Ch. 28: Friendship in Ruins

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Altaïr smirked with triumph as Abel looked over his injured and bleeding shoulder, spotting the Assassin first before shock filled his pain-stricken features. Guards began to swarm the scene – the same guards hired for the previous wedding. Some of them stood near me in order to protect me, yet I did nothing as a response. Instead, I chose to stand there, while others surrounded the injured man that was my husband. Although I tried to hold them back, only a single tear rolled down my cheek as I watched Altaïr slowly begin approaching the altar, a feeling of relief and happiness overwhelming me. The people that remained at their seats began to speak to one another, wondering what was going on. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see both Robert de Sable and Maria Thorpe on their feet, hands placed against the hilts of their blades as they cautiously watched the Assassin approach the altar, approaching the bride and groom. Said Assassin simply ignored their hardened gazes as he stopped several feet away from Abel and I. His gaze locked onto me for a moment, sending me a reassuring look, before moving to the injured man that was my husband.

“How…how did you get here?” Abel asked him through gritted teeth, pain lacing his voice. “I thought...I thought the guards had locked you and the others away days ago!”

“A good friend of mine was able to help me escape,” Altaïr spoke. “It would seem your guards were powerless to stop us from making it here.”

I smiled lightly, knowing that it was Malik who saved him and the others just in time and brought them here. Silently outraged, Abel simply growled in response as Altaïr returned his gaze to me once again. A small, barely noticeable smile graced his lips. My heart felt as if it had skipped a beat as he stared at me with those mesmerizing dark eyes of his. I had missed looking into them after what seemed like years.

“You dare crash this wedding, Assassin,” Diana spoke up as if she, too, was outraged, but it did not sound as if she was very confident in her words. “You realize that you could be killed for doing something like this?”

“If that is the case,” he spoke up, not looking at Diana for even a second, “then you should know,” He pointed up toward the building as he went on, “that I did not come here alone.”

In an instant, my gaze as well as the gazes of the civilians and guards shot up toward the rooftop that Altaïr once occupied. Green eyes widened with surprise just as gasps arose from the crowd. I immediately spotted the familiar figures of Ada Haksson, Alexandra Benedek, and Malik standing atop the building, standing tall like leaders prepared for war. However, like Altaïr, they too were not the only ones who loomed over us. Surrounding the location and looking over each one of us were at least three dozen Assassins standing tall and with pride. The winds brushed against their robes, and they held their blades tightly in hand. My jaw dropped at the sight before me, utterly surprised and shocked that Altaïr was able to bring this many Assassins along with him. Each and every one of them, with the exception being Ada, Alexandra, and Malik; appeared to look like a group of eagles watching over their prey, waiting patiently before swooping in for the kill.

“That...that is...impossible…” I heard Diana mutter, shocked by the suddenness of their arrival. Abel was speechless, unsure as to what to say on the matter.

“I do apologize, Abel,” Alexandra called out as she, Ada, and Malik leapt off the building, “but Ada and I came here to rescue our friend from careless men like yourself.”

His eyes narrowed.

“You bastards just don’t get it, do you?” He hissed, getting to his feet. “You were all supposed to wait in your cells until I killed you all off! That way no one can stand in the way of my glory!”

The crowd gasped at his words, shocked that the person they looked up to, they praised, would say such a thing to his own “comrades.” I smirked, knowing that this was my chance to prove that Abel was not the man they had desired for so long. Taking matters into my own hands before it was too late, I quickly removed the veil that sat atop my head, throwing it to the ground carelessly, before taking a few steps forward.

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