Page 92 of A Broken Promise

Shocked, I stood still watching them all die. Every single one of them. Until the very last screams went out and their blood pooled together. The exit to the hall was now lined with dead bodies.

Priya moved then, stepping across each lifeless man. She was no longer sneaky or cautious. She walked as if she owned the castle. I carefully followed her. She opened the doors, slamming them loudly. Another two guards went down in the same agonizing torturous death within seconds as she cast her eyes on them.

I silenced the familiar shock.

Later. I will deal with this later,I told myself, as I threw my dagger straight through another guard emerging on my left.

Priya no longer hid as she strode open through the castle, no longer doubting which direction to take until we were by the Royal Stables. Two servants screamed in pain, grasping their heads, pulling their ownhair out. Blood pooled out of their ears and noses just the same as all the guards in the castle.

Later,I reminded myself.

I saddled a horse.

“Please tell me you know how to ride?” were the only words Priya spoke to me as she jumped on the back of the black mare in the stall next to me. I nodded.

It’s not like I had any other choice as Priya had already galloped across the perfectly cut green lawns of the Royal Castle. The loud screaming of guards followed her, but it wasn’t the guards I froze from. No, it was the smell of the fire, the smoke, as the burning arrows slashed across the black sky, burning bright with the silver Cleansing Fire—Destroyer’sfire.

I stiffened completely, yet my brown mare followed Priya’s as if it knew that my life depended on her. Slashing through the cold air, I begged her to keep going faster and faster, as another arrow landed just a few feet away from where we were seconds before.

We were approaching the large stone wall that encircled the whole estate.

Jump.

The thought came before I could realize what was happening.

Jump.

Ignoring the screaming doubts and any reason, my body obediently followed the command, launching myself off the galloping horse to the top of the bright tall white wall, quickly climbing up and then jumping off into the flower beds below, well hidden by the darkness of the night.

46

Tremendous crowds were gathered around. Some came to celebrate Death Day, some came out to see the explosion and what was left of the ballroom hall. We snuck below the shadow of the wall until we were far enough from the gates that we could mingle with the crowd. Slowly squeezing in between the gawking, gossiping people, only occasionally glancing over our shoulder to make sure we weren’t followed.

The crowds slowly thinned out as we went further into the city. The well-taken-care-of shops and the neat townhomes were completely dark and only the tall streetlights lit up the curved cobbled streets.

I could no longer hear the noisy masses; now almost completely alone, Priya and I walked hastily down the streets of Svitar. I tensed, passing another group of drunk out-of-their-mind patrons. They were so blissfully unaware of the two assassins amidst them, so oblivious to the tight grip on our half-drawn daggers.

First, I heard the click of hooves; next Priya roughly shoved me through the door to the previously locked shop. The dark room encompassed us as we were plastered against the floor, hidden by the night.

I watched as a couple of Destroyers, dressed in their dark silverarmor searched the street. My Basalt Glass dagger singing to my blood, turning it to lava. Fear mixed with wild anger caressed my veins.

“Calm down, Freckles. We’ve had enough drama for the day, don’t you think?” Priya whispered, rolling off me and now laying still next to me.

You think?I wanted to say to her but didn’t. Calmness, patience and restraint were much more useful tools than fear and anger. They were tools of precision and skill. Tools that I knew how to wield.

The two Destroyer soldiers were gone from my view, but we didn’t risk getting up just yet. I turned my head to Priya. Our eyes met for the first time after all the chaos.

She glanced away first.

“Who are you?”

“Really? You are going to ask me that?Now?” she said, getting off the floor.

“Who are you?” I asked again, sitting up, determined to get an answer.

Though deep inside, I already knew.

I knew the answer but desperately wanted it not to be true.

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