Revenge of the Duchess

Chapter 34

A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy!

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Jason slipped in and out of the crowds. He knew he should be performing his duty by making friends with all the ambassadors sent to the Cytheran Queen Aphrodite's birthday ball.

"Did you hear? The Cytheran's first princess will be hosting her coming-of-age ceremony soon. She's rumored to be the most beautiful in all the nations!"

"Pah, as if she could hold a candle to my country's most beloved Queen. My queen Persephone is so beautiful that our king went to war for her hand!"

"Shush, here comes Queen Aphrodite! My, she's a beauty as well, isn't she?"

Ignoring all the other party attendants, Jason was more focused on weaving between the servants and crowd. He grabbed a wineglass to help blend in.

Tsk, he thought. The assassins were daring this time, to follow him all the way from Cuora to Cythera. His knights had done well to fend them off and not be delayed for the coming-of-age ceremony, but somehow two of the killers had masked themselves in the party.

The killers were most likely sent by one of King Zeus' consorts. A new baby had been born, and Jason's newest half-sibling was rumored to be a prince. The royal child's mother probably wanted Jason out of the way so her child could be in the top line of succession, choosing a time where Jason was out of the palace to be killed and then to blame the murder on bandits.

Jason made a silent note to have the concubine disposed of. The child was still innocent, so he could let it live for now. Perhaps sending the child far away to the slums or paralyzing the child would be the safest and most generous option Jason could give. Jason and Thalia had learned from their now dead mother that being cruel and strong was the only way one could survive the ruthless Cuora royal palace.

And now he had to survive this.

Jason ducked out of sight behind a pillar towards an open balcony. He had to lure the men to a place where there were barely any people around so he could deal with them properly. Since King Zeus had assigned Jason on a mission to Cythera to continue the countries' friendly relations, Jason could not just eliminate people in the middle of the ballroom and certainly not with so many witnesses and diplomats.

As he headed towards the balcony, Jason paused briefly and deliberately let the assassins see him. Excitedly, the two headed towards his direction as if sensing that they had an opportunity to kill him coming up.

Assured that the men would follow, Jason stepped out into the empty balcony. Careful that none of the ceremony attendees had seen him, Jason launched himself off of the second floor balcony. Landing in the soft grass, Jason slipped into the dark gardens, grateful for the cover of night. Even the light from the stars could not reveal his presence.

There were a few guards, but they were paying far more attention elsewhere than the unlit gardens where guests were not keen to go to. Even the guards seemed to be enamored in taking a glimpse of the widely famous beauty of the Cytheran princess.

Jason spotted a maze and let his lips curl up in a sneer. Perfect. The men would not know what happened. He would make sure their dead bodies would be hard to discovered, and then frame the assassins for trying to harm the Cytheran princess instead.

The grass crunched underneath his feet as Jason ventured further and further into the winding maze. The shadows made a perfect place for him to hide and wait for the right opportunity to ambush one of the assassins.