Page 64 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

Confused, I stare down at her, no longer sure of anything.

“There were bodies found.” I trail off, suddenly feeling a cold chill as I realise I might have made a mistake. Burnt bodies that would be almost impossible to identify.

Alyx nods slowly as she watches me put everything together, her arms crossed over her chest. “Yes, bodies I stole from the morgue. I faked their deaths and gave them money to start a new life, then I put the bodies in the house and set it alight. Why do you think I chose fire? It sends a message and erases all traces of who they were, leaving only their bones.”

“You didn’t kill innocents.” It’s not a question. I feel stupid for not speaking with her about this and assuming that she did it. My heart lifts a little, knowing that she does have some sort of moral compass.

“No, but you have to realise something,” she starts as though she’s able to read my mind and see where my thoughts are heading. “I am an assassin. I’m not a good person, and I can be ruthless. I have killed innocents in the past when I had no other options, and I will do it again if I have to.”

My feelings are so mixed. She killed two men under my rule, and I wasn’t bothered about it other than when I thought she killed the children and staff. I should be disgusted by all death. When did it start to become acceptable?

“You hired an assassin, and now you don’t like how I work. You can’t have it both ways, Your Majesty.”

She stalks from her room without another word, and I feel like I’m just as stupid as everyone thinks I am.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

ALYX

Perched on the roof of a one-story home in the Lowers, I quietly seethe.

I tell myself that it’s because of the male I’ve been stalking for the last hour and the atrocities he’s about to commit, but all I can think about is how disgusted Joha looked when he hurled his accusations at me this morning.

Of course, that only made me madder—both at him and myself. It has consumed my thoughts. I hoped that a little hunting would help distract me, clearing my mind and letting me sink into the quiet stillness that’s required when taking out a target—one of which is striding through the streets below like he owns it.

This part of the Lowers is one of the nicer areas. Most of the houses have roofs and doors that close properly. However, it is still part of the Lowers, and as such, poverty and crime run rampant. I could sit in wait anywhere in this part of the city and witness some sort of crime happen.

In the Uppers, they have well-lit, clean streets, windows, and doors that lock, as well as guards on every street corner to keep the peace. The difference between the two is sickening, and after having stayed in the exquisite opulence of the palace, the city I grew up in seems more derelict than ever.

After my argument with Joha this morning, I feigned a headache and told my ladies-in-waiting that I needed to be alone, and then I promptly headed into the city. I needed space to clear my head before I did something stupid. I spent the rest of the day exploring the city, trying to pick up any information that would be helpful in my hunt for more answers.

Most of the talk on the streets is about Beaumont’s death and what happened to his family. No one seems to realise that only the man himself is dead, all believing that everyone perished. Everything went exactly as I planned, and no one suspects that I spared the innocent.

Why am I so mad that Joha instantly believed that about me? It is what I wanted the world to see, yet I suppose there is a part of me that thought Joha had started to get to know me in a way only one other person ever has.

This makes me irritated with myself though. I don’t let people close for a reason. I am everything he accused me of being—a murderer, an assassin, and a thief—and putting me in a pretty dress and calling me a princess was never going to change that. It is in my blood. He needs to realise that, taking the good with the bad.

If he thinks I’m evil, then I’m going to show him exactly how ruthless I can be. Many might go in the opposite direction and try to prove that they are not as bad as they were accused of being, but I am not like most. I am not a good person, and the quicker he realises that, the better for both of us.

My trail of bodies started a couple of hours ago. I’ve been watching the guards who prey on the weak and go out of their way to be cruel. The first death was quick and silent. Since then, though, I’ve been making it more interesting for myself, playing with my prey before killing them. They are all males who would have been hung had they not been in the guard, so really, I’m doing the king a favour.

This makes my other job difficult though. It has been quiet on the streets and the gossip front. The news of Beaumont has spread, and people are afraid. They know my patterns, and with the trail of bodies I’ve left behind, they know I’m back on the streets, so they are being more careful because of it. More guards are patrolling the area now, looking for the killer who took out five of their men. It makes things a little more challenging, and I have to be more careful, but that has never stopped me before.

I need to stop playing and try to get more information. First, though, I need to deal with the guard who just cornered a young woman in a dark, secluded alley below me.

I noticed the way he was watching young women and girls in the market when he was on patrol and have been following him for the last hour, my instincts telling me he’s going to act on whatever sick thoughts are twisting his mind. It seems my patience has paid off.

“Please, I have no money,” the woman tells the guard, her voice shaking as he backs her farther into the darkness, but she brandishes a small knife, trying to scare off her stalker. Good for her. I mean, the blade will be like a toothpick against a guy like him, but she’s brave.

She’ll need to be to survive the Lowers.

“It is not your money that I want.” The guard grins cruelly, his face lighting up with the prospect of what he’s about to do.

Having seen enough, I walk to the edge of the roof and drop down just behind him. My descent is nearly silent, and he doesn’t even know I’m there, the idiot. The girl does, though, and something flashes in her eyes as she calculates if I’m here to help or harm her.

Clucking my tongue, I shake my head slowly when the guard spins around in surprise. “Where do they find you guys?” I’m wearing a cloak and a covering over the bottom half of my face, but I make sure I’m standing in enough light so he can see the loathing in my eyes. “They really scraped the bottom of the barrel for you.”

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