Chapter Three

 

 

 

Laura

 

Being assigned a bodyguard shouldn’t insult me, but it does. I’ve spent my whole life training to rid myself of weakness, and I am rewarded with a babysitter. I am a trained assassin, for heaven’s sake. What good can a bodyguard do for me?

Unfortunately, it seems that I am stuck with one. Shane has followed me around for the past hour, keeping to his word and staying out of my way. When I went to the training room to blow off some steam, he stood in the corner and watched me silently until I decided it was time to go.

Now, he leans against the frame of my bedroom door, twisting the handle of his knife through his fingers—a habit that we share. He’s young and tall and thin, with olive skin, black-brown hair and hazel eyes. He’s not unpleasant to look at, but his presence still bothers me. I’m not used to being around people. I don’t like them. This one is no different.

“I’m going to visit my brother, Eight,” I announce, standing. I want to see if he needs anything and to tell him of the injustices of having a bodyguard.

“Eight… That’s the prince, right?” Shane asks.

“Yes, but not the heir. I’m the heir.”

“I know. Luckily, no one else does or they’d all be running for the hills,” he says, smiling. I suppose he thinks he’s clever.

“You had better watch your attitude,” I say, narrowing my eyes. “I could kill you if I wanted to. I’m a highly trained assassin and I answer to no one.”

“Goody goody goldfish,” Shane huffs, rolling his eyes at me.

Frustrated, I grab a knife from my desk and throw it at the wall, where it lands only centimeters from his head. Instead of looking at me with horror in his eyes, he merely shrugs.

“You missed,” he says, removing the blade from the wall and tossing it back to me. I catch it by the handle and stare at him, momentarily stunned into silence.

“Let’s go,” I say, exiting my open door before Shane can do anything else to unnerve me. I knock on Eight’s door once before I enter, and I find him sitting on his couch, watching television.

“Hey, Laura,” he says without looking up. I take a seat next to him and Shane stands in the doorway yet again. I guess he really likes doorways. He always seems to be leaning against one.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

Eight shrugs, then winces as he catches his mistake. “Hurts less when I don’t do stuff like that. Do you realize how much you actually use your shoulders? I mean, really. They’re involved with everything.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, I guess they are.”

“Oh good, you’re both here,” I hear my father’s voice say as he peeks through Eight’s door. Shane abruptly moves out of the way, making way for the Emperor. My father eyes him suspiciously, then a look of remembrance crosses over his face. “You must be Laura’s new bodyguard.”

“Yes, sir,” Shane says.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Dad says, shaking Shane’s hand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a person look as nervous as Shane does in this moment. “If you don’t mind stepping outside for a minute, I have some business to discuss with my children.”

“Y-yes, s-sir,” Shane stutters, exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.

“Bodyguard?” Eight says, raising his eyebrows and giving me a questioning look.

“Yeah. It’s a real pain.” I sigh, crossing my arms.

“A real pain that you too will endure soon, Eight. When you’re up and about again, Ryan will be assigning you one as well.”

“Since Laura gets that strapping young lad, can I get a hot girl?” Eight asks, wriggling his eyebrows.

“Put in your requests with Ryan, not me,” Dad says, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. Eight, Alicia’s been trying to write to you. I’ve intercepted her letters and I’ve come up with a plan of action.”

Eight’s face crumples and he quickly turns his attention to his feet. I can tell by his expression that he’s worried about what Dad will do to Alicia once we’ve found her. The two of them were very close, and I know he will hate to see her die. It’s the price she will pay for betraying her country. All traitors die, whether they are royalty or not.

“Do we have a location for her?” I ask eagerly. I am not nearly as forgiving as my brother. I want Alicia dead.

“Not yet. We’ll need Eight to send her a letter asking to meet with her in person,” Dad says, turning to my brother. “You can choose the time and the place if you’d like, so long as you meet her soon. This is of the utmost urgency, son. We don’t have time to waste on your dawdling around.”

“I don’t want to be involved in Alicia’s death, Dad. She’s my sister.”

“Well, we aren’t going to kill her yet. She’s a valuable source of information. I’m sure you can get her to talk. She trusts you.”

“I don’t know, Dad. Alicia’s clever. We’ll need something to gain leverage over her,” I say, “I don’t think she’ll be as trusting as you assume. She knows us.”

“Oh, we have leverage. We have Isaac Okami. We took him prisoner during the attack,” he says with a sinister smile. It should bother me how easily this comes to my father. He ensures Alicia’s pain with no remorse, and I know he won’t lose sleep over her death. It should bother me even more to know that the same coldness is creeping into my own heart, but it doesn’t. I am becoming a copy of my father.

“She’ll do anything to free her precious boyfriend. Perfect, Dad. Perfect,” I say. Eight squirms uncomfortably and looks away from the two of us.

