Page 26 of The King's Sword
“Let’s go.” Evander took her elbow, guiding her down a different street that brought them to a narrow canal. There were several short docks with tiny boats tied to them. He stopped before one of the boats. “Get in.” He tossed his bag in the back.
Sabine stepped into it. There were only two benches, so she sat on the front one, shoving her bag beneath it. The sky was starting to lighten, and the streets were becoming more crowded.
“Put your hood up,” Evander said, pulling his own hood on. He reached down and untied the boat. Before it had a chance to go anywhere, he stepped in, sitting on the back bench. He grabbed a long pole that was attached to the outside of the boat and used it to push them farther out into the water.
There were several other boats of similar size out on the canal, all heading in the same direction.
“Do you not know how to ride a horse?” Sabine asked, trying to figure out why he preferred being on the water as opposed to land.
“We don’t have a lot of horses in Avoni.”
“Why is that?” she asked. While she hadn’t seen much of the kingdom, so far, she hadn’t noticed a single horse.
“We have hundreds of waterways that we use for travel and transporting goods. There’s no need for horses. Besides, they’re expensive to maintain. And they’re loud. Not an assassin’s ideal choice of transportation.” Evander used the pole to steer them to the middle of the canal, then he hooked the pole back to the side of the boat. The strong current carried them along.
“We’re moving faster than I thought we would.” As they made their way along the canal, Sabine watched the shoreline pass by. Single story structures with oddly slanted roofs lined both sides. She wondered if they were homes or stores. “Does it rain a lot here?”
“All the time. Why do you ask?”
“The roofs.” She figured they had to be designed that way to keep water from pooling on them. Plus, a lot of the buildings had a hint of green mold to them, as if they never dried out.
When Evander didn’t respond, she asked, “How long will it take us to reach the palace?”
“A couple of days.”
“What are we going to do if the assassin finds us before we arrive?”
He groaned. “Do you normally talk this much?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she replied curtly. “Would you rather I quietly sit here, not speaking the entire time we travel, so I don’t bother you? Let’s not forgetyou’rethe one who kidnappedmeand got me into this situation in the first place.” She folded her arms, pouting, though she wasn’t actually serious. She was just teasing him because it was so easy and fun to do.
He sighed. “Since we’ll be stopping at night, I plan to leave a clue for Ex. He’ll eventually figure out where we’re headed. I expect he’ll be a day or two behind us by the time we reach the palace.”
“Aren’t you worried about luring this assassin to your family’s home?” While she understood this was a kingdom known for producing assassins, and Evander had said the palace was well-guarded, it still seemed dangerous to bring this man there on purpose. It didn’t seem right to endanger the royal family.
He chuckled. “Trust me when I say that no one in my family is afraid of a single assassin.”
She supposed that when one was trained in the art of killing, a single assassin wouldn’t be as much of a threat as he would be to a commoner. “What about two assassins?”
He considered her. “Personally, I’d be concerned if I encountered six or seven. That’s where I have difficulty protecting myself.”
“Is everyone in your family trained like you are?” She recalled Otto telling her that Evander was the leader of the Crimson Cloaks. At least she thought that was what Otto called the assassin league. She didn’t know how that worked with regards to the royal family. She also knew that the Avoni kingdom had originally been ruled by five families until one managed to take over and establish control. To this day, there were still five assassin guilds.
“Yes. And each of us is trained to handle a situation such as this one. You have nothing to worry about.”
She found his situation fascinating. While her brothers had been trained to either be the future king, leader of the army, a League member, or simply be a flirt, Evander and his siblings had learned the art of killing. She shivered and pulled her cloak tightly around her. She wanted to ask him how he came to be the leader of his assassin guild. However, she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answer. She’d have to ask him another time. Maybe once Ex was taken care of and she was safely in Lynk.
“To be honest, I’m not sure my family will be at the main palace,” he said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a round loaf of bread. He tore it in half and handed a piece to Sabine. “We have several palaces and we move around constantly. I chose to go to the main one simply because it’s the closest to our present location.”
She took a bite of bread.
“Are you ready for your next lesson?” he asked.
She nodded, eager to learn more.
He angled his head so she could see directly into his green eyes. “Today’s lesson is to learn the art of being quiet.”
She huffed as she ate her bread, glaring at him.
