The Assassin Queen

The prince

Chapter 2

Dravena is awoke by the sound of a whip and a scream, far too close to the hole she is sleeping in. “Rise and shine you worthless scum. Time to get back to work!” One of the slave masters shout, moving down the man-made tunnels that had taken the lives of thousands of people, human and lycan, even the werewolf rebels that had stood up for the unjust murder of the lycan families.

Dravena attempts to stand up, but her back still aches where her skin is trying to knit back together from the whipping she had gotten a week ago. One would think that she would be broken, that she would be able to keep her mouth shut and accept her fate in this hell hole where most barely survive two months, yet she has survived two years, and she still refuse to give up on her goal to end it all. She was tired, but she would not bend, she would not break. If she couldn’t get out of here to find out who had betrayed her, then she would die here and she would do so on her terms.

“Seems like today is your lucky day, Satan spawn.” The overseer says as he steps into Dravena’s little cave that others are too piss scared to enter. “You have someone that has paid quite the price to get you out of here. Wonder what he intends to do with what is left of you.” He says with an ugly sneer on his face. She has been sold off, something that never happens as no one has ever survived the mines, but seems like she is the exception to the rules. The overseer pulls her up by her hair, her shackled arms shacking with the urge to hit him and run, but after her last attempt to end it all, her shackles have been shortened, giving her barely enough space to lift an ax.

The male pulls her through the caves, leading her through tunnels that she has memorized time and time again, until they reach the opening, were sunlight streams in, nearly blinding her after being underground for far longer that any living being should be. For a moment she can hardly make out where she is going, but as soon as her eyes adjust to the light, she realizes that they are walking to the keep. The smell of the graves that surround the mine and the keep nearly makes her vomit and probably would have if she had anything in her stomach to throw up.

Six guard surround them, all with their hands on their swords at their side, ready to kill her if she so much as made a move to try and run. Dravena smirks, proud that even weak, they are still scared of her, still remember why she is called Satan’s spawn.

“That is far enough, we will take it from here.” Dravena looks up at the male with his hood pulled over his head, keeping his face from view. She could make out his broad shoulders, the way he stands as if he commands respect. Whoever he is, he is important and she is proven right when he finally lifts his hood. She forces herself to stand up straight, to not suck in a breath like her body is demanding.

The prince, the son of the man that had destroyed her family. Memories that she has been fighting her whole life tries to break through, consume her. She squares her shoulders and straightens her spine, grinding on her teeth as her barely healed wounds crack open with the movement. The prince snarls, his eyes flashing as his wolf ties to fight for dominance, but with it not being the full moon, his wolf can’t escape the cage it is placed in.

“You’re bleeding.” He says between clenched teeth.

“I was whipped, that is the price you pay here for having an unbroken spirt in here.” She says, trying her best not to show her pain. The prince eyes widen slightly in surprise at her, but then a cruel smile tilts up his lips.

“Good, that means I didn’t spend months trying to find you, all for nothing.” He says, and Draven’s interest is quipped. He has been looking for her. For a moment, they are both quietly staring at each other, as if they are trying to size each other up. She takes a moment to fully take him in. His golden eyes, black hair that had probably seen better days, but is now hanging over his forehead, nearly reaching his eyes. He has a shadow of hair on his face, that he probably wasn’t able to shave during his trip to find her. But why, why is the prince looking for her?

“What do you want?” She asks him, getting tired of their silent staring match. She is tired and hungry, her lips cracked from not having had even so much as a sip of water in two days.

“I want you to be my champion. My father is hosting a game of sorts. The winner becomes his champion, his assassin, tasked with keeping unwanted resistance to a minimum. If you win, you sign a five-year contract, and after that, you get your freedom, never to be hunted again.” He says, almost like he is telling her about the weather, instead of dangling her freedom in front of her.

“And how can I trust that my freedom doesn’t mean my cold body in an unmarked grave the moment my contract is up.” She asks him, fighting the hope clawing at her chest. “You sign a blood oath.” He says and for a moment she can’t breathe. A blood oath is a sacred oath, one that binds him to his word.

“All I have to do is win this competition?” She asks, and he nods, but then looks her over like he isn’t sure he made the right choice in trying to find her.

“I killed seven guards two months after I was sent here. I have survived two years where most would only survive two months at most. I am still here with my mind intact. Do not doubt that I can win any silly competition that old bastard throws my way.” She says, letting some of her hatred for his father slip through her voice.

“I would refrain from calling him an old bastard to his face, but you will do.” He says, nodding to whatever guards were keeping watch. “You know, I would like to know, how a human girl of barely eighteen was able to kill ten werewolf guards before they were even able to lift their owns swords?”

“I was trained to kill from the age of six. I have killed men three times my size before I even turned ten. It doesn’t take brut force to kill a target, but skill and a sharp mind. Besides, werewolves can only shift to their beasts on a full moon. What little strength they get from their wolves is hardly something to brag about.” She says with a shrug. If the prince is impressed or scared, he doesn’t show it, only nods and then allows the guard to pull her away.