maybe my back wasn’t as healed as I’d believed.
He grappled with my hand that somehow still held the bloodied blade. Wrenching it from me, he flung it into the lake.
With a snarl, he clamped his hands around my wrists hard enough to bruise, wrenching them upward, grinding them into the gravel above my head.
His golden eyes rimmed with gray burned into mine.
The man from the ceremony. The one who’d challenged me, who’d seen through every carefully constructed lie I’d built around my role as Lady of Mercy.
His gaze lingered on my face, studying my features with an intensity that made my blood turn to ice. Something shifted in his expression, recognition flickering like a candle flame, there and gone.
But instead of accusations, hunger burned in his eyes, the same pull I felt clawing at my chest. How could he look at me like he wanted to devour and destroy me at the same time?
His thumb brushed across my wrist where he held me pinned, such a small touch it could’ve been accidental. But the way his breathing hitched told me it wasn’t.
He was a rebel.
We were enemies.
I was here to kill him or someone he might care about.
“Were you or were you not told that you’re not allowed to bring weapons?” he growled.
Around us, everyone had stopped to watch the drama unfold. A few jeered. Others snickered. The rest gave me looks full of anger.
“I—” I struggled to find words, a challenge with his rock-hard body pinning mine to the ground. “I’m sorry. I tripped. I didn’t mean—”
His knee rose to gouge into my belly while his free hand started roaming my body.
His touch was clinical, efficient, but every brush of his fingers across my frame sent fire racing through my veins. I hated that my breath snagged when his palm skimmed my hips, hated that my skin burned wherever he touched.
This is humiliation, not desire, I told myself. He treats you like a criminal. Feel nothing.
My body ignored the command.
He quickly found the knife in my boot, ripping it free. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the blade through the air like an arrow. It arched too high for a simple throw before splashing into the lake far enough from shore I’d never reach it even if I dared challenge the serpents.
The knife I’d tucked into the back of my pants followed, his magic sending it spinning end over end into the depths.
When his hand glided up my spine, I jerked in a breath. He paused. Frowned. And wrenched me onto my belly, keeping my hands pinned over my head while yanking up my tunic.
“Lashes. Who the fuck did this to you?” he roared, his voice echoing through the surrounding hills.
“Let me…”
He rolled me over with a much gentler touch and studied my face. “Tell me.”
“It’s nothing. I…scraped myself on brambles while traveling through the swamp.”
Leaning close, he snarled in my ear. “Who did this to you?”
I bucked, hating that I could barely move with him pinning my lower body to the ground with his own, my hands still wrenched above my head. “Get off of me!”
His face twisting, he continued searching me for more weapons, but he paused again with his right hand pressing against my ribcage, his palm burning through my undergarment like a brand.
Time stopped. The world narrowed to his hand, the heat of his skin, and the way his breathing went shallow and uneven. His golden eyes darkened, the pupils dilating as he stared down at me.
He felt it too.
The realization hit me like lightning. Whatever this was between us, whatever this pull was that made my skin sing from his touch, it wasn’t one-sided. For an instant, we weren’t enemies. We weren’t princess and rebel. We were just a man and a woman caught in something neither of us understood.
Then his jaw clenched, and the moment shattered.
“You’re thorough,” I spit out, struggling to shove aside the pain in my back and drum up some bravado. I sensed this man would respect nothing less.
His eyes snapped up to mine. “I’m not done yet.”
The promise in his words made my knees tremble. “There’s nothing else. I promise.”
“I don’t trust you.” His hand skimmed my chest, making me gasp. “Smart women are always hiding something. Where are the rest of your weapons?”
“What makes you think I’m smart?” I whispered.
His smile cut like a blade. “You’re smart enough to lie to my face without flinching.
Smart enough to bring weapons when everyone else comes empty-handed.
” His thumb traced along the pulse point at my throat.
“Smart enough to make me want to keep you close so I can figure out what game you’re playing. ”
Heat crawled up my neck, and I wiggled, trying to knock him off my thighs.
“What’s this?” His hand paused below my right breast.
His fingers tightened on my wrists enough to remind me he was in full control. Also enough to humiliate me.
