Chapter 3: The Perfect Shot

Violet and Eden ducked into a side entrance of the palace. Cries of terror echoed through the halls. Blue powder streaked the glass walls and hung in the air.

"Cover your face," Eden commanded, pulling his collar close. "Get the people who aren't infected out."

Violet tugged the cream scarf from her hair and tied it around her face. Her curls cascaded down her back in a sea of onyx.

Eden started to leave but Violet stopped him. "What are you going to do?"

"Find the assassin. Kill him."

"Doesn't the assassin want to kill you? I mean, why else would they spread this mania through the court? And you want to go straight to them?"

He met her gaze. "Can I trust you, Violet?"

She nodded, pushing her lies out of her mind—they didn't make her less trustworthy. She hoped. "Yes, my king."

He handed her his bow, eyeing the full quiver still strapped to her leg. "Keep the people safe. That's all that matters."

He headed for the depths of the palace.

Violet nocked an arrow to her bow. Carefully, she stalked her way to the east wing.

The first door she met was locked. "Hello? I'm here to get you out."

Nothing.

She knocked softly. "The king sent me," she added.

Slowly, the knob turned, and a pair of maids huddled on the other side. Violet smiled and motioned for them to follow.

"Shhh." Violet halted their procession, listening. Soft scratches came from a cupboard beneath the staircase. Violet drew her bow. "Open it. Slowly."

Neither of the maids moved.

Violet sighed. "What are your names?"

"Idalia," replied the blonde girl, trying to hold back tears.

"Jasmine," answered the taller girl. Her skin was the same brown as Violet's with the same black curls, but Jasmine's were cropped at her collarbone.

"I'm Violet," she smiled. "Jasmine, I need you to open that door. If there's an enemy in there, I can't stop them alone. Will you help me?"

The younger girl nodded, squaring her shoulders. Violet drew her bow again as Jasmine opened the cupboard.

"Don't hurt me!" cried the occupant, hands raised.

He wore fine silk robes with ink stains on his hands. He clearly wasn't infected, so Violet dropped her weapon. "Come with us. We're getting out of the palace."

"I'd rather stay in my cupboard," he replied, reaching for the door.

Violet wedged it open with her foot. "Not an option. Get up."

She started to drag him out, but he scrambled away before getting to his feet. He dusted his robes off. "I am the royal tutor. You can't just put your hands on me!"

Jasmine and Idalia snickered. He shot them a withering look.

Violet crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, royal tutor…wait, are you Munro, the princess's tutor?"

"Of course," he scoffed, picking at an invisible stain.

"Where is she?" Violet demanded.

"How should I know? I fled as soon as those miscreants attacked the ballroom."

"You abandoned her?"

"I don't wield swords and spears. I'm a scholar! I only use weapons of the mind."

Violet stepped into his personal space, enjoying her five-feet-ten-inches of height for once as it allowed her to tower over Munro. "You left a defenseless child in the hands of assassins. All you've taught her is that she can't count on you when she needs you most."

Running footsteps padded overhead. Violet was running out of time.

She turned to Jasmine. "Take Idalia and the tutor to the side entrance behind us. Get as far from the palace as you can. Be careful."

Jasmine nodded and took Idalia by the hand. "Be careful, too, Violet."

They left, Munro protesting the entire time, while Violet turned her attention to the floors overhead. The ballroom was up there. Princess Raegan would be inside. Violet had to get to her.

She took the stairs two at a time. Chaos met her at the top. White-eyed courtiers ran frantic from room to room. They pounded on doors, hunting for more victims to infect. The cobalt powder fell from their hands, coating the floor. Violet's boots were covered with it.

The ballroom door was on the other side of the five infected.

She took a step forward. They all turned to her at once.

"Sh*t."

Their frenzied cries reverberated through the palace. She dodged the first one and nocked an arrow. It whizzed past the closest woman and sunk into the collar of the man behind her, pinning him to the wall. The glass didn't crack, just absorbed the arrowhead somehow. Violet didn't question it. She couldn't kill these people—they didn't know what they were doing.

