Chapter 5
The pounding at my door startles me awake, forcing me to jolt upright. My heart thrums wildly in my chest, adrenaline pumping as I calm my breathing.
“Isa Valedara!”
The incessant banging pulls me to the door in utter confusion, hair a mess and strung in all directions. Opening it in nothing but a sheer slip, I find Theron standing on the other side and appearing annoyed. Like I just spit in his breakfast.
Like always.
Out of all the personal guards he has, I particularly hate that one. Pompous and cruel, but the king seems to like him for some reason. I’ve had my fair share of Theron’s wrath a few times due to my mouth, but I know better than to open it now.
“Yes?” I attempt to hide the sneer creeping up my face, but I’m not convinced it’s working.
“You’re needed at a briefing with the king.”
“I’ll be right out.” The door slams in his face.
It’s a little after sunrise, casting the open land in a soft orange glow. Perhaps King Elion wants an update on the mission from last night.
I quickly dress, securing my weapons at my thighs and ribs, hair woven into two braids going down the sides of my head. Then I throw on my hooded cloak.
In the span of a couple of minutes, I’m out the door, shuffling down the stairs only to find Ezra waiting for me again. He must have already been awake, but I frown at the sight of him.
When the king calls for a briefing or a summons, it’s usually only one of us. Most of the time, it’s an update on our most recent mission, but Ezra’s here.
“What’s going on?” I clasp the top of my cloak as we begin our walk to the throne room.
He’s dressed in black, hair catching in the morning light, giving it a warm tone. He’s cut short on the sides again and claims that he doesn’t like it when it’s in his face, but I always try to convince him to grow it out.
He’s armed in a black leather harness, his silver sword secured on his back. Then his eyes graze mine, and he gives me a small smile.
“Something important, I guess. He’s called for both of us. Do you know what it’s about?” he asks.
“I’m assuming he wants an update about how my mission went last night,” I say, throwing him a sideways glance.
“That would be important. How did it go?”
“As good as killing anyone goes. Do you want filthy details or a summary?” I exhale with a smirk, knowing damn well that I don’t want to repeat last night’s events if I can help it.
“I think I can fill in my own details, thanks.” He glares but it’s lighthearted, and I’m thankful he doesn’t force me to relive it.
Striding down the front of the castle, shaded by the floor above, we walk in silence the rest of the way.
We enter the grand hallway that leads to the throne room when two of the king’s personal guards immediately open the doors for us.
We stroll through, meeting the king, who’s already sitting on his throne looking utterly pissed. This can’t be good.
I refrain from glancing at Ezra as we finally come to a stop at the base of his obnoxious chair—throne. It’s tall and made of a dark steel. He claims that it’s the rarest steel in Elderheim, so rare he’s required to sit on it.
Theron stands behind his right shoulder when King Elion’s stare blazes into me, his jaw set with anger. Fury pours out of him in waves of power, something I’ve only seen him use one other time.
It shocked me even then, seeing whips of golden white light lash out like extra hands, pouring out of him like fog. And as bright as the sun. Stunning yet terrifying.
“Your Majesty,” we say in unison, bowing at the waist.
His deep voice echoes through the chamber. “I called a briefing for both of you this morning. Do you know why? No? Good, I’ll tell you,” he growls, not waiting for either of us to answer.
King Elion is a large, angry, stern male, fit to be a king with his emerald-golden crown resting on his head.
With silver hair and a long, full beard, he looks to be in his fifties, although I know he’s much older than that, around 375.
Aging begins to slow when Fae, Aetheri, or Shadovar reach maturity around the age of twenty-eight.
We call it the Stilling, and though Halflings age slowly, our lifespan is about half of theirs.
King Elion glares at me with his deep amber-colored eyes, like mine but darker. And angrier.
“At first, I wanted an update on Isa’s mission last night.
Then I received an update from Helga first thing this morning.
” He pauses long enough to hold up a leaf as proof, showing us the message.
“About how her son was killed and was left in one of the back rooms. Luckily for you, she thinks it was the Fae male she gave us information on. Isa’s mission. ”
The blood drains from my face as my heart skips.
The son? He was a guard. I was certain of it.
The room suddenly feels too small as I remain frozen by his words.
Air escapes me as the weight of them settles in my chest, and a chill snakes down my spine.
I didn’t just kill an aggressive male who got too handsy with me.
I killed Helga’s son.
King Elion continues. “He relieved the guard at the door so he could take a quick break on duty. The original guard found him after a few hours. Do you care to explain what happened last night, Isa?” He strokes his long white beard, piercing me with his steely gaze.
Well, that answers my question.
My posture remains taut as I hold his stare, trying not to visibly tremble at the news. “It was a mistake, Your Majesty. He was a casualty. I had no knowledge of who he was. He was guarding the door, and I needed to gain entrance—”
He calmly points a finger at me. “Not only that… The target you were originally there for was not taken care of and his room was empty. Not a single drop of blood in the room as I requested,” he says with a calmness that has my entire being screaming to make a run for it.
Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run.
My stomach coils at the thought. It’s not possible—Fae can’t return after dying, and now King Elion thinks I didn’t complete my mission.
