Chosen : Assassin Book 1

Chosen - Chapter fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"Stop being an assassin." Cassius wrapped me in his arms.

"Oh, Cassius." I sighed. I sat in a flurry of fabric and silk on the floor near his feet. "If only things were so simple."

"It just kills me that you have to worry about something so simple as how you feel, or you're put to death. Shouldn't it be my decision anyway? As your king?"

"It's an odd situation that we Assassin's are in. We are our king's subjects, but must abide by Guild law."

I placed my head in his lap and stared at a tapestry across the room. His father sat atop a mighty white steed holding a bloody sword high in the air. His last mighty victory. Bodies strewn about as his army celebrated victory.

It was getting harder to resist him. There was no reason why we couldn't be as we were when children. Friends. Very close friends. The Guild had no laws against friendship.

"Cassius?"

He never answered me.

"Cassius?"

He remained silent.

I sat up and noticed he was slumped over. His dark hair hung in his face and a dart stuck out of his fair skin. I gasped and fell back, shocked. I scanned the room for signs of anyone there with us. Plucking the object from his flesh, I inhaled the tip deeply. It smelled foul. Placing my hand on the side of his neck, I closed my eyes and held my breath as I waited for any signs of life. A slight thrum beneath my fingers gave me slight relief.

I dragged the king out of his chair and across the room. He was much heavier than he appeared.

"Come on, Cassius. Wake up."

I grunted and groaned as I sat him up in a crevice in a corner of the room.

"Stay here till I find out what is going on." I brushed his hair out of his eyes and gently kissed his lips.

My heart sped up. I'd never been so intimate with him before. He looked peaceful almost as though he'd just fallen asleep rather than whatever happened to him. I stood and strode across the room to where we had been sitting. Sitting down, I put my hand where the dart was and looked in the direction it came from. Curtains flapped in the wind from the open window. I furrowed my brow and stood. The night was cool, and the balcony was large.

An assailant could easily have been out here. Or across the courtyard.

A flash of dark fabric in the dim candlelight across the way caught my attention. I reached under my skirt and withdrew the dagger strapped to my thigh. I didn't think there would be so many attempts on the king's life as this. Someone really wanted the man dead. I crossed to where I hid him and tugged on the tapestry above him.

"I beg your pardon, King Edmund, you must protect your son one more time," I muttered to the victorious king.

The tapestry fell on Cassius's head, concealing him even more. The main door creaked open, and I pressed my back to the stone wall. The door closed with a click and the room fell silent.

Someone hired an assassin?

I waited and watched from my position around the corner. Someone dressed in head-to-toe black came into view. I wasn't sure if it was a man or woman, not that I cared. They were a threat to my king and they need to be taken care of. Permanently. Cassius's chair faced the fireplace, turned away the new assassin. Watching with increased interest, I was surprised when the assassin pulled out a sword and rammed it through the back of the chair.

Amateur.

They flipped the chair over and yelled out in frustration. Spinning around searching the room for Cassius. They were too late though. I already crept upon them. As they turned and faced me, I had my dagger to her throat.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"The person here to kill King Cassius and now you."

"Your name," I said through clenched teeth.

"That is of no consequence once you are dead," she spat.

I reached up and ripped her cowl off. I did not recognize the blonde beauty. Her hypnotizing blue eyes were cold and calculating.

"Who are you?" I pressed the knife deeper into her soft porcelain flesh.

A small trail of blood ran down her delicate neck. She flinched but her stone face never wavered.

"I suppose I should be asking who you are, lady."

"Don't worry of such things. Shouldn't you like to have your body returned to your family? I am going to kill you."

She nodded her head and sighed heavily.

"Who sent you?"

She shook her head.

"Do you have any last words?" I asked.

"Only that I didn't get to finish my mission."

I removed the dagger from the girl's neck and rammed it into her stomach. She sank to her knees, she held onto her gut and me. Her hand turned a dark crimson where the blood spilled from the wound. Her breathing staggered and seemed pained.

"Put me out of my misery. Please."

"Tell me who hired you."

"I-I can't tell you," she stammered.

"Then I guess you're going to be suffering for about twenty more minutes."

I knelt beside her and grasped the hilt of the dagger turning it slightly. She screamed in agony as the steel ripped open whatever they pierced inside. She gurgled, blood pouring from her mouth. As the life left her body, I watched her fall over, her breathing grew shallow, and her skin became an ashen pallor.

"I'm sorry, young lady that your life had to end in such a tragic way. If you didn't attack my king, I wouldn't have had to take such drastic measures."

She sputtered and spat as she attempted to speak, more blood spilled from her mouth.

"Shhh. Don't use up the last of your energy now. Nothing can be done. I'll find out who sent you the hard way. It's a shame though; my job could have been easy."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head before closing for good. I stood and walked to a long, gold rope at the far end of the room. I tugged on it and retreated to Cassius. I tugged the tapestry off his still slumbering body and pulled his head into my lap. I brushed his air aside and kissed his forehead. He snored softly as his personal attendant and two guards entered the room.

"Madame? What happened?"

"Andrew. Good. You're here," I said. "An assassin attempted to kill the king. She shot him with a tranquilizing dart. I killed her. The body needs to be disposed of." I pointed to the dead assassin. "One of you needs to carry the king to his chambers, please."

The bigger of the two guards picked Cassius up and tossed him over his shoulder. The second wrapped the assassin in her own cloak and walked in the opposite direction. I followed Cassius.

"Will he be alright, Madame?"

"In time. I'll be staying with him. Please, don't allow anyone in his chambers." I shut the doors and proceeded to undress him. "If you were awake you would love this, Cassius."

Digging through his closets, I grabbed a sleeping shirt for myself. Quickly removing my own gowns and undergarments, I slipped on the king's sleeping shirt and climbed into bed with him. I would not be leaving his side until he woke. No matter how inappropriate it was for me to be in such close proximity to him with so little clothes, mattered not. I had to make sure he was safe.

I had to be sure he would wake up.

Perhaps I was falling for my king despite my best efforts.