“I don’t have a choice in writing this, do I?” he asks.

“No, son, you do not.”

“Fine. I’ll ask her to meet me tonight at midnight. Can you get my message to her in time?” Eight sighs, pain and anger etched clearly onto his face.

“Of course,” Dad says, handing Eight a pen and paper.

My brother scribbles a note down then shoves it into my father’s waiting hands. “Here.”

“Excellent. Laura, I want you to go with your brother tonight when he meets with Alicia. I don’t want him getting shot again, and I know you’ll protect him. Take your bodyguard too, just in case.”

“Perfect,” I say with a smile, excitement welling up inside me. “Hopefully I can contain my anger enough not to kill her on the spot.”

“Could you all please just get out of my room?” Eight shouts, still staring at his feet. His sudden outburst causes me to jump a little, and I look at my father with my eyebrows raised.

“Sure thing, Eight. Rest up. This won’t be an easy mission,” Dad says, putting a hand on Eight’s good shoulder. He shrugs it off, tensing up at my father’s touch. I’ve never seen Eight so bothered by anything, but I suppose it’s only natural to be conflicted about leading your own sister to her death.

My father exits the room first and I follow shortly behind him.

“I know you won’t disappoint me, Laura,” he says, putting his hand on my shoulder. “We will make sure your sister pays for what she did to our family. Go get some training in before you go tonight.”

“All right. I’ll let you know how the meeting went once we’ve returned,” I promise. My father nods and we part ways. I motion for Shane to follow me as I take the elevator to the weapons training room that is located on the palace’s first floor.

“What was that all about?” he asks.

“I’ve got a mission tonight. After it, I’ll be one step closer to killing my sister.” I smile.

Shane grimaces when I say the words, and he subconsciously takes a step away from me. Good. I’ve finally said something that unnerves him. What a refreshing change.

 

* * * *

 

We’ve agreed to meet Alicia in a little stone cabin hidden in the woods behind our palace. It has been there for ages. The three of us used to play in it when we were children, back before my father wanted to start a war and everything was safe. She’s probably been hiding there since after the attack, right under our noses without us even knowing it.

Shane and I walk in front of Eight, pushing away the branches of the dense trees so they don’t cause further damage to his shoulder. Leaves and twigs scratch against my face and arms as we move forward, but that doesn’t bother me. The thought of seeing my sister does.

The image of Eight lying unconscious in his own blood is one that I can’t shake from my memory, no matter how hard I try. I hate that his life was put in jeopardy by my own sister, and it still baffles me that someone I love so dearly is capable of such evil. Still, she claimed to have a good reason…

No! There is no good reason for betraying your family. I cannot entertain these sympathetic curiosities, or I will be unwilling to kill Alicia when the time comes. And I have to prevent her from hurting us again. I have to. Protecting my country and my family are all that matter to me now.

“We’re almost there,” I announce. Shane seems unaffected by our long hike, and I have so much adrenaline running through me that I could walk for days. Eight, however, is straggling behind us, exhaustion sinking in.

“Thank goodness. How did we even make it this far without dying when we were kids?”

“Well, none of us were healing from bullet wounds. Alicia never should’ve asked you to come this far.”

“I’m sure she’s terrified to go anywhere near the palace.”

“Yeah, well she wouldn’t have to be if she’d never betrayed our family.”

“Touché,” Eight says as he pauses to catch his breath. I nudge Shane’s shoulder and stop walking, nodding toward my brother. Shane catches my hint, and when we begin moving again, we both slow our pace.

Soon enough, the little stone cabin comes into view through the dense trees of the forest. It looks more decrepit than I remember, with its stone foundation breaking apart and vines sneaking up through every crevice. The moonlight illuminates the building, and it is by this light that I see my sister sitting on the small porch, staring up at the stars. The sight of her stops me in my tracks. My heart begins racing and I turn to my brother in a panic.

“She’s already here. You’d better lead now. She’s expecting you, not us,” I say, nudging him forward urgently.

“Calm down, Laura. It’s okay,” Eight whispers, his blue eyes taking in my franticness. He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll tell her you’re here, but don’t come out until I do. It’s going to be okay.”

It strikes me as odd that my brother is reassuring me when I should be the one comforting him. I guess it has always been this way. Something bad happens to someone I love, and I worry about it more than they do. Still, I don’t see how he can stand to be kind to Alicia when she’s the reason he was shot. In some ways, he’s braver than I’ll ever be.

“Alicia?” Eight says, as he approaches the cabin. My sister jumps up and reaches out to embrace him, but Eight quickly backs away. “Sorry. I’m in too much pain.”

“Eight, I am so, so sorry,” Alicia begins, but Eight holds up his hands to stop her.

