Bloodbound [Werewolf]

Chapter Twenty

It did not take long before it was time to put the plan into action. Each of us had been assigned different tasks that night. As planned, Christina would be up in the rafters; we all decided she had the best aim out of us all when we tried practising two days ago. I'd felt bad that she had to carry out the hardest part of the plan, but she'd only smirked and said that it would be quite the irony to aim for Cienna's distant heart — surely, her relationship with my sister never failed to pique my interest in spite of it being left open for interpretation.

"When I get the opening, I will fire the bolt towards Cienna's heart during the final dance," she said, hiding the bolt and the crossbow under the multitude of underskirts she wore. It was unbelievable and quite peculiar to know how well she could hide a weapon under her skirt and still walk just fine. Then again, she is part of the Court of Shadows for a reason. Dahlia and Brye would act as the eyes and ears, checking if the plan was sensed by any of Cienna's loyal dogs while the event proceeded.

I would obviously be the distraction. I would need to rile up my sister to make her lose her footing and lower her guard so that she would not notice the bolt directed towards her. It was my mission to ensure that Christina had a clean shot on her at the final dance whilst Conan of course would be arriving with her. Though during the ball, he would have to find an excuse to leave her side and change his mask and attire — a new persona that Cienna or the others would fail to recognize.

Our parting earlier was bittersweet. I almost didn't want to go through with the plan, if only because it meant leaving him alone with Cienna — again. But he did promise to return — like always — and in his words, I will lay my trust. On the other hand, Brye proved that his charms worked at times; amusingly garnering enough clothing for us to wear from the local tailor shop despite not taking many gold coins with him, whilst Dahlia remarkably found a way to hide our scents using a special concoction she brewed. Really, I was beginning to see just what my father saw in them for him to make the Court of Shadows a reality.

And while my resolves were clear, I was inwardly apprehensive. What if Cienna saw right through me? She'd always been a step ahead, but the woman wasn't a know-it-all. No, there was no way she would see this coming. Not this one. I tried to hide my troubled thoughts, pushing them down and burying them in the deepest parts of my brain as we walked into the arduous ball.

The definite tension immediately greeted us with a strong whiff from the air. As much as we were expecting my sister to have additional guards, we never really considered her basically filling every corner with soldiers. Gammas. She really wanted this event to happen at any cost. Everyone was silent, fixated on their own objectives as we walked further into the room. However, I could not help but notice the way Dahlia trembled ever-so-slightly, undoubtedly terrified and nervous as she kept on twiddling with her fingers. Instinctively, I grabbed her hand, smiling softly at her when she looked at me with wide doe-like eyes.

"Don't worry. As long as I am here, I will make sure everyone will be safe. You have my word," I whispered, giving her hand a firm yet compassionate squeeze as she visibly relaxed. There was a sense of sisterhood between us now, similar to how I felt with Christina — dare I say even with Brye, who I'd grown to view as the brother I never had. It would have been a weakness for the past Evelyn to acquaint herself with these people, a nuisance; an extra valise to carry on top of her responsibility towards the people of Aigaryn. But the Evelyn that I am now sees them as a source of comfort; anchors, friends.

Albeit, I could not quite say the same for Conan as I had yet to define what we have, nor did I know where Conan fell into in my life. What I did know was that he was important; a person I deeply cared for — whether or not as a friend or more, perhaps even somewhere beyond that.

Once I figured that Dahlia was feeling better, we started dispersing throughout the entire decorated room, silently moving to our assigned posts as quietly as possible. At first, I was just supposed to observe; to wait in a corner until the time was right that I could proceed to my main task, but felt a sudden urge to go and rip Cienna's arm that was snaked around Conan's biceps as soon as they entered the scene. They were welcomed with royal trumpets and cheers as my sister repulsively smiled at the crowd with a wave while Conan remained impassive beside her. I rapidly averted my gaze, feeling a disgruntled growl rumbling in my throat. Even though I knew it was a farce, I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy seeing him stand beside my wicked sister. I drowned out the envy with a glass of wine — then two — before moving to seat near a window to entertain myself for a while with the help of the grass blades that were swaying elegantly below; every now and then checking each of the other three's places.