This is bad. My head spins for an excuse—anything to explain what happened—only to come up blank. Perhaps I didn’t check his pulse long enough, but I know I did. Alec had no pulse. I’m sure of it.
My head shakes. “I completed my—”
“Apparently not when he’s missing!” he bellows, furiously looking away.
His oily hair falls to his brow in his fit of rage.
“This just tells me that you tracked the wrong male. You failed. And now the crown pays the price. The Silver Lily is an important part of how we receive information. I wanted to use his death as a message, but Helga told me he was nowhere to be found when she inspected his room this morning,” he states calmly, looking out the windows.
“You have become quite comfortable here, have you not?”
I nod, chin high, while my panic climbs up my spine as I recall every detail from last night—anything to determine where the mistake was. I’m suddenly fighting the urge to reach for my wrist out of habit. This target was incredibly important and I failed. I fucking failed?
“I asked you a question, Isa.” He leans forward, stroking his beard. “You have become quite comfortable… have you not? Living in your chambers, eating fine food, coming and going whenever you please.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” My hands clasp behind my back with nothing left to do but agree.
King Elion can be incredibly frightening when he becomes calm. I can take his wrath. It’s when he’s quiet that I worry, wondering what my punishment is going to be. Ezra stands beside me and attempts to step forward when the king lifts his hand in warning.
Theron steps into view and grins.
Ezra doesn’t typically step in, but he stops when the king glares at him, forcing him to hold his position.
He hasn’t so much as breathed a word and would never dare interrupt the king at anyone’s expense.
But I can see that he’s nervous with the way he’s started to shift on his feet, clearly wanting to do something for me.
We were trained not to make mistakes, and I’ve apparently made a huge one.
Elion slides his eyes back to me with a calmness. “That ends now. You are to complete this mission and find your target, is that understood?”
“Yes.” I exhale, relieved and hoping I’m not sent to Theron after this conversation. I glance up to find him smiling down his nose at me, and I inwardly shudder.
“Good. Ezra is to accompany you since you can’t seem to complete a mission by yourself without failing. He’s an excellent tracker. You’ll find your target and finish it quickly with him by your side under his command.”
My eyes snap up in confusion. Ezra’s command? I’ve trained my whole life for this, and he’s having someone watch me like a child. There’s a reason I get the high priority targets, and because of one mistake, he’s having someone accompany me? Why go to Theron when this is clearly my punishment?
My teeth grind, my calm composure suddenly slipping. “Your Majesty, I don’t need Ezra to complete this mission—”
“This is not up for discussion! Get the job done and do it quickly. We cannot afford to have this target out in the open for much longer. It was why I needed it taken care of last night, which you failed to do. You have three days, and that’s all you will receive.
” He dismisses us with a wave of his hand. “Find him and get out of my sight.”
I nod and we bow, quickly making our exit. Leaving the castle grounds, we look at each other, sharing the same exact expression and at a complete loss for words. I’m embarrassed… and then I’m fuming. I storm off into the direction of my chambers.
“Where are you going?” Ezra asks, hurrying to follow me across the front of the castle and down the gravel path.
“As much as I love having you around, Ezra, I don’t need you to accompany me. Just stay behind and let me do this alone. I can track him myself,” I get out, refusing to have someone watch me.
“Absolutely not,” he says, catching up. “You heard the king—he’ll have my head if I don’t go. If we both track him, we can find him faster. You will need me there. Who else would keep you company?”
I suddenly stop and spin around, almost having him run into me, my hair barely missing his chest.
This is not the first time we’ve had an argument where I storm off in a fit of rage while he tries to calm me down. I admire his ability to maintain his composure, but I hate feeling as if I can’t complete a mission by myself.
I gaze up to look at him, but he grips my shoulders with a small smile. He softens a little, palming my cheek.
“It’s not your fault. It could’ve happened to anyone.” He glances at my hair and thumbs the braid with my birthmark, and I frown, my eyes darting away.
“But it didn’t. This is our job, and I failed my mission. I don’t fail, Ezra, and now he’s having you watch me like I’m a child. I’m no better than the newly trained orphans at this point!”
“We’ll find the target, but it’ll be faster if we both go. Plus, I miss working with you. You know we haven’t had a mission together since we were fifteen. It’ll be fun.” He smirks and softly tugs my braid as he studies me, patiently waiting for an answer. Rolling my eyes, I look at him and grin.
“It’s been that long?” I ask and he nods, hope gleaming in his eyes that maybe I’ll allow him to join me without a fight. “Fine. Maybe it’ll be fun.”
We quickly decide to meet at the stables after grabbing a few extra clothes before heading to Alvonia with the horses to scout the inn. I enter my chambers, shutting the door on a click, and bang my head against it with a defeated sigh.
I swallow the panic that threatens to rise at the thought of my failure. Yet there’s one question that sears my mind: what just happened?
Alec Thorne died by my hands. I know this because I watched him bleed out as he took his last breath, even checking his pulse. It doesn’t make sense. Biting my lip, I replay every detail down to the scent only to come to the terms that maybe Helga is wrong.
Now the only thing we can do is investigate the Silver Lily and find out where this Alec disappeared to.