“You didn’t shoot me. It’s not your fault,” he says, putting his good arm around her shoulder. Alicia leans into him, a sob escaping from her throat. The sight sickens me. She shouldn’t be weeping. She caused this. Then again, I guess it’s good that she’s miserable. It serves her right.

“It is my fault,” she sobs.

“Hey. Quit that. That’s not what we’re here to talk about. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you told Laura that there was a reason for the attack.”

“I did, but she didn’t want to listen to me—”

“She actually does. She’s here now.”

“What? Eight, why would you bring her?” Alicia cries, burying her face in her hands.

“Did you expect me to come alone? I freaking got shot two weeks ago, Alicia. I couldn’t have made it here by myself.”

“Whatever. You might as well come out now, Laura. Your cover’s been blown.” Alicia sighs, waving her hand in the air in frustration.

“Stay hidden and watch, just in case we need you,” I whisper to Shane before emerging from the trees. He nods, and as I move forward, he recedes farther back into the shadows.

“Any more surprises?” she asks, crossing her arms.

“No. It’s just us,” I announce. Eight gives me a confused look as I walk to where he and Alicia stand, but I ignore it. Hopefully he is wise enough to remain quiet. “We want to hear you out.”

“You threatened to kill me the last time I saw you.”

“You got Eight shot. I was angry. Can you blame me? I want to hear you out now, and that’s what matters,” I say, feeling my heartbeat in every corner of my body. The tops of my ears are hot and my cheeks are red with the adrenaline of it all, but by some miracle, I am keeping my temper in check.

“I guess you’re right,” Alicia says, arms crossed. “But I still don’t feel like I can trust you, Laura. And I can’t take any chances with this information. I’d tell Eight if you weren’t here, but I can’t tell you until I know you won’t betray me.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Alicia. It should be me that can’t trust you. How am I supposed to prove my loyalty to you when you’re banished from the damn country?”

“You… Do… Do you know where Izzy is?” she asks, tears stinging her eyes

“Who?” I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. What does this have to do with anything?

“Izzy. Isaac Okami,” she says, biting her lip.

Oh, yes. Her boyfriend. The one Father was so excited about capturing. “I don’t know where he’s being kept, but I can find out.”

It is the truth. Dad told me that Isaac was being kept off site until he could figure out what to do with him. If it will lead to the information we need, I’m sure Dad will tell me where we’re hiding him.

“Thank you. Do that and I’ll tell you everything. I just… I need to get him back,” Alicia says, looking at the ground.

“You’re going to try to rescue him?”

“What choice do I have? Dad’s gonna kill him if I don’t get him out of there. Besides, it’s not like I won’t have help,” she says. “So you’ll give me his location?”

“Yeah, as long as you swear to tell me this ‘crucial’ information,” I say, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

“I will. Meet me tomorrow night—same time, same place.”

“Okay. It’s a deal,” I say, extending my hand to shake Alicia’s. Instead, she throws her arms around me and pulls me into a tight embrace. My entire body tenses, and I decide that if she doesn’t get off me within the next few seconds, I will snap her in half right here, right now.

“I’d better get back to base,” Alicia says. “It isn’t safe for me here.”

So whoever Alicia’s working with is large enough to have a base. I bet she’s with the rebellion. Just when I didn’t think I could be any angrier with her.

“Yeah, we need to get back too,” Eight says, speaking up for the first time in several minutes. “My shoulder’s getting sore.”

“I really hope you can prove trustworthy, Laura. I want you on my side,” Alicia says, putting her hand on my shoulder as I turn to make my way back toward the forest. I stiffen at the gesture but don’t push her arm away. I only have to endure this long enough to get the information we need then I can send her to prison.

“Yeah,” I manage to say, looking at the ground.

“I never meant to betray you,” Alicia says, letting go of my shoulder. With that, she runs away into the night, disappearing from our sight quickly.

“But you did,” I whisper, tears brimming in my eyes. For a moment I stand in front of the cabin as they fall down my cheeks. I’m unwilling to return to the palace in such a state.

“Even the strongest of fighters is not immune to grief,” Shane says, putting his arm around me in a gesture of kindness. Instead of yelling at him and pushing him away, I lean into him as I quiet my tears and wipe my eyes. Eight sits down on the ground and rests his forehead against his knees with slumped shoulders. It has been a painful night for both of us.

“Thank you, Shane,” I whisper, inwardly resolving not to torture him anymore. I’ve given him nothing but trouble when he hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s been kind to me despite my cruelty, and I am grateful for that.

“You okay?” he asks, leaving his arm around me.

“I don’t think so, but I will be,” I say, tears welling in my eyes.

My resolve to kill Alicia is cracking, but if I don’t follow my father’s orders, my fate may well be the same as hers. I have to be heartless and ruthless and cruel. Otherwise, the good in my heart will be the poison that kills me.