CHAPTER 3
1370 Words
Nine years later
“You hesitated back there.”
Raven finished cleaning her blade before looking up at Kaden who leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
“I didn’t hesitate.” She replied, sheathing her dagger before tucking it into her belt.
“Yes. You did and we both know it,” Kaden pushed himself off the wall before walking over to where she stood.
“You froze for at least three seconds before you killed the last guy,”
Raven let out a loud sigh, rolling her eyes. There was no point arguing with Kaden when he was right and the truth was, the last man reminded her of her father which caught her offguard.
“What is going on, Raven?” Kaden in a softer tone. “You are not fine and you have not been fine for weeks now.”
She really didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “We should get back. Solomon would want his report.”
Everything changed for Raven the night she met Kaden. It turned out that he was an assassin in the fearsome Guild of Shadows, the most terrifying organization in all of Bloodmere.
Since Raven had nowhere else to go, she was left with no choice but to join the group and nine years later, she had become one of the deadliest assassins in the guild.
The third best after Solomon Creed, the leader and Kaden Cross, her best friend.
Raven and Kaden reached the headquarters, wasting no time making their way to Solomon’s office.
“Well?” Solomon asked, his baritone voice reverberating around the office without looking up from the stacks of papers on his desk.
“We took care of them. The merchants won’t be selling information to our enemies anymore.” Kaden reported.
“Good,” Solomon said, setting the papers aside before finally looking at them. The scars on his face were visible under the lights and Raven knew that he had more beneath the black attire he wore.
Despite all his scars, he was still extremely handsome.
“Raven. I have a special assignment for you.”
Raven felt her stomach drop because Solomon’s special assignments were never simple and they usually involved high risk targets that could get her killed.
“What kind of assignment?”
“The kind that will pay more than you have made on a single job,” Solomon said as he stood up and walked over to the window. “I need you to go to Moonshroud.”
“Absolutely not.” Raven blurted out without thinking. No way in hell was she going back to her home.
This was the reason she had been in a sour mood lately. She had been thinking about her home a little too much.
She had tried whatever means she could to find the murderers who massacred her entire family, but she hit a dead end each time and it pissed her off.
Her blood boiled as she unconsciously placed her hand on her chest where the mark from nine years ago still lay.
“What did you just say?” Solomon’s voice was dangerously quiet, his eyes cold as ice.
“I said no and I mean it,” Raven crossed her arms stubbornly. “Send someone else.”
“Kaden is busy and there is no one else with your particular skills for this job.”
“Then your client will have to be disappointed because I’m not going back there.”
“You’ll go wherever I tell you to,” Solomon said, his tone making it clear this wasn’t a request. “Your target is in the royal family.”
Raven gave him an incredulous look as she felt Kaden shift beside her. Did he think she was some kind of magician? The royal family? That was complete bullshit.
“The royal family is beyond my payroll. They are too well protected and too powerful. It’s basically a suicide mission.”
“Your target is Princess Ava Caine, the King’s younger sister.” Solomon continued like he wasn’t listening to her.
Raven instantly felt her blood run cold. She had heard stories about the princess. She was kind, innocent and beloved by the people of Moonshroud.
She had no problems killing vile criminals, but an innocent girl? That was a bit of a problem.
“I won’t do it.” She insisted.
Solomon’s face was devoid of any emotion as he simply stared at her.
“I know the people who killed your family. You’ve been trying to find the killers. Haven’t you?”
Raven froze in her tracks.
“Who are they? Give me the names.” She said in a voice that was unrecognizable even to her and even if she was not looking, she could feel Kaden’s concerned gaze on her.
“I’ll tell you everything, but only after you bring me the princess’ head.” Solomon answered in a cold, emotionless tone.
Raven gritted her teeth as her hands trembled by her sides. She really had been pushed to a corner here.
She didn’t want to kill the princess, but she was left with no choice. She had to find those killers and make them suffer in the worst way possible.
That was her life’s mission and it would always come first.
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“I’m coming with you.” Kaden answered, but Raven instantly shook her head vehemently.
“I’m going alone.”
“I said I’m coming with you. This mission is too dangerous to handle yourself.”
Raven turned to her best friend, a stony look in her eyes. “I can take care of myself.”
Kaden’s expression turned broken and pained. “Please, Raven. Let’s do this together.”
“No. Stay out of it. I won’t say it twice.” She barked. She was aware that she was a bit harsh, but she would rather do that than put her friend in harm’s way.
***
Two days later, Raven was on a horse, heading towards Moonshroud. She was alone because she had left before dawn while Kaden was still asleep.
Her spy network had told her about a masked ball that would be held at the Moonshroud palace in three days.
The entire royal family would be there which made it the perfect opportunity to kill the princess.
Her heart began racing faster once she reached her home. The city was much smaller than she remembered, but everything still looked pretty much the same.
She tried not to think too much and instead, focused on getting a place to stay and preparing for her important mission which she could not afford to miss.
She also made sure to stay as far away from her family house as possible, trying her best to keep those horrible memories at bay.
On the night of the ball, she put on a beautiful black dress, wearing a mask which covered her entire face and only exposed her silver-gray eyes.
She managed to slip sharp daggers into her dress and a deadly pin which she had used to slay lots of men in her carefully styled dark hair.
She wasted no time making her way to the ballroom and it didn’t take long to spot the princess.
Ava Caine indeed looked as beautiful and as radiant as the rumors stated. She was dressed in a beautiful blue dress and her long blonde hair fell in waves down her shoulders.
The silver crown on her head glinted brightly beneath the lights.
“Forgive me for what I’m about to do, princess.” Raven muttered under her breath as she began weaving her way through the crowd towards the princess.
She ended up bumping into someone’s huge back and she nearly stumbled on her feet.
“Sorry.” She quickly said just as the person turned around.
When their eyes met, Raven stood frozen, her blood running cold.
A man stood in front of her and even with the mask covering most of his face, she would know those eyes anywhere.
One steel blue and one hazel.
The very eyes that had been tormenting her for nine years.
- Writer
