Cage of Deceit (Reign of Secrets Book 1) (20 page)

“Stand still.” The assassin once again came up behind her. He quickly tied the blindfold around her head, and then he grabbed her arm. He led her back down the stairs, and they began the trek through the city.

Now that she’d seen Grevik and the condition he was in, she knew the assassin would never let him go—especially if Grevik had seen the man’s face while being tortured. Most likely, the assassin would kill her as well to ensure no one could tie him to the crime he planned to commit. 

“Meet me tomorrow. Same time, same place,” he said, close to her ear. “I want to know if the emperor will be going to the shelter with his wife and daughter.”

Tomorrow was the ball. Getting out of the castle unnoticed would be infinitely more difficult. “I’m working,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to leave.”

The assassin stilled. “Will you be attending the royal ball tomorrow evening?”

“How do you know about that?”

“It’s not hard to figure out when deliveries are being made and people all over town are talking about it.” He started walking again, keeping her at his side.

It would be the perfect time for him to gain entrance into the castle when all the guests arrived. She hated being blindfolded and not having any idea what was going on around her. They walked in silence for several moments. 

“If the royal family is still alive in two days, you are to meet me at the inn with information about the emperor.” He untied her blindfold.

Allyssa ripped the material off her face and found herself standing all alone in the alleyway next to the inn, the assassin nowhere in sight.

She glanced up at the building, looking for the ladder that led to the door she must have exited from, but she didn’t see anything. She shivered and went to the street in front of the inn, hoping Jarvik and his men saw her. Since the assassin could be watching, she kept walking, heading back to the castle alone, instead of waiting for the squire to show himself.

A couple of blocks away from the soldiers’ entrance, Jarvik finally caught up to her. He wrapped her in a hug, holding tightly. “I thought we lost you,” he stammered.

“I’m fine.” His body was hard and solid against hers.

“What happened?” he demanded as he held her at arm’s length, looking her over for any signs of injury. His eyes lingered on her swollen lip.

Her eyes darted to the rooftops of the nearby buildings. “Let’s go inside first.” She feared the assassin could be hidden anywhere watching them. “I have a lot to tell you.” When they neared the soldiers’ entrance, the Fren soldiers joined them and they were granted entrance.

Once inside the castle, Jarvik dismissed his men, trying to minimize attention. He continued on with Allyssa. Heading along the dark, empty corridor, the squire abruptly stopped next to one of the windows, the moonlight shining on his worried face.

“What happened?” he demanded.

She quickly told him as many of the details as she could remember. When she got to the part about her trying to take on the skilled assassin by herself, his eyes darkened and he put his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

When she finished, she said, “You may yell at me now.”

He stood there staring at her a moment before asking, “You can’t retrace your steps?”

“No.” Wasn’t he going to tell her how stupid it had been to go with the assassin? To fight him when there was little hope of winning? To put her life in danger like that?

Jarvik ran his hands through his hair, letting out a sigh. “The ball will be tricky. With so many people attending, the assassin could easily slip in to try and kill the royal family.”

Reaching up, she touched her lip. It was split, and there was some dried blood on it. Once Mayra applied some coloring to Allyssa’s lips, no one would be able to tell she’d been hit.

“I can’t believe the assassin struck you,” Jarvik said, “and that I wasn’t there to help you.”

“I’m fine.” She shrugged. It really was no big deal. She’d been in plenty of brawls to know this was minor.

He took a step closer to her, his chest almost touching hers. She started to lean away from him but he put his hand on her back, holding her in place.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He lowered his face closer to hers. “I’m looking at your cut. I want to make sure the assassin didn’t have his gloved hand laced with poison.”

She hadn’t even considered the possibility.

“It’s not red or oozing,” he declared. “You’re fine.”

His gaze moved from her lips to her eyes. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be kissed. He hastily took a step away from her.

