Known to be the most feared assassin to ever live, Void Icefall is a living weapon. Trained since she was a child in the King's palace, Void gets rid of anybody the King wants dead. Wanting freedom that could come at the cost of her parents' lives...
*The rest of the book will be 7 years later from the day both Void and Leo got condemned by the King. (They already know each other's real names by now.)
"You're assassinating the King and Prince of the Vexes," The King tells me casually. Like nobody's life hangs in the balance.
"Fine, I'll get the Hushes notified," I growl through my teeth, hating the power he has over me. My assassin friends will not be happy to hear that we have another mission so soon.
I turn on my heel to walk out of the Throne Room, but the King says something that stops me in my tracks.
"No need for the Hushes." The King purrs. "This mission is just for you and Leo. My two favorite assassins."
I scoff. More like your two favorite pets. If I had the choice, I would never step into this castle again.
I turn around, just so that I can glare at him, and the King smirks right back at me. I swear I'm the only one that can get away with glaring at, silently threatening, and cleverly insulting the King. I think he likes how feisty I am.
I hate him.
I walk, or more like storm, out of the Throne Room, heading to the castle gates. As I slink into town and away from the castle, I decide to go to the town pub. Hopefully, I can pick a good fight over there.
My hands are aching to punch someone, anyone.
Luckily, I find many men willing to fight me after 'accidentally' spilling a man's mead all over him. Whoops.
But that was days ago.
Now I'm sitting on the railing of my balcony, still watching as the sunset's beautiful colors seep away. The stars beginning to shine brightly as the sky is overtaken by night, the moon takes the sun's place in the star-filled night sky.
With a sigh, I turn my attention to down below, where the grass is ridiculously green and flowers of every kind and color cover the terrain. This is because of the Surfacers, the Earth's utilizes. Enslaved by the King to keep his land beautiful.
All because they are Outlanders. Like me.
I close my eyes as the bitterly cold wind sweeps over my face and skin, reminding me that it's still wintertime, despite how green and alive the terrain down below is.
Sighing, my mind starts to run through what I will be doing a few hours from now. Being an assassin isn't easy.
But this is my life, even if it's not one I would've chosen for myself.
The cold wind whistles and I swear I can almost hear it whisper, "Don't mess up. Don't mess up. Don't mess up. If you do, your family will die. It will be your fault. Your fault. Your fault..."
"I know," I whisper back. "I know..."
Suddenly, I hear the balcony doors behind me creak open.
Opening my eyes, I shift from my sitting position and slowly laying down across the railing, careful to keep my balance. Grabbing a dagger from my belt, I casually play with the small but dangerous weapon, spinning it around my fingers. It takes a flick of the wrist and this dagger will fly into the heart of whatever danger that dares mess with me.
Casually, I glance at who opened the doors, and as soon as I see who did, I laugh and immediately relax.
It's Leo. My best friend. With his fire-red hair and diamond blue eyes, I recognize him right away. The moonlight makes his eyes look crystal-like.
"Did I scare you?" He teases me.
"Nope. Nice try, though." I chirp.
He laughs, and the sound echoes into the night.
"So...what are you doing here?" I ask him, still laying across the balcony railing.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Death Wish." He replies.
I smile at the nickname he calls me by, one of the many. But it's also a reminder of how I got that nickname. For being a ruthless assassin of the King. My smile falters a bit at the thought.
"Just...thinking I guess." I murmur back, my smile turning into a full-on frown.
"I thought so. Can I...think with you?" He asks.
"If you can balance yourself well enough, sure," I reply with a small smile.
He takes his place next to me, my head lying on the railing. I stop fiddling with the dagger and glance at him. Facing the twinkling stars, he sways his legs up and down like a little kid.
I laugh at the scene, and he playfully tries to glare at me but ends up laughing as well.
And then his face is suddenly hovering over mine, those beautiful diamond blue eyes looking into my ice-blue eyes intently.
I love teasing him, so I bring my hands around his face and pull him closer until our noses are touching. An emotion I can't decipher flickers across his face, and suddenly the air feels tense around us.
So, I flick his nose and he pulls away from me, his face scrunching up in annoyance.
I laugh, and he glares at me.
He shakes his head and directs his attention back to the night sky.
I close my eyes, laying my dagger on top of my chest. I fold my hands over the dagger and sigh. It's quiet for a few minutes, but then Leo's voice breaks the silence.
"I know you're worried about the mission. You don't have to worry though. We'll get it over with and forget about it."
He knows more than anybody how impossible it is to forget. How the people we've killed haunt us in our dreams. But I pretend to believe him, pretend that everything will be okay.
I open my eyes and glance at him, watching him hesitate for a second before he continues in a whisper. "I'm here for you."
I hum in response, thinking about what he said.
I thought that was it, but he slowly continues. "And it's more than that. Is it crazy to say that I'm in love with you? That I have been since we met seven years ago?"
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