Shackled Sorceress

Chapter 9 - Smoke and Dagger

It wasn’t even the third day after her wedding did they strike.

Kalliope was going through the books her servants had stashed away when she heard something out on her balcony. Turning to Malus.

“Did you-?”

For a split second, they narrowed their eyes at each other, before ducking down. A barrage of darts whizzed overheads, pinning onto the bed and the carpet. Grabbing his sword, Malus vaulted over Kalliope’s desk and slashed through the curtains, stabbing an assailant in the chest. Kalliope made a pushing motion with her hands, sending wind to stagger the other assassins outside.

“Guards!!!” She called, summoning flames to her hands as Malus fended off another attack.

The door burst open, but it wasn’t the guards Kalliope called for who stormed in. Two more assassins, dressed in servant clothes, charged at her with daggers. Swearing under her breath, Kalliope threw fire at them, catching one in the chest and setting him ablaze. Screaming, he dropped to the floor, desperate to extinguish himself.

The other assassin would have stabbed her through if Kalliope didn’t throw herself backward. Her shoulder slammed painfully against the bedpost, but the Sorceress Princess wasted no time. She compressed the air around them, and pushed it against the assassin’s abdomen. He fell, blood spraying from his mouth as his insides were crushed.

On the other side of the room, Malus was fighting two on his own. While agile and skilled, it was quickly apparent that the assassins were no match for the War Prince. Unlike Kalliope, Malus struck to kill. With the ferocity of an enraged lion, he swept low, cutting down one man clear through the knees before bringing his blade up to gut the other assailant. With two more strikes, he cleanly decapitated the writhing men.

“Are you alright?” He came to Kalliope, giving her a one-over. She nodded.

“Yes. There were supposed to be guards. Two outside my room and four under the balcony.”

Malus scowled. Before he could say anything however, guards did arrive at the room. However, they were bearing the Dragon crest of Caelora.

“My Prince! We heard a commotion!”

Malus exchanged a look with Kalliope, before gesturing at the two she had knocked out on the floor, “Assassins. Take them away for interrogations. Fetch the servants to clean up this mess.” 

“Yes, sir!”

After they had dragged out the men, Malus stripped off his blood-soaked shirt, “I didn’t think they would be daring enough to make an attempt on you while I am here.”

“Think again.” Kalliope huffed, going to grab some clean clothes for her own, “And maybe it is because you are here that they were so daring.”

“Ah. Killing two birds with one stone. Rather convenient for them. Any suspect in mind, Fierce Kalliope?”

“Could be anyone.” She frowned down at the front of her gown. The man who she punched with air magic certainly had ruined the silk forever, “Remember, most of the suitors for Venus are still here to attend the wedding for diplomatic reasons. I am sure many of them think our marriage is a threat.”

“And we cannot accuse anyone without-”

“Kalliope! I heard screaming, what-”

Malus and Kalliope both turned to the door, where Venus had appeared with a few servants in tow. Her face went pale at the c*****e.

“Oh, Gods! Another one?!”

Wordlessly, Kalliope nodded.

“You have blood on you!”

“Not mine.” Kalliope shook her head, “I need to wash up.”

“And so do I.” Unexpectedly, Malus chimed in. He came up behind Kalliope, a hand on her shoulder, “Can you kindly have a servant prepare the bath us?”

Kalliope was about to protest, but a subtle squeeze stopped her short. She threw Malus a questioning raised eyebrow instead. He gave her a tight-lipped smile. Kalliope sighed, and nodded at Venus.

“Yes, please.”

Blatantly, her sister’s eyes were trained on Malus’ toned chest when she gestured a servant to comply, “But of course. Is there anything else you might need?”

“No, thank you.” Malus’ answer was rather clipped.

Kalliope honestly felt a bit sick.

Malus kept his hand on her shoulder the entire time they walked towards the bathhouse. They didn’t exchange a single word, not until the marble room was filled with steam and the servant respectfully retreated for their privacy.

Without much hesitation, Malus stripped off the remainder of his clothes and slid into the water. On the other hand, Kalliope stood at the edge of the pool, still in her blood stained dress.

“We have an agreement.” The echo of Malus’ deep voice startled her, “I will not make any unsightly advances towards you unless you allow me to.”

Conflicted, Kalliope bit her lower lip.

In the end, the desire to scrub herself off won. Kalliope stepped out of her ruined gown behind a pillar, and quickly stepped into the pool, sitting down so her body was covered by the water, her face burning furiously.

On the contrary, on the other side of the bath, Malus was lounging luxuriously. Arms spread wide over the edge of the pool, moisture had gathered around his muscles, glistening despite the steam. His chest was sculpted, strong and broad, with a single blemish despite being a hardened warrior. His jawline was sharp and symmetrical, statue-esque in a way.

Malus was a beautiful creature, and Kalliope didn’t notice she was staring, until his piercing eyes met hers. She immediately ducked her head, feeling even the tip of her ears were burning.

“You seem tense.” He said, a hint of laughter in his voice. Kalliope frowned, but didn’t look up.

“Don’t mock me. I’ve had enough for one night.”

“I wouldn't dare to.” The amusement in his voice had evaporated, “And that is the exact reason why you should relax. Daring they might be, they wouldn’t dare to launch another attack tonight.”

Her frown deepened, “I’m not worried.”

A pause.

“Are you conscious of us being in a bath together.”

Kalliope grunted, very unladylike, to the water. There was surprise in Malus’ rumbling chuckle, and Kalliope wished that he would stop. It was making something strange happening in the pit of her stomach.