Realizing what had almost happened, she said, “I should go to my bedchamber.” Jarvik nodded as she stepped around him and practically ran down the hall to the laundry room.

“Shoulders back,” Rema said. Allyssa couldn’t believe her mother had given her this dress to wear. It was the gown Rema had worn to her coronation ball in Emperion almost twenty years ago. “This is a special occasion,” Rema continued “You must look the part.”

“The gown is stunning on you,” Mayra said.

“Definitely something fit for the future empress,” Madelin added.

The ivory-colored dress had a neckline that went straight across her chest and shoulders, leaving her neck and upper arms exposed. A diamond necklace rested above her bosom. Madelin had braided Allyssa’s hair and twisted it up and around her jewel-encrusted crown.

“Where’s Prince Odar?” Allyssa asked. She hadn’t seen him all day and thought he’d be here by now, preparing for the announcement.

“I saw Jarvik on his way to get him,” Mayra said.

Rema adjusted Allyssa’s necklace. “Sweetheart,” she whispered, gaining her daughter’s attention. “Please focus. You’re about to make an important announcement to the city.”

Allyssa nodded. Her mother was right. She should be going over her speech, not worrying about where the prince was.

Darmik entered the small antechamber, his eyes settling on his daughter. “You look beautiful,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Are you ready to announce your upcoming marriage to Emperion?”

“Speaking of which,” Allyssa said, “since I’m traveling to Fren, when will the wedding take place?”

Rema rubbed her daughter’s arm. “We are working out all the details with the prince. Once it’s settled, we’ll let you know.”

Prince Odar and Jarvik entered, wearing handsome tunics embroidered with Fren’s royal crest. Jarvik glanced briefly at Allyssa before going to Neco, who stood in the corner. The two of them began speaking in hushed whispers.

“Stop staring,” Rema whispered. “You can’t afford to be distracted by the prince’s squire.”

Allyssa felt her face heat up. She wanted to contradict her mother, but the look on Rema’s face said the subject was closed for now.

“You and I will talk later, just the two of us,” Rema whispered.

“Your Highness,” Prince Odar said, taking Allyssa’s hand and kissing the top of it.

She forced herself to focus on him. “Are you ready?” 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He offered her his arm, and she took it.

Darmik cleared his throat and came before the royal couple. “We’re going to make this brief,” he said. “We must assume King Drenton of Russek has sent spies to our city to track our movements. He won’t be happy to learn our kingdom is joining forces with Fren.”

“Make sure the two of you don’t look too serious,” Rema said, smiling at them. “You need to show everyone that you are happy, in love, and strong. We must give them reassurance before this war.”

“Let’s go,” Darmik said, joining hands with Rema. Together, they walked onto the balcony, and the crowd below roared. Allyssa hoped that when she became empress, the people loved her as much as they loved her mother—that her decisions, policies, and actions deserved such loyalty.

Odar patted Allyssa’s hand that rested on his arm. “Have I told you how utterly astonishing you look?”

Thankfully, Mayra had applied some color to Allyssa’s lips, concealing the cut the assassin had given her last night. Without meaning to, she glanced at Jarvik again. He was staring right at her, and she quickly looked away.

Rema began speaking to the crowd, telling them that she had a special announcement to make. “My lovely daughter, Princess Allyssa, your future empress, is engaged to Prince Odar of Fren. The marriage contract has been signed. After my daughter travels to Fren to meet with the king and queen, the ceremony will take place.”

That was Allyssa’s cue. Together, she and Prince Odar walked onto the balcony, and the crowd roared their approval. She smiled and waved, just as she’d been trained to do. Glancing sidelong at Prince Odar, he was doing the same thing, and the people of Emperion loved it.

Rema raised her hands, and the crowd went silent. Darmik briefly spoke of the upcoming war and Emperion’s mighty strength. Then he started talking about Fren and their lethal army. While her father spoke, Allyssa scanned the crowd, wondering if the assassin stood among them. Guards had checked everyone who entered the courtyard and weapons were confiscated. However, she was sure if the assassin wanted to be there fully armed, he’d find a way. Standing on the nearby rooftops were several archers intently watching the people below.