The woman snatched at her face scarf but Violet spun away. She dove under the woman's skirts—secretly thanking whoever decided Basharr women should wear short dresses—and collided with the glass wall.

She dropped her bow as her right shoulder lit up with pain. Two of the men lunged at her. She dug an arrow into one of their sleeves. It jammed into the floor. The other man tackled her. The powder on his hands burned her arms. She struggled but couldn't shake him.

The other woman approached, reaching for Violet's legs. Violet drew her knees up and jabbed them into the man's groin. He collapsed.

Violet sat up just in time to the kick the woman in the shins. She howled with pain and Violet managed to get to her feet. She grabbed her bow and ran for the ballroom door, clutching her shoulder.

The heavy glass doors were dark. The palace had thrown its captured light elsewhere. Violet pushed one door open. Silence hung thick among the shadows.

"Raegan? Are you in here?"

Something zoomed past Violet's head. She ducked. Wings flapped in the dark. She took a few steps forward.

"Raegan?"

A table scraped against the floor. Violet turned toward the sound. She recognized the glowing white hair even in the bleak room.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so. Where's my brother?"

"Hunting the assassin. I know Munro left you in here. Where are the assassins who attacked you?"

She shook her head. "They didn't stay. They just locked me in here."

"Then we need to get moving. They must be after the king," Violet guessed.

"Wait," Raegan stopped her. "You need to know whoever started this is from Queen Dalyla, one of the Blood Monarchs. I saw the assassin for a moment before she locked me in here."

"Why would the Queen of Love and Destruction have a vendetta against our king?"

"The Blood Monarchs are on the move. They want war with the High Monarchs and they won't stop until we're either dead or one of them," Raegan replied, noticing Violet's skeptical look. "Eden thinks I'm a flower needing to be kept under glass. Literally. But I listen to the whispers of this court. What else do I have to do? Besides, that cobalt blue powder on your boots is her royal color. Queen Dalyla practically signed her name to this mess."

"You're an excellent student," Violet responded, impressed with the princess. "If our original assassin is from the Queen of Love then I need to find her."

"I'm coming with you."

Violet hesitated. "The king wouldn't like that."

"Please," Raegan begged, "I want to be more than the Princess of Useless Facts. I want to do something for my kingdom."

"You're not useless at all," Violet smiled. Raegan returned the gesture. "Very well but stay close. You were a lot of work to find."

***

The girls crept through the palace. They started passing the unconscious bodies of infected courtiers in the west wing. The powder was less thick in the air, but Violet wasn't about to let her guard down.

That's when they heard the crash.

Like thousands of bells ringing all at once. Thunder rumbled. Beams of light swept through the hall. Darkness followed right behind, eating at the shadows of every living thing, hungry to find more of its own kind. With nowhere to run, Violet kept Raegan close. Cracks splintered the glass walls, all coming from the grand balcony overlooking the city.

"Brother!" Raegan cried, running from Violet.

"No! Come back!"

Violet chased after the princess. The stateroom opened before them, charred from the lightning blast. Smoke filled Violet's nose. More white arrows like the one from the palace grounds littered the room. At the heart of the great crack stood Eden, his back against the balcony. The assassin's bow was drawn, the arrowhead inches from his heart.

"Stop!" Raegan screamed.

The assassin turned, golden hair streaming. Her eyes white as eggshells and just as shattered. Her arrow flew at Raegan. Violet saw it before it happened. She drew her own bow, ignoring the pain of her shoulder, and loosed a barb. It hit the assassin's and they both landed in the cracked glass wall.

Storm clouds gathered in the span of a breath. Lightning flashed around Eden's hands and arms. Violet drew two more arrows. Her attack hit just before Eden's, throwing the assassin against the wall and pinned her there, both palms stuck through. The lightning struck where she'd been a split-second before, charring the glass again.

Eden turned to her, stunned.

Violet sunk to the floor, suddenly exhausted. "So, do I have the job?"