The sheer shock of feeling the cold blade dig into my skin is enough to make me gasp, but it’s nothing compared to the pain that attacks my senses the moment it sinks into my arm.
As rough as I can, I push away Jossie, who stumbles back and watches me with a slight smile on her lips. I want nothing more than to kick her teeth in, but I have immediate problems. My brain is panicking. I clutch my bleeding arm, watching my thick, crimson blood seep through my fingers.
Oh, I’m going to pass out. I don’t want to look at my own blood but I can’t avert my gaze out of horror.
Why the hell is no one bothered that some crazy bitch stabbed me?
I turn to Alistair to yell at him, but he’s already pushing past Jossie to get to me. I thought he’ll just sweet-talk me into believing that all of this is normal, but to my surprise, he snatches the knife from her.
Then he runs the blade on his arm, the same exact spot as mine.
“Alistair,” I begin to say,
I wake with a gasp. The shock of hearing Father’s voice, even in a dream, after so many days is making my heart pump so fast in my chest that I’m losing breath. My hands are clenched around the sheets, so tightly that my fingers have gone numb. What the hell was all that? I sit up, not wanting to move my head too abruptly in fear of losing the images I can remember from the dream. Sadly, it’s disappearing from my mind like a handful of sand cascading through my parted fingers. All I can remember is Father hurting my mom, who’s pushing a basket onto the pond under the full moon. . . . “Hey, you okay?” The sudden question makes me jolt. I forgot that I’m not alone here. I wheel around to see Gynith in the corner, tying her hair into a ponytail in front of the mirror. “You okay?” she repeats, her lips curling into a smile. “You should have seen the way you woke up. You looked like a zombie, just sitting up so stiffly like that.” “
A cold hand seems to be gripping my throat. Tears begin to leak out from the corners of my eyes. Seeing the ruins of the carriage, the very same one that I was in on the way out of the Palace, brings back so many memories of that day. Crossing the walls. Seeing the poverty stricken people. Rebels attacking our carriage. Uncle Osman telling me to save myself. . . . I stare at the blood, the way it’s pooled and congealed on the dry leaves. The possibility of it being Uncle Osman’s blood is high, but it’s not something I want to believe. Not ever. Not while I’m still alive. Perhaps I can still find a way to search for him, to save him from those rebels. Suddenly numb, I get down from the horse and walk closer to the remains of the carriage, running down a finger on the velvet lining of the seat.
“What?” I stammer, looking behind me and turning to Alistair. “What did he say?” “The princess of Acantha just died,” he tells me, leaning towards my ear to speak more clearly. “This man said she died in her sleep. I think she was supposed to be coronated before fall? I don’t really know. But that’s one less tyrant for us.” His words remain in my ears and in my head just as he pulls away, and they’re sticking to every corner in my head like settling dust. The procession here in the town hall is for me. The dead princess. But why did they say I died in my sleep? I would get it if they mentioned the fact that I was sent on The Hunt and got attacked along the way. But why would they lie and say something completely different? “Huh,” the old woman says. “No name?” “No name,” Alistair confirms before her friend can answer. “They don’t disclose the names until coronation, remember? We only get news about Heirs being born, and after t
“Oh.” Alistair stares at me. “Is that true?” I can’t speak. I try to open my mouth, but it seems like my jaw has been locked. I can’t even properly look him in the eye. All I know is that my skin is tingling from all the eyes that I can feel are on me, watching my every move. But of course, I’m particularly wary of Briar. Who is he? “Well.” Alistair turns to him when I don’t say anything. “Lo here is from Gailis, where she served a Noble family. You might have seen her there a couple of times.” “Oh, really.” Briar’s smile turns into a glorified sneer. “Which Noble family did you work for?” No, this can’t be real. This can’t be happening. The only high-rank person I know from Gailis is Governor Celso, and I can’t use his name in a situation like this. At least not in a specific context. “The Taverns,” I invent wildly. “They’re close to Governor Celso.” “Ah.” His face lights up, with realization and a mix of something els
In a brief moment of clarity, I see Briar aiming his knee on my face with a wild expression, like he wants nothing but to finish me off.For the first time during this whole fight, I feel it. The fear that this might turn into something more serious than I anticipated, that this whole thing might not even be worth it. The possible consequences flash before my eyes as blood continues to flow down my nostrils, his armored knee rushing towards my face to crack open whatever is left intact. I close my eyes, waiting for it to come, to end—“STOP!”Alistair’s voice rings out in the field. Or maybe that’s just in my ears. Either way, I sense the slow decline of the energy in the place. I open one eye, then the next, only to see that Alistair is standing over me while Briar is on the ground.“What was that for?” Briar demands, quickly getting to his feet. “Why did you push me?”“Because you’
“Prostitute?” I explode. “A prostitute? Seriously?”“Yeah,” Gynith says with a small smile, which quickly vanishes. “Fake prostitute, by the way. Emphasis on ‘fake’.”“Prostitutes,” I repeat weakly, leaning against the sink, barely able to support my weight. I feel like my knees just turned to jelly upon hearing that word. “And you agreed to this?”Jossie and Gynith exchange dubious looks, like this is something they never really considered before. I don’t know why, but that annoys me more than anything. Have they never really thought about this? Have they never stopped to consider why this is their role?I let out a breath to prepare for a tirade, but Jossie beats me to it. “Look, Lora. I didn’t say it’s a perfect plan with zero snags. Either we’re in it, or we’re not. And the only way to be in it, to be in the actual operation and the
“Let’s go,” Gynith urges, suddenly getting out of her bunk and jumping to my side. “Come on. We need all hands on deck. This is bad news.”Bad news indeed. I don’t want to move. “I can’t.”She looks baffled. “What? Why? Lora, this is no joke.”“I know.” I gulp, my gaze flitting from her face to the window. When she widens her eyes questioningly, I say, “Because. . . .”I can’t continue. My tongue seems to have frozen up. For a second, my desperation almost wins and I nearly confess to her about everything. Who I am, what I am, and where I’m supposed to be. I open my mouth to begin, but Hendrik’s yell in the distance stops me from making this mistake.If I don’t go out, there’s still a chance Hendrik might find me. If I do go out, he will surely recognize me.That is, if he doesn’t already know that I’m here.
Gynith takes me to Alistair’s office, and to my surprise, the things that were displayed there when I first came are no longer around. It’s nothing more than a bare room now, and I think it’s because of the inspection. Alistair most likely hid everything, because they would surely draw suspicion. And he’s not alone in the room. “Hey, Lora,” Jossie greets me blandly, sitting on the floor in the corner, her arm draped around a big bag. “Where have you been hiding?” I don’t answer, mainly because Alistair is looking at me. “Did I do something wrong?” Alistair and Jossie exchange glances, and he bursts out laughing. Usually she joins him, but tonight she looks somber. A little annoyed too. “Well, I brought you here because of this.” He gets the bag from Jossie, opens it, and lifts one of its contents: a strip of shimmery red fabric. “Your dresses for the mission.” “Our prostitute attire,” Jossie says dryly, flashing him a pointed look. “Fo