Page 23 of The King's Sword
Then she asked the question she feared the answer to. “Is he still here in town?”
“No. He immediately moved on. But…”
“But?”
“I know him. His name is Ex. He won’t stop until you’re dead.”
The room seemed unnaturally quiet. Sabine was afraid to move. “What are we going to do?” she whispered, hoping there was awein this and Evander wouldn’t abandon her to save his own skin.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ex is hunting you. He wont stop or give up.”
Cold fear like ice slid over her. “Let’s head back to the ship and go to a different port.”
“We can’t sail in this rain with the latch on the mast broken.”
At first she’d assumed being here would give her a chance to explore the town and experience its culture. Now, being here terrified her. “Is there another ship we can take?”
“Yes, but he’ll just track us.”
She couldn’t hide at this inn for the rest of her life. “What are our options?” Her voice came out softer than she’d intended.
“Given the situation, I’m not comfortable traveling north to Cusp. I’m certain that route is being watched. Our best bet is to do something unexpected. And I’d like to get you someplace where you’ll be safe.” He went over to the foggy window and peered outside.
Sabine sort of thought she was already doing something unexpected. She stood and started pacing, trying to think of what she could do to keep herself alive.
Evander snapped his fingers. “I’ve got a plan.” He twisted his head and looked at her, a smile on his face.
“Are you going to tell me this plan?” she asked, wary of his grin. Nothing about this situation called for that sort of reaction.
“The safest place in Avoni is at my family’s compound.”
Sabine blinked, trying to understand what he was saying. “The royal palace?” she asked, just wanting to be sure she understood him.
He nodded.
Which meant the king and queen of Avoni would be there, Sabine would be at a compound filled with assassins, and it would delay her journey home to Rainer.
“You look like I just suggested I kill you for Ex,” Evander mumbled. Then louder, “Look, at my family’s home there will be plenty of highly trained guards to keep you safe. And, if Ex does come after you, it’s the perfect location to deal with him. Once he’s out of the way, we’ll take the necessary guards and a much larger, reliable ship, and we’ll sail to Lynk.” He made it sound simple and easy. As if there weren’t any risks involved.
Sabine sat on the edge of the bed again, massaging her temples. She should have just gone with Anton. However, if she had, the assassin would have already found her by now. She hoped her decoy hadn’t been killed. “Okay,” she said, “if we do go through with this plan of yours, how are we going togetto the palace?” In one piece and without being hunted or assassinated along the way.
Evander came over and sat on the bed beside her. “We’ll have to travel as quickly and discreetly as possible. We want Ex to catch wind of where we’ve been, just not until we’ve left. We’re going to have to deal with him, and I’d rather it be here in Avoni, specifically near my palace, rather than someplace with unknown factors I’ll have to account for.”
She slowly nodded as everything began to make sense. “You want to lure the assassin after us.”
“Yes.”
“So you can kill him?”
“Yes.”
His plan was insane. “Why are you helping me?” she asked, peering into his green eyes, wanting and needing to understand his motives. Because she didn’t trust this assassin-pirate-prince.
“I’m doing it for me and my kingdom.”
“I don’t understand.”
He sighed. “If I don’t return you safely to Lynk, Rainer will have a reason to turn his army toward Avoni. Even if I get you home, if you’re killed shortly thereafter by an Avoni assassin, Rainer will take it out on me and my family. Therefore, helping you is really self-preservation.”