My body betrayed me with a sharp intake of breath, which made me want to claw the skin from my bones.
Addie would’ve laughed at this. My fierce little sister would’ve found some cutting remark to slice him down to size, would’ve made him regret ever touching her. But Addie was dead, her dark curls matted with blood.
And I was here to make someone pay for the crime.
“Do you seriously believe anyone here is untouchable?” he murmured.
I drove my knee up. Missed. My breath came back in a ragged gasp. “Release me.”
Wrenching up my tunic, he exposed my undergarment-covered chest. And while I writhed, he yanked away the blade I’d secured there, tearing the fabric. Another gesture sent my final weapon flying impossibly far across the water, lost to the dark depths.
A low whistle rose from the crowd. His eyes flicked down, and irritation flashed across his face.
“Fuck,” he growled, yanking my tunic back down to my waist, but not before I caught the way his hands gentled. “Where else are you hiding puny pokers?” His hand encircled my neck, tightening.
“Nowhere. Nowhere!” I strangled out.
“Better not be.” He released me, rising and stepping back while I gasped and sputtered and scrambled to my feet. I straightened my clothing, taking care not to show how much even this simple movement made my back ache.
“I tripped,” I said again. “I didn’t mean to stab you.”
Though I saw no wound. No blood. No indication I’d hurt him at all. I could swear I’d felt the sickening lurch as the razor-sharp tip sank into his flesh.
As his gaze swept over my ill-fitting clothes, his sneer grew. “Next time, dress yourself better before attempting to play assassin.”
Those lingering around us laughed.
The air changed.
A gust surged down the path, whipping my loose hair across my face. Dust spun in small, angry eddies at my feet.
I froze. Not again.
Around me, a few people glanced up uneasily, muttering.
And the man… He stared at the way the wind curled only around me like a beast defending its young.
I clenched my jaw and shoved the wild magic down deep, where it wouldn’t betray me again.
My voice broke. “I wasn’t—”
“Oh, I think you were. Better luck next time, minxpip.” He stiffened to his full height, towering over me. Pivoting on his heel, he shouldered his way through the crowd and strode toward the castle, leaving me stranded among strangers who whispered and stared.
I’d come here to destroy a king, and instead I’d let one of his rebels put his hands all over me. Even worse, I’d liked it. Either I was the worst assassin in history, or I was attracted to an enemy.
Both options were going to get me killed.
“When you start your battles, you go right to the top,” someone said from close by. “I admire that in a person.”
I turned to find a woman about my age watching me with dark eyes that held amusement and sympathy.
She’d crafted tiny braids with her black hair all over her head, and when she squinted, her warm brown skin a few shades darker than my own crinkled around her eyes.
Like those who’d started to move on now that the show was over, she wore a simple tunic and pants—ones that fit her properly.
“Who’s he?” I jerked my thumb toward his departing figure. Damn swaggering ass. It was an accident. I hadn’t meant to stab him. And now I was not only unarmed, but it appeared I hadn’t even nicked him. After his sneer, I almost wished I had.
The woman paused, studying my face. “That’s…Trew. Trewyn Valdris Nyx Syllavar if you want to be particular.”
The name meant nothing to me.
She must’ve noticed my blank look. I really needed to practice hiding my expression or I’d be dead before the day was through. “King of Syllavar Court.”
It was all I could do not to stagger. He was the king of this place?
She thrust out her hand for a surprisingly strong shake. “I’m Lexie.”
“Isi.”
“I’m going to befriend you.” Her grin revealed straight, even white teeth.
“Why?”
“Anyone who accidentally stabs our king and lives to tell about it?” Her grin widened. “They’re either the luckiest person alive or someone worth knowing. Either way, I want you on my side when the tough part starts.”
“It was an accident.”
“Sure, sure.” She put her arm around my shoulders and urged me to get walking, both of us quickly catching up to the back of a group making their way up the narrowed stone passage leading to the castle.
“He used a term I’m unfamiliar with. Minxpip.”
She laughed and explained as if filling in a piece I’d missed. “If he called you that, you really don’t want to know what it is.”
“Lexie.”
