Chapter One #2
“If you’ve trained with the Dark Walkers, you’re skilled enough to pull off this assassination,” she said. “Why ask me for help with the invitations? Couldn’t you have stolen or forged one on your own instead? Bribed someone?”
I had already run through every possibility in my head. Asked every question. Thought of every setback or interference.
“We did create a fabricated invitation.” I crafted my answer carefully. “But getting in isn’t the problem. It’s being allowed to stay that’s the issue.”
The Enchantress stared at me, waiting for further explanation. She wasn’t going to make this easy.
“I need magic to disguise my face,” I continued. “If I walk into the Paravellian Balls as I am, I could be recognized, which would be disastrous. I underestimated how recognizable a Kallistar would be.”
The scar-faced man flashed before my eyes. I know you.
I pushed the memory away, reaching for the money pouch secured at my hip. “I have plenty of gold coin. I’m willing to pay—whatever it may cost.”
The Enchantress frowned at my coin then set her teacup down, warning coating her voice. “Oh, I don’t deal in money, Analleia.”
Goose bumps traveled up my arms. I swallowed hard, remembering the girl who had bargained to save her sister.
Money was all I had to trade.
I had brought nothing else.
Had nothing else.
I glanced at the oddities hoarded in the cottage. “What is it you deal in?”
She crossed her arms, a curious glint lighting her expression. “First I have a few questions I would like you to answer. Why are you willing to go to such lengths to assassinate King Zaricor?”
Her question caught me off guard, and I stammered. I’d only ever voiced my plans to Desmond and Nadiyah. The one other person aware of them was the headmistress of the Dark Walkers. It felt wrong, the secrecy. The whole world should know of King Zaricor’s atrocities.
“Because he destroyed my kingdom.”
If that were only the half of it.
“I need a deeper answer than that.”
If I wanted to be honest, I would’ve told her I had no desire to kill anyone. Yes, I was an assassin, but I’d only joined the Dark Walkers to learn the necessary skills for this mission. It was the only way I could ensure King Zaricor would be punished for his heinous crimes.
“I promised my mother,” I said. “And I owe it to my sister.”
A lump rose in my throat at the mention of them. Five years and the hurt cut as deep as it had the moment I lost them.
The Enchantress shrugged, picking up her teacup again. “Fair enough, but second, what is your plan to kill the king? Is it a process? Or will you waltz through the ballroom doors and immediately strike him through the heart?”
I closed my eyes. No. That would be too merciful for him.
Anger surged within me. “The plan is to assassinate him at the finale ball. During the six balls leading up to it, I will sabotage every alliance he tries to form and destroy every pact he tries to create. When he looks me in the eyes before I kill him, I want him to know he is ruined—and I want him to know who it was that ruined him.”
“And you think you are capable of accomplishing this on your own?”
I had Desmond and Nadiyah backing me, but the plan was all my own. Every detail had been meticulously planned to perfection over the last five years. I would not fail.
“Yes,” I said.
“Hmm.” The Enchantress feigned confusion. “I seem to recall a botched assassination that occurred, oh, about six months ago?”
I stiffened, memories of that night flashing through my mind. I’d nearly cost my brother and my friend their lives. The three months of probation we’d been placed on had almost destroyed Nadiyah, and I’d questioned if the headmistress of the Dark Walkers would ever allow us into her presence again.
“There were unexpected complications that night,” I said. “Individuals present who had not been disclosed.”
“And you think there will be no unexpected complications at any of the seven Paravellian Balls?”
I clenched my jaw. “We’ve been planning this assassination for five years. What happened that night in Ravenwood will never happen again.”
I would sacrifice myself to make sure of it.
“If you won’t allow me to pay you with gold,” I said, changing the subject. “What can I pay you with?”
She ran a hand through her ebony hair. “I will make you a bargain.”
“What kind of bargain?”
“I am no worshipper of King Zaricor either.” She sighed.
“He is a vile, wicked man. If you can complete your mission, if you can kill him, that’s almost reason enough to lend you the magic, but I want something else in return.
” She paused. “Half of the bargain I will ask for now, and the other half I will come to collect later.”
My heartbeat quickened. “Come to collect what exactly?”
She shrugged. “It depends on when you accomplish the first task.”
Bargaining for something when you didn’t know what the exchange entailed was a dangerous game. It could be a trick. It was idiocy to agree—but I was desperate. Beyond desperate.
“What is the first task?” I asked.
“There is a man in the court of Paravellia by the name of Richard Athello. He wears a ring on his right hand, a gold band with vines and leaves encompassing an opal stone. I want you to remove it from his finger and bring it to me.”
My eyes narrowed. She was an enchantress. Why not steal the ring herself? The task seemed easy. Almost too easy. But I wasn’t in a position to be asking questions.
“Done.”
“But,” she continued, “should you fail to deliver on your end of the bargain—you will come work for me as payment.”
I stared at her. “As what, a housemaid?”
“You’re a Dark Walker. Your skills would be wasted on cleaning.”
A chill swept through the room, my jaw tightening. “You want me to kill for you?”
“I want you to do whatever I ask you to.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Only if you don’t fulfill your end of the bargain. Follow through and you won’t have to worry about it.”
The request didn’t surprise me. Dark Walkers were highly sought after by those who wanted something done quickly and discreetly.
But I had joined them to learn their skills, not to kill. I’d had nowhere else to go, and we’d been accepted into the tower. I couldn’t agree to work for her, to kill for her, if that was what she was implying, but nor could I execute our plan without the aid of her enchantment.
Working for her would be collateral if I didn’t fulfill my end of the bargain—and I planned to. I would do everything to make sure of it.
I swallowed. “Done.”
She closed her eyes in concentration, then the air fizzled around me and popped, sparks exploding around us as magic sealed the deal between us.
“Good, very well. Now to change that face.”
The Enchantress rose and rummaged in the cupboards below the hutch, coming back with a clear bottle.
Sunlight streaming through the window touched its contents, making it sparkle like glitter.
The Enchantress’s lips moved, but no sound came from them.
She uncorked the bottle and poured a small mound of the magical substance into her palm.
She turned to me—and blew it directly in my face.
I gasped, inhaling the powder in one deep breath.
It stung like icicles when it touched my skin yet burned like fire.
My vision clouded, the world growing hazy before clearing again.
I picked up a small looking glass on the side table and peered into it.
Disappointment splintered through me when my own face peered back. Unchanged.
“The magic only works on people, not objects,” the Enchantress said. “I would avoid mirrors, polished silver, or large collections of water when you’re at the Paravellian Balls. Only those who you wish to and who know your true self can see it. The magic masks your name as well.”
I frowned. “My name?”
“You may introduce yourself at the Paravellian Balls as Analleia Kallistar.” She smiled. “It is far too pretty of a name not to use. As long as you fulfill your end of the bargain, the spell will keep anyone from associating the name Kallistar with your destroyed kingdom.”
Convenient, but strange.
Dark circles formed below the Enchantress’s eyes and she ushered me out the door.
That was it?
I grabbed the door frame to prevent her from pushing me outside.
“What about the invitations to the Paravellian Balls?” I asked.
“You will find them on your dressing table when you return to the tower of the Dark Walkers. I must rest now.”
“But—”
The door slammed shut behind me, the bright cottage and garden seeming to dim.
I looked down at my hands, expecting them to be different, but the pale skin belonged to me.
One ring.
One ring in exchange for disguise.
And a successful assassination.
I looked out at the dark wood, all the puzzle pieces falling into place.
But one misstep could destroy everything.