This is just, Emma thought as she scaled the walls of the castle. My mother is dead because of these people, this is justice.
She was perfectly used to murder, she was the Alpha after all, but this was a risky mission.
In the other three capitals, she knew the other assailants were preparing their own missions.
She hopped in through the window, silent as a cat on her soft leather boots. Carefully, she crouched on the ground and pulled the grappling hook and rope back to her. She attached it to her belt and slipped a thin device out of her pocket.
"Come on," she hissed, smacking the sides, trying to get it on. The screen flickered to life. She unlocked it and put in the passcode. As the Alpha, she got her own special code. This device was her own.
The message board was almost blank except for a message from Addy.
Guard by the rose gardens, delayed.
Emma cursed mentally. Clubs was essential to the plan. The Princess of Clubs was only fifteen, meaning she'd be easy to take out after her parents were out of the picture.
I'm in. Will be offline until off grounds. Good luck.
She slipped the device back into her pocket. She zipped the pocket closed and started off towards the bed chambers.
The castle was quiet, and Emma was amazed at the sheer stupidity of not having guards outside of the bed chambers. She assumed they were doing rounds, but nonetheless, she'd be more cautious.
And she was more cautious. With an empire of criminals under her control, she always had a guard outside her tent, as well as several pacing the grounds.
She opened one of the doors carefully, sure not to let it squeak. The faint starlight from outside shone across the faces of the Prince of Spades and his fiancée, illuminating their content faces.
What a perfect opportunity, Emma thought. I could kill them all, and then Spades would be launched into turmoil. A slow grin crossed her face.
Emma closed the door and walked farther down the hallway, turning the corner to find a gilded door. Ever so slowly she turned the handle, sliding open the door. She found the King and Queen, wrapped in the blankets and hugging their pillows.
Emma slipped the silver dagger out of its sheath, turning it slowly in her hands. She took a deep breath and stepped over to the bed.
And with a few simple swipes, her work was done, but the Queen had screamed, and she could hear feet thundering down the hall.
The door was kicked open while she was balanced on the windowsill, preparing to jump. In the light from the hall stood the silhouettes of guards aiming pistols right at her chest.
A shot went off and Emma dropped from the window, narrowly escaping death by bullet. She ran across the grounds, throwing her grappling hook high up onto the wall.
Terrified yelling was still echoing through the castle. "What if there are more?!" A female voice yelled.
"Search the grounds!" A male voice yelled. "Leave no stone unturned, no corner ignored!"
Emma stood on the wall and jumped down to the soft grass below, running off into the trees before she could be found. She scaled a tree and sat atop the highest branch. Her heart was still pumping from the exhilaration, and she could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins.
She slipped the thin device from her pocket again and turned it on.
Mission accomplished.
