Unseen

Chapter 1: Present Day

The Spring air still holds a chill and I pull my cloak tighter around my body, pausing behind a pillar, while I was out of sight of the ambassador’s guards.

I check my knives quickly, twin daggers that are made from pure black metal. A gift from Philip. I let out a breath and step around the pillar, using the night to my advantage. Twelve years of training and brutal punishments have strengthened me and taught me to be quiet and fast.

The Emperor’s Assassin. Some even called me the Queen of Assassins.

I crouch in the shadows as a set of guards pass the door that I am going to slip through. As soon as they go around the corner, I slip through it.

The ambassador was arrogant enough to keep it unlocked. I smirk to myself. It would only play into my hands. I thought through the maps I had seen of this house and I look down the hall that holds his bedroom, making sure to keep in the shadows.

But he isn’t there. I can feel how silent it is down that hall and I know no one is there. For now.

So I sneak up the stairs and follow my memorized path to the study. My heart skips a beat as I hear voices coming from the closed door. I press my ear to the door, listening carefully.

“-and the Emperor has his mind set on conquering Uthronien. I can’t let that happen. The King trusts me and I can’t let him down.”

“Keep your voice down. He has spies everywhere.”

“We are on the same side. You need to get this information to the Lieon’s spy.”

“I know, Ambassador Hardenor, but we shouldn’t spread it further than this letter. No one needs to know except for us and that spy.”

I smile. I had exactly what I needed and now I needed to finish them. Both of them. So I hold my knives tightly in my hands and kick open the door. Both men whirl but I am on one before they can make a sound, my dagger cutting cleanly through his throat.

The second man screams as I kill his friend and I am on him as his companion gurgles from the floor. As I plunge my dagger straight through his juggler, any sounds he was making stopped, his body going limp as he hits the floor. I can feel guilt bubble up inside me but I shove it deep down, burying it under my duty.

I look around quickly but I don’t see a letter. So I pat the men’s coats down and pull a letter out of the first man’s pocket.

Then I pull the doors closed behind me as I sprint out of the house. I duck into an empty room as a second set of guards run past and sneak out of the house without being seen.

I creep along the wall until I reach the gate and I slide out of it, through the bars. I am tiny, but I am strong, my body fit and toned. An image of my back flashes in my mind and I push it down too.

The rough flesh. Overlapping scars. I bite my lip, sinking in my teeth until I draw blood. It’s part of life. It makes me strong.

So I walk through the streets of Paixvannoi, stopping only to pry up a brick and pulling the piece of parchment out of the hole and reading the address quickly. It is close. It is where the ambassador’s spy was supposed to go.

I smile to myself. “Too bad that he is dead,” I mutter.

I start walking. The meeting isn’t for thirty minutes, so I remove my mask that keeps my face hidden and duck into a nearby bar, buying myself a bottle of whiskey. It would take the edge off the rest of the night. And the other two in my room would be for sleep.

I down the bottle in twenty minutes and I immediately want more but I leave, ignoring the man that calls out to me. I stare at him until he shifts in his seat and drops his gaze. Letting an amused breath out of my nose, I stoll into the street and replace my mask. It is black and covers only my mouth and nose. My cloak shades my eyes already, so in the dark I’m unrecognizable.

I walk to the building the meeting would take place in, taking my own sweet time and walking through the door, gripping my dagger under my cloak.

A man jerks his head up, his brows furrowing as he sees me. “Can I help you?”

I give him a shy smile. “You know why I’m here.”

His eyes narrow. “What’s the code word?”

A grin pulls up my lips and I fling the dagger into his chest before he can move. He grunts, stumbling back and hitting his head hard on the floor. He doesn’t move again.

I bare my teeth in a smile, trying to fight the excitement I feel. My heart pounds and I stare at the body and I want to kill again. I need to kill more. I fight the urge and I rip the knife from his chest.

I swallow and grab the bag that he had hidden under the desk. I sling it over my back and head to my third and last destination after a quick search of the room.

I drop the bag by the stable before I duck inside. Marik leans against a beam and he looks up with a smile as I walk in and lower the hood of my cloak, revealing my braided black hair and my masked face. I flip my braid over my shoulder. “Hello, Marik. It’s nice to see you again.”

He smiles, approaching me. “Was I right? With the information?”

The thrill of the kill starts to fill my blood again as I smile at him. “Of course. I didn’t doubt you. Do you have anything else for me?”

He smiles, letting his eyes run up and then down my body. “You are the one who called this meeting, Cypress.” He c***s his head at me. “You know, I did my research. Cypress trees mean death. But I haven’t ever heard your real name. Just the front you keep. Death.”

I smile wider, adjusting my stance a bit, making it more open, more flirtatious. “Cypress is my name here. It’s the only one that you can call me.”

He steps closer, stepping closer to his death. To Death. I whip out my dagger and he leaps back, still grinning. “I think I know who you are. Does the Prince know that you are playing two sides? Who’s side are you really on, Elizabeth?”

My heart stops and I throw my dagger. It finds his chest and he gasps, lunging at me. I don’t move fast enough and his body knocks mine to the ground. I use my hips to throw him off of me and he rips the knife out of his chest, snarling as he stalks towards me.

How is he still up?

Marik throws the dagger at me and I hit the ground on my stomach before I throw myself back up and slam into him, my knife cutting through the skin on his neck.

