We marched through the golden halls again, passing the large windows and down the staircase, back towards the throne room, hooded Oswald in stow. He had woken up in the pod on the way back to Cressida and struggled, shouting curses, but to no avail. Now, he walked like a limp rag, shoulders hunched and head hung in silence, as he accepted his fate.
Arielle and Xavier led the group, their capes swirling around their feet. We had changed back into our uniforms on the way back. Knox and I stood on either side of Oswald, guiding him through the halls and down the stairs while making sure he didn't get any stupid ideas. Nydia and Damien took up the rear.
I glanced outside one of the windows, watching the sun set over the city in the distance. The water reflected the shades of blue and orange, looking even prettier than before. My heart ached. Why did a place so beautiful have to belong to people so treacherous?
We turned a corner, leading away from the hallway we had first taken to exist the throne room and walked out another exit, back into the main foyer where the Blood Laws hung high on the wall. I figured they wanted us to enter through the main throne room entrance for formality.
Once again, we pushed through the large golden doors and into the throne room. The main Court of Assassins were present, lining the sides of throne room of their respective Crown Assassins, wearing their uniforms. These were the highest members of the Court of Assassins, gaining their positions by working their way into the Crown's favor or being a direct descendant of the original Court members.
The hushed conversations among the Court members fizzled to a stop as we entered the throne room, pushing Oswald with us. Once again, the Royals kneeled once before the Crowns before standing upright and joining us as we dropped Oswald directly in the middle, fanning out behind him. Nydia yanked the black hood off his head and Oswald looked around, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.
The Crown Kingston spoke, "It is my understanding that you have confessed to stealing from a Court Assassin to fund your drug operation."
Oswald looked up, head held high. "Yes."
The Crown Fortier snorted. "That must be the easiest confession I have ever heard."
The Crown Kingston stared Oswald down, taking his partner's words into consideration, before continuing, "However, we have also heard that when questioned on where your money earned is going, you refused to answer and attempted to kill the Crown and Royal Heirs. Is that true?"
Oswald remained silent.
The Crown Kingston leaned forward and repeated his words with an icy bite that reminded me of his eldest son. "Is that true?"
Arielle gave him a sharp kick when he still didn't answer. Finally, he blurted out a, "Yes."
"You are already in our hands and face a death sentence," the Crown Kingston proclaimed. "However, if you were to reveal information on your money flow, we could barter for your-"
"No!" the Crown Fortier interrupted. The Court bristled. I blinked. The Crown Kingston looked him over with a cool expression, though I wasn't quite sure how much of his unbothered countenance was real.
"He has stolen from an Unassailable," the Crown Fortier explained. "He committed one of the highest crimes of this nation and you want us to let him go?"
"He was ready to risk committing an even higher crime to hide this information. We should learn exactly what it is."
"He had offended an Unassailable and it is my job to make sure a member of my Court is properly represented and avenged. To hell with the information! I will stand to do my job."
Xavier stepped forward, ready to defend his father's case at a moment's notice. All eyes set on the Crown Kingston while he stared at the Fortier, eyes steady as he studied the situation, no doubt calculating the moves and outcomes of the situation. Finally, he turned his attention back to Xavier and gave a slight shake of his head, the message clear: let it go.
"Very well then," the Crown Kingston told Fortier. "Administer the death sentence."
"Normally, I would call upon the offended Court member to do as he or she pleases, however, due to an emergency, Balker was not able to make it."
A ripple of unease spread amongst the Court and I wondered what happened to the missing Court Assassin.
"I wouldn't mind delivering your punishment," the Crown continued, "but I hardly think that's fair. Perhaps I should let those you nearly killed the honor of doing the same."
He motioned towards us and Arielle stepped forward, golden blades sliding into her hands. She raised her hand, ready to throw the blade straight through his skull, but her father raised a hand, making her pause. He then pointed a finger straight at me.
"I want the killing blow to be delivered by Indigo Fluor."
Confusion riddled the other's faces as they looked between us. Arielle hesitated and then dropped her arm. I had expected her to send me some sort of poisonous look, but she kept her eyes locked on her father as she stepped back into her former position.
I forced myself to step forward and unsheathe a dagger. Time slowed. I stepped in front of Oswald, granting him the honor of seeing his death as it comes, although it would look like a malicious act from the Assassin's point of view. Oswald looked up at me.
I met his eyes and doubts clouded my mind. They said he was a traitor for stealing from an assassin, but he was only trying to survive. What else was he supposed to do in the environment the Assassins left the Streeters in? A life where they had to fight to just survive? What had he truly done wrong? Hurt an assassin's ego? And if I kill him, what does that make me? But if I wanted to keep up my ruse and blend in with the Alphas, I would need to complete the job. One question rang in my ears.
Would you go that far for Echo?
Yes.
The answer came so quickly, I couldn't help but feel ashamed. Still, I completed the task. My dagger slit his throat. The body fell forward and I stepped back to avoid getting blood on my uniform shoes.
I turned and faced the Crown Fortier. He was looking at me with a strange expression, the same look he had worn during our encounter that morning, but there was something else lining his eyes. Something I didn't expect to be directed at me and certainly not from a Crown.
Pride.
"You will make a fine assassin, Indigo Fluor," he had said. I only managed a quick bow as I stepped back in place, unease creeping up my throat.
♕ ♕ ♕
We climbed out of the black limo and stepped down onto the cement, our official uniforms in our hands. I looked back up Evandor Prep's looming main building which blocked the silver moonlight. We trudged up the main path and through the gates, passing the guards. I vaguely noticed how they were more jumpy than normal.
The large structure of the Intellect's hexagonal pattern inside the twisted metal triangle of the Unassailables stood tall in the middle of the main courtyard. Water flowed from the top and slipped down the slick metal sides of the Crown's symbols before dropping into a large pool. We skirted around the fountain, and walked across the stone ground which had the Blood Laws inscribed into it. We pushed through the front doors of the main building and were met with total chaos.
Students ran back and forth, whispering and shouting, laughing and crying. We shared a look, all of us expressing the same sense of confusion besides Xavier. He was inspecting the scene around him and I suspected he had an idea of what had happened. We continued walking through the chaos, the crowds of students thickening as we neared the heart of the first floor. They seemed to be looking at something of mass interest in the center foyer. We pushed through the other kids to the opening where teachers seemed to be trying to hold them back. They were about to push us back too, but recognized us as the Alphas and let us through.
We moved past the rest of the students and into the clearing. We were standing in front of another structure which stood in the center of the first floor and worked as another show of power for the Crowns. But what concerned me was the blood dripping down the metal and pooling in a red mess on the marble floor.
A boy's body lay on the very top of the structure, the tip of the piercing his back as he hung limp and dead. High on the wall behind him, a message was written in blood that must've been his. A chill rolled down my spine as I read the dripping red words.
"The hierarchy will fall."