She sighed. “Fine. A minxpip is this…ridiculous little teal and silver bird that lives around here. It looks like fluff with legs, and it’s barely bigger than a child’s fist. Timid as anything. They live in hedges. Feign death if something so much as snorts near it.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “He called me that. He thinks I’m pathetic.”
Lexie winced. “It chirps when it’s scared. Constantly. Like it can’t help itself.” Her voice lowered. “Some say they only come out when no one’s watching. Others say they follow the biggest creature around, hoping for scraps, usually whatever a minx might drop, which is where it got its name.”
No. Just…no.
I made a quiet, wounded sound and stooped down to roll up my pants.
As I straightened, Lexie hesitated. “But when cornered, a minxpip will bite. No matter how big the predator. Even if it’s the last thing it does.” She paused. “Even the smallest flame can set the world on fire.”
I looked at her, startled.
Lexie gave a small shrug. “Funny how something considered that puny can make someone scream.”
A muscular guy with pale blond hair rushed up to join us on Lexie’s other side, his green-eyed gaze sliding across my face.
“I’m here. I’m here,” he said.
Lexie barreled into him, giving him a big hug, followed by a kiss that went on long enough my eyebrows rose.
She pulled back in his embrace and smiled. “Took you long enough. I figured you’d either already arrived or would come later.”
“My dad wanted to bring me himself.” His gaze fell on me, and he nodded. “I’m Derren. Lexie’s other half.”
“And don’t you love to crow about it,” she said with affection.
“Damn right I do.”
We started walking.
My foot caught the hem of my pants again, and I tugged it back up with a flush of irritation.
Lexie shucked her bag off her back, stooping down to pull out a coil of twine she used to bind my clothing at my ankles and wrists.
“That’ll keep you from flapping around. You’re not the first person to show up here in borrowed clothes.
” Thankfully, her tone came out more understanding than mocking.
“Half of those who come here arrive with nothing but the tunics on their backs.”
“Thanks.”
We continued toward the castle.
“If I was you, I’d avoid Trew for a while,” she said, quickly explaining what happened to Derren, who thankfully remained stoic about it and didn’t laugh. “Our king doesn’t forget insults easily.”
“I didn’t mean to insult him,” I said. “I fell.”
“You stabbed him,” Derren pointed out. “In front of new recruits. Can’t blame him if he tries to burn you.”
Chills wracked my frame. What kind of place had I come to? The kind that murdered young women for mistakes. Who kidnapped children from their families.
“He’s marked you now as someone to watch,” Lexie said. “That’s what Derren means.”
Great. Just great. So much for avoiding detection.
As we walked, I tried to process what I’d learned. I’d crossed a wasteland to reach this place, but with the lake and the mountains encircling this enormous, lush valley, it was clear this area was different from what I’d been taught.
I’d accidentally attacked their king, not some rebel leader hiding in a cave.
Magic appeared to be…accepted. Maybe.
And I was supposed to enter some sort of trial.
“I assume recruits are trained for something more than drills,” I said carefully, watching their faces.
Lexie and Derren exchanged a frown.
“What do you mean?” Lexie asked.
“Patrols? Escorts? Surely you send people beyond the border sometimes.” I kept my tone casual, as if it didn’t matter to me one way or another.
Derren snorted. “Beyond the border? Who has time for that? With all we’re dealing with here, the king needs every one of us close.”
“That’s a rumor you shouldn’t give a bit of thought to,” Lexie said.
I released a small laugh, pretending agreement. “Of course. That’s not what I’ve heard at home, but clearly they don’t know much about this part of our kingdom.”
My new friends must not know anything about the attacks, then. The murders.
The castle entrance loomed ahead, its massive doors carved with symbols I didn’t recognize. Whatever answers I sought lay inside this place that was supposed to be a wasteland but looked more like a kingdom that rivaled my own.
As we approached the massive castle doors, I caught sight of the king again.
He stood watching me from an upper window. Even at this distance, I could feel his stare and the promise of unfinished business between us.
I’d come here to kill a murderer and avenge my sister.
Instead, I might’ve met the one man who could destroy me without lifting a blade.