“I am sorry if I’ve put you to a difficult situation.” Malus said, the note of sincerity in his voice finally coaxed Kalliope to look up, “However, this was the only way I could quickly find ourselves some privacy.”

Kalliope narrowed her eyes, “You don’t trust Venus to discuss whatever you have in mind in front of her.”

“Correct.”

“She is my sister! She wasn’t the one who sent assassins after me!”

Malus raised his palms, “And I am not saying she did. However, as you have clearly pointed out the other day, I do not know Princess Venus. Despite being your sister, to me, she is but a stranger.”

The argument died in Kalliope’s throat. As infuriating as he was, Malus was right. Just because they were married didn’t mean she could demand Malus to speak his mind in front of Venus. Especially when the War Prince had shown to not at all favor Kalliope’s sister.

“What do you want to talk about?”

Whatever left of Malus’ jovial mood disappeared, “The guards. Are you aware of any shift change around the time of the attack?”

“...Yes.” Kalliope nodded after a moment, “However, not all at once. There are supposed to be a total of six guards, each pair have a three hour shift, and they stagger rotation every hour, so there are always at least four on duty. The two outside my room are not supposed to leave their posts until their replacements come to relieve them.”

“Is there any way to bypass the guards under your balcony?”

She shook her head, “The guards are stationed flat against the wall. The only other balcony on the same floor is in my sister’s room.”

Malus frowned, “When your sister came in, I had a quick look outside. There were no guard stationed, and there were hooks on the railing.”

Kalliope raised her eyebrows, “You think this is an inside job?”

“...Yes. No offense to you or your countrymen, but the circumstances are too odd to overlook.”

“None taken.” She sighed, running a hand through her damp hair, “This isn’t the first time this has happened.”

Malus quirked up an eyebrow. Kalliope sighed again.

“Peaceful as we are, there are still people conspiring against the throne. They believe a Fae shouldn’t be wearing the crown. And since I am a Sorceress, I am an obstacle.”

“Despicable.” Malus grimaced, “However, we shouldn’t ignore the possibility of a co-conspirator. Or multiple ones, that is.”

“Still think one of the suitors did this?”

Smirking, Malus shrugged, “You cannot be an infamous War-Prince without a few enemies.”

Kalliope rolled her eyes, “Joy. What are their names, so I can add them to my potential murderer list?”

Something dark glinted in Malus’ eyes, “I will kill them all before they touch a hair on your silver head.”

Taken aback by his sudden proclamation, Kalliope stared at Malus, at a loss of what to say. Next came the heat on her cheeks, as she averted her eyes, yet again.

“...Thank you. How do you propose we deal with this matter?”

“My warriors and I will try to pry out as much information as possible from the prisoners of course. However...that does not guarantee there will be no further attempts on our lives.”

Kalliope heaved out a long exhale, blowing the steam away from her face, “That’s true. News of the attempt today will spread and, with it, about the ones we captured. That would only encourage the culprit, or inspire others to do the same.”

Malus tilted his head, “Correct. Though I am surprised they didn’t choose to attack us on our wedding night. That was supposedly our most vulnerable night.”

“Yes, but there were too many guards around.” Dazed as she was on that day, it didn’t get pass Kalliope’s notice how tight security was both at the ceremony and in the corridor of her room, “Plus, if they attempted and failed, that would only put everyone on high alert.”

He smirked, “You are experienced.”

She grimaced, “Unfortunately.”

Silence stretched between them. Until Malus sighed, and waded towards Kalliope. She immediately tensed, folding her arms around her chest. But he didn’t invade her privacy, just close enough for her to hear his whisper.

“I think we should leave before your sister’s wedding.”

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“I don’t suggest this out of any ill feelings towards her.” Malus spoke evenly, despite Kalliope’s bewildered glare, “But I believe this would be for everyone’s best interest. Half of the guests have some sort of quarrel with Caelora. Some of them want you dead, for your loyalty to the Crown Princess. If you leave Aleria for Caelora, they would not have any reason to keep up with the assaults.”

“But that would leave my mother and sister open to attacks!” Kalliope snapped at him.

Still, Malus’ voice was calm, “I hardly believe that. With you being the immediate threat out of the picture, it would be more reasonable to influence the throne with a different approach. Especially with your sister marrying Eiras soon. Most of the kingdom favor your mother as Queen, yes?”

Slowly, Kalliope nodded. Malus gave her a reassuring smile, “Good. If someone tries to usurp the throne, there will be turmoil. Aleria is not known for military might, so in a worst case scenario, whoever tries to ascend by force would have a difficult time ruling. There would be revolts and, of course, as the Consort of Caelora’s Crown Prince, you would have more than enough resources to take back the kingdom swiftly.”

At his explanation, Kalliope’s eyes widened, then narrowed immediately, “You really have all of this thought out, huh?”

“From experience, unfortunately.” There was no humor in Malus’ smile, “As a Conqueror, I have had to quell a few revolts myself.”

Tiredly, Kalliope rubbed her face. This was why she tried to stay as far away from politics as possible. Both Queen Virille and Venus were far better than she was. Compared to a few assassination attempts, diplomacy and royal courting were far more brutal. And Kalliope hated it when she always seemed to be caught in the middle of things she would rather not think about.

“I do not think my sister would be fine with me leaving for Caelora before her wedding. Same with my mother, at that matter.”

Kalliope looked up when Malus’ warm hand fell on her shoulder, “I can handle Queen Virille. Strict as she might be, she would not be blind to reasons. As for your sister, if she cares about you, she would have no qualms against you leaving for your safety.”

Still, there were doubts swirling in Kalliope’s chest, even as Malus pressed a light kiss against her brows.