Page 173 of The Mad King and the False Queen

“The First Prince can do anything.”

“But why are you working for him?”

Sabien laughed. “Why not? He is the most powerful guardian of all time. He is the only one who can hold the fifth branch of magic: the Void. Besides, he made me a guardian. Who wouldn’t want to receive the gift of magic?”

“He gave you the magic to assassinate guardians, Sabien,” Dagmara argued.

“You’re an assassin. You of all people should know it’s just a job. Instead of money, I get to be a guardian.”

“Why would the First Prince choose someone like you?”

“For starters, you were assassinating everyone he planted in Azurem, so that’s why he offered it to an Ilusaurian,” Sabien said. “It’s not hard for him to reach people through the Void. You simply have to witness someone you love be killed. Or, you can kill them yourself. That’s what I did.”

“You murdered someone you love for the First Prince?”

“I killed her to be a guardian. Serving the First Prince is only part of that.”

Shaking her head, Dagmara stepped away from him. “You’re despicable.” She stole a glance at the end of the hall, seeing her escape within reach.

“And yet we are so similar.” He smirked.

Dagmara glowered at him.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t want to be a guardian.” He pointed his finger at her, moving toward her. “You’ve already taken someone’s life. All you’d have to do is kill a guardian, and you would keep the powers the First Prince grants you. Why not kill Magdalena to have the life of a guardian?”

“I would never hurt her.”

“Is she so different from the other lives you claimed?” Sabien countered. “Why is she special?”

“She’s like a sister to me.”

“And you’ve never assassinated someone’s sister?”

Anger began to simmer in Dagmara’s stomach.

“Besides, I’ve noticed you have an…ailment,” Sabien said, his eyes narrowing. “You’re not as good at hiding it as you think.”

Dagmara’s hands curled into fists. “So?”

“Life magic can’t fix that, but perhaps there is a slim chance…” he grabbed her by the chin, tilting her head higher, “...that becoming a guardian would fix you.”

Dagmara knocked his hand aside and swung hard, slapping him across the face. The noise rang through the corridor, and Dagmara felt her palm stinging from the blow. “I don’t need to be fixed. There is nothing wrong with who I am.”

After a moment, Sabien shifted his jaw, running his thumb across his lip. “My sweet Dagger, you really shouldn’t have hit me.” His eyes began to shimmer, and a blue tint edged his pupils.

Dagmara bolted toward the exit. She had nothing on her. All her weapons had been left behind before the wedding ceremony.

Sabien lunged toward her, missing her body but catching the train of her wedding dress. She tripped, slamming face first onto the ground. The impact caused her crown to break free from her hair, clattering to the stone in front of her. The world began to spin, stars dancing in Dagmara’s vision and threatening to obscure her entire sight.

A hand gripped her hip, rolling her onto her back. Sabien hovered over her. He extended his arms, his large hands binding around her throat.

She couldn’t breathe.

“Tell me where Magdalena is!” he growled, his grip tightening. “We can work together.”

Dagmara reached above her head, blindly feeling the stone to find her crown. As soon as she caught the edge, she used it to her advantage. She thrust the pointed diamonds into Sabien’s forearm with as much strength as she had.

Sabien yelled, reeling back. It gave her the leverage to thrust her knee into his groin. He screeched an Ilusaurian curse word she didn’t know, but rolled off her, yanking the crown from his forearm.

---