The Scarlet Assassin

Chapter Forty-Five

I ran from the prince's chambers covered in blood, running down the hallways and frantically shouting for help. I was yelling so loud my throat was raw by the time someone finally heard me.

A group of eight guards stood outside the Keep. I ran to the first one and clung to him like a madwoman. "Help me, please!" I screeched. "T-t-they killed them! They killed them all!"

The group of guards was now around me, appalled. The one who I was holding asked frantically, "What happened, miss? What-"

"A-a-a group of men jumped the guards standing outside of the prince's chambers and slaughtered them. There's blood everywhere—the ground, the walls, t-the ceiling."

The guards' eyes all widened. The man I still clung to like a baby whispered, "Sound the alarm," to another guard who then nodded and disappeared. "The prince. What happened to the prince?"

Tears now stung my eyes. "They barged into the room and shot him. He's dead," I sobbed. "He's dead! I-I couldn't stay any longer. I-I was cleaning the next room and I heard them. They didn't see me, so I ran. I couldn't see my prince dead." I buried my face in the man's chest. "I just couldn't! A-and then I tripped and fell into the blood, and I think they heard me. So I-I started screaming."

He didn't seem to know what to do with me. Awkwardly, the man patted my back and I felt him cringe back. "It's, uh, okay."

I sobbed on his uniform. Not a second later, an alarm sounded, but it was different from the last one. Shrill and high, it made me cringe back.

And I knew what it must have meant:

A royal is dead.

All of the guards, and more, began running toward the hallway I had appeared from. People were shouting and orders were being yelled. It was pure chaos.

The guard holding me pried me from his body and said, "Get to the safe room. It'll be okay." And then he ran off. And I was alone.

My expression turned blank. I wiped my fake tears from my face, clutched the keys I'd just swiped from the guard, and strolled in the direction of the dungeon.

——————----

As I had thought, when I got to the dungeon all of the guards on watch had left to help, so I easily unlocked the main door and descended the spiral stairs to the hallway of cells.

The dungeon was how you can imagine—dark, drab, rancid. Everything but the iron bars was made from stone, and you could smell the god-awful mixture of blood and piss even before making it all the way down. Only a few lanterns lit the long and dingy hallway. They swung in the draft, chains creaking, and the alarm was so muffled down here, I heard every time a prisoner shifted in their chains.

My steps echoed down the path as I made my way across the prison, surveying each cell.

When I made it to the second to last cell, my eyes caught the two bodies sitting on the gravel ground, and I paused.

"You two," I said, my voice a snarl, "are in deep shit."

Sorin grinned up at me, chains clanking as he shifted. "Vera, darling, what took you so long?"

"Do not start with me, Sorin Stryker. I am covered in blood, in ruffles, and am quite literally breaking you out of prison right now."

"And you look stunning doing it."

"You-"

"Can you just hurry up?" Rafe joined in. "My foot has been asleep for an hour."