His blood sprayed over my hands, my face. Soaks into my cloak. I take a breath, staring down at his corps in pleasure. But as the adrenaline fades, horror replaces the thrill. I push myself up and start running. I grab the bag of papers and I run back to the Palace, using my own secret entrance.

I am still covered in blood as I throw the bag to the nearest soldier with a barked order to get it to Philip. I didn’t wait for a response as I entered the palace and made my way to my room.

I bathe, washing away the blood and dirt before I crawled between the covers in my underwear with the bottles of whiskey in my hands. I popped one open and took a long swig, blood still covering my hands in my mind.

*********************

I jerk awake as my door opens, going for a dagger that's under my pillow. But as my eyes focus, I see Alex and I relax a bit, sinking back down into the bed. He walks over to me, taking off his shirt and pulling off his boots before he gets in bed next to me. I stare at his hard, tan face before I scoot closer, laying my head on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that the emperor was going to send you out?”

I swallow and he looks at me, his grey eyes piercing mine. “Why did I have to come back to find the bed empty and your armor gone?”

“Alex, I’m sorry. I wasn’t to tell anyone. I had to keep it a secret.”

He sighs but then kisses my forehead. “I know. I hate it when he sends you out. I wish you didn’t have to do this.”

“I don’t get a choice in this. If he wants to send me across the sea to assassinate a duke or king, I have to do it.” I wrap my arm around his stomach and feel him sigh.

“I know. Philip wants to talk with you in the morning, Emily. I think it's a long-term mission.”

I look up at him and run my fingers through his black hair. “What?”

“You’re going to have to go on a long mission.”

My blood runs cold. “Do you know what it is?”

Alex shakes his head. “No. None of the others knew anything either.”

“Maybe you could come with me.”

He sighs. “You know I can’t. You’re the only one the emperor trusts to send on missions like this.”

“But won’t it look weird if an eighteen-year-old girl went somewhere alone?”

“You know that will not work. The emperor will send the Queen of Assassins wherever he pleases and neither of us can do anything about it.”

I furrow my brow. “Don’t call me that.”

He doesn’t respond for a while and I don’t move from his chest. Eventually, my eyes close and I fall back asleep, dreaming of the Queen of Assassins.

*********************

I wake up as Alex slides out of bed the next morning and puts on his leathers. I watch him as he dresses and then he comes over to me, sitting on the bed next to me. “Do you want to spar with me?”

I groan and he rubs my arm. “Did you get hurt last night?”

I shrug and he kisses my forehead. “I’d love it if you would.”

I groan but slowly sit up, sliding out of bed. I pull on my black leather pants and my white shirt, lacing up the v-neck and then putting on my armored corset. Then I strap on my daggers, putting two on each thigh and then hiding one in my corset.

Alex gently kisses me after I finish and I smile before we step out of the room and head down to the walled in courtyard. It’s early enough that it’s empty. I start stretching out my arms and smirk as Alex starts to circle me. I keep my eyes on him as he moves, letting him be the attacker since I know how he moves.

I pretend to yawn and his smile turns deadly, making my blood hum with the thrill of the fight. He launches himself at me and I skip out of his way, but he whirls, smacking my butt hard and then dancing away from me. I rub my backside, glaring at him and he gives me a lazy grin. “Come on, Em.”

I lunge at him and in a whirl of motion, I’m pinned beneath him. I gasp and he smiles wider. “I win.”

I roll my eyes as he lets my hands up and he bends down to kiss me again, his lips searching mine as if for an answer.

“Emily, the Emperor wishes to speak with you.”

Alex and I are both instantly on our feet, any sign of playfulness vanishing as Philip stands in the entrance to the courtyard. I swallow, trying to read his face but he turns before I can and I fall into step behind him, not looking back at Alex.

As we step out of sight, Philip hands me a pill and my heart drops. No. I swallow, trying to breath as memories of pain lancing through my back fill me. This can’t be happening. I didn’t do anything wrong. I killed all my taggets and I didn’t make a commotion.

None of it matters. I was going to be punished for whatever it was. Even if it was small. I take a deep breath, swallowing the pill as we near the throne room. Philip grabs my arm before we can go inside, pulling me to a stop. “He won’t make it too bad. You have an assignment you have to go on as soon as possible. I’ll brief you on it tomorrow.”

I nod and he hugs me tightly. “I’m sorry, Emily.”

I don’t say anything as I step inside to find the Emperor waiting for me. I walk inside before I kneel before him, bowing my head. I hear him stand but I don’t dare move as he walks towards me. “Emily, you are my best. You have never failed before.”

I look up as he speaks, suddenly hopeful.

“But you were seen last night. Someone saw you leaving the manor and reported it, only to find their masters dead. Luckily, they couldn’t find you. But now I have to put out a city wide search for the Queen of Assassins.”

My heart sinks as I meet his eyes that are so dark their almost black. He’s young for how powerful he is, only in his late twenties. His complexion is dark. Black hair, dark skin. Fear trickles into my blood as he crouches in front of me, grabbing my chin. “You are not to be seen.”

His cold eyes study my face for a moment before he drops my chin and stands back up. “Twenty lashes.”

I hold back the urge to cry out as his personal guards grab me, dragging me to the whipping post. They chain me to it before they rip the clothes off my back without hesitation, revealing my already thickly scarred flesh. Layers and layers of scars. Too many to even count. But after a lifetime of punishment, I still feared the whip. I pray to the gods above who have long since abandoned me as the whip whistles through the air.