Chosen : Assassin Book 1

Chosen- chapter forty-two

Chapter Forty-two

I nearly fell out of the chair as the ship lurched forward. Charles sat with his hands folded in front of his face. His brows furrowed, and he appeared to be lost in thought. Angeline looked as though she were fighting the urge to vomit. Cassius leaned back in his chair occasionally taking a swig of ale. Robert dozed off.

"Let me get this straight. Lady Joselyn is a trained assassin. Angeline, who is not a lady, is something called a watcher? Your majesty, you are the one who uses the services of Lady Joselyn? But you two are in love which is against the rules. Sir Hode, how do you factor in all of this?"

"I love the lady we're going to rescue," he replied never opening his eyes.

"Okay. This is a very fascinating tale. Is any of it true?"

"It's all very true, Charles," Cassius said, holding the stein to his lips. "She's lethal."

"Lady Joselyn, you do not seem any more dangerous than a newborn kitten."

"That's the point of having a lady trained, captain," Angeline informed him. "They appear delicate and mild-tempered, but in actuality, they are vicious killers."

"I wouldn't say I'm vicious."

"You're a vicious killer, Joselyn," Cassius agreed.

"How did you end up as an assassin?" he asked.

"Should we be discussing this with him?" I asked.

Robert shrugged his shoulders, Angeline pursed her lips, and Cassius watched the man's face.

"It's too late not to. He's going to have to swear an oath to never speak of this to anyone. Ever on pain of death."

"I could die?" he asked, staring at Angeline in horror.

She simply nodded her head. The pain on her face rang loud and clear. She didn't want to threaten him or for him to know what was going on. "I'm sorry, Charles."

He held a hand up to silence her. "I wish you all would have told me the circumstances of your trip prior to boarding."

I chewed my bottom lip and wrung my hands together. This is why I hate ships!

"We needed passage. I should have informed you it was more than a pleasure visit; however, nobody is to know the true identity of Lady Joselyn. Not only will her life be at risk, but mine will also be as well."

"I would have given you passage, but I would have also been able to take better precautions and a faster route."

We stared slack-jawed at the man.

"I don't understand," Angeline said.

"If Lady Joselyn is keeping the king alive, I cannot have ill will towards her for being an assassin. I understand secrecy. There are times when we captains must do things a little less, Uhm, conventional. As long as the king is safe that is what matters. Plus, you were quite beautiful as you slew those men."

Angeline gasped. I didn't think she'd ever been complimented in such a way.

"I never thought of my movements as beautiful."

"It appeared as though you were dancing."

"I suppose a bit of my classical dancing comes out at times. I forget about everything around me and focus. Plus, I like to twirl and spin."

This side of Angeline surprised me. She seemed to be a normal girl who had a penchant for killing people. Her cheeks flushed crimson red as Charles smiled at her.