The cheering resumed and Odar gently led Allyssa forward, closer to the railing. It was her turn to speak. The people started cheering Princess Allyssa and Prince Odar, shouting their approval of the union. What if the assassin decided to murder the royal family right now? He wanted an opportunity to kill them, and here he had it. Odar reassuringly squeezed her hand.

Allyssa raised her hand, and everyone quieted down. “My dear people of Emperion,” she bellowed. “Thank you for coming today.” Fear coursed through her at the possibility of the assassin standing below, ready to throw a knife into her heart.

“I’m deeply honored and humbled to be marrying Princess Allyssa,” Odar said, saving her from speaking. “Emperion is a beautiful kingdom with hard-working citizens and just rulers. I promise to serve you and to cherish this kingdom as my own.”

The crowd shouted their approval. The guards ushered the royal family off the balcony and back into the antechamber.

“I messed up my speech,” Allyssa moaned. She’d been so afraid of the assassin, it had paralyzed her.

“It’s fine,” Odar consoled her.

“It truly is,” Rema said, hugging her daughter. “The people needed to see you, and they did.”

Jarvik came before her. “I’ll escort the prince and princess back to their chambers,” he said.

“Thank you,” Rema replied as she left with Darmik and Neco.

Allyssa, surrounded by Odar, Jarvik, her ladies-in-waiting, and two sets of guards, made her way through the corridors.

Pulling free from the prince, she stopped walking. “Is something the matter?” Odar asked.

She glanced to Marek, trying to figure out an excuse to leave the prince and his men so she could be alone for a little bit. She couldn’t claim training or riding—she wasn’t dressed appropriately for either activity. 

“Pardon the intrusion,” Madelin said. “Don’t forget you need to see the seamstress before the ball this evening.”

Allyssa wanted to kiss her friend for her quick thinking. “Of course,” she said. “Prince Odar, Jarvik, if you’ll excuse me.” Without waiting for either one of them to respond, she turned and strode away.

“I see you have some new guards,” Madelin observed.

“Yes,” Allyssa replied. “Apparently, the Fren and Emperion guards must learn to work with one another.” She waved Marek closer, away from the other guards. “Where can I go to at least have the illusion of privacy?” she whispered.

The corners of his lips lifted. “Certainly a dress fitting would accomplish that.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, well, I was thinking somewhere outside.”

“I understand,” he said. “However, you might want to consider that your entire guard, along with some of Prince Odar’s men, heard you say you were going to a fitting. You might not want them to see you lying to your future husband. It won’t instill faith.”

Allyssa sighed. 

“I’m sorry if I overstepped my place,” Marek quickly said.

“No, I appreciate your candor, and you are correct.”

When they reached the seamstress’s room, they found it void of people. All the guards waited outside while Allyssa entered with her ladies-in-waiting. “I’ve never been in here before,” Allyssa said. The seamstress always came to her.

“I guess we’ll just sit in here for fifteen minutes or so,” Madelin suggested.

There were several worktables, and fabric was strewn all over the place. The room was on the ground level, and there were half a dozen windows along one of the walls.

“With the ball tonight, you think there would be several people in here working,” Mayra said.

Madelin laughed. “This is the seamstress for the royal family only,” she informed them. “If she’s not here, then she’s most likely in the Royal Chambers. She’s probably delivering the princess’s dress as we speak.”

Marek stepped inside the room. “Your Highness, Jarvik needs to speak privately with you. He said it’s important.”

“When?” Allyssa asked.

“He’ll be here shortly.”

Marek escorted Madelin and Mayra just outside the entrance. A moment later, Jarvik stealthily slipped inside the seamstress’s room, using an interior door Allyssa hadn’t noticed before now.