A Song of Silence

Chapter 64: A Plan in the Dark

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"He branded you where!" Karasi practically screeched.

I tried to shush her, but her surprise and excitement at my branding made her voice carry farther than I would have liked. I'm not repeating it. I sign, my cheeks pinking as she claps her hands in joy and excitement. Sighing, I try to finish my meal before Karasi and I were due for the meeting in half an hour. Karasi wears a smile all the while and she gives me an 'I told you so' look that I try to ignore. I hadn't intended to let the news of Azazel's brand slip, but Karasi was someone I couldn't se myself hiding such an important thing from. "Did you brand him back?"

My head shoots up from my meal and I blush again, It was only a temporary one.

Her brows raise and she gives me a roguish wink, "I bet he wants you to make it permanent, right?"

I shrug my shoulders in a noncommittal fashion, I don't know. He don't press it this morning or when I made it, so I guess we'll have to see.

Karasi's questions end there as we finish our meals and some of Karasi's handmaidens come and take the plates away. With only a quarter of an hour until there meeting would start, Karasi and I make our way to the meeting rooms. No doubt Lady Roseline would be there. As much as I knew Azazel hadn't slept with Lady Roseline, the dark snake of jealousy reared up in me every time I thought of her. She was an invaluable ally, but I didn't think I would ever come to trust her, no matter the time she worked with the court. Everyone but Azazel and Lady Roseline were there when Karasi and I had made it to the meeting rooms. Standing at the edge of the room, we waited, and waited, and waited. They did not come. Fifteen minutes passed. Thirty. Fourth. An hour. Still we stood and waited. What could have taken so long, I hadn't the slightest clue.

The doors burst open with Azazel rushing in, a panicked look on his face. Lady Roseline hustled in after him. "What is it?" Adonis asked, sending the worry trepidation radiating off Azazel.

Azazel takes a moment to speak before he starts, "We just received reports of a series of earthquakes, tsunamis, and avalanches that wrecked many major cities across the continent. Many were killed."

Lady Isidore immediately  spoke up, "We must send aid to them at once!" The rest of the court nodded in agreement. Only Karasi and I stayed silent. Devastating disasters appearing out of nowhere? Karasi and I exchange a look.

Karasi speaks softly, "It's coming true."

Azazel's eyes snap to Karasi before asking, "What?"

Karasi speaks again, this time a little louder, "The prophecy, it's starting."

Azazel furrows his brows, "What are you talking about, the prophecy can't come true. There aren't any enemies of ice because we chose Lady Roseline."

Karasi turns to me and gives me a pointed look. I glare back at her, traitor. With the inner courts eyes on me, I speak softly, rubbing my arm in nervousness. "I have long suspected that the Grand Assassin financially supports and controls the rebels that are not loyal to Lady Roseline. The vast majority of the rebels are ice summoners, but there are some that come from the other areas of Altreya. They are either angry at the corruption of your officials, or they are too impoverished to turn down the aid that would be provided to them should they join the rebel cause." I pause to take a breath before speaking once more, "Additionally, the earthquakes and other natural disasters are only the start of what will come."

Azazel regards me for a moment before turning to the map in front of him. "Well then we'd better start looking for this killer, unexpected alliance, and the love of two enemies. We already have the seer, of course," he says motioning to Karasi. "We'll split up the task of looking for the things in the prophecy. Adonis and Lady Isidore, you look for the alliance. Aerilynn, you protect Karasi and both of you brainstorm for the killer. Lady Roseline and I will start looking for the love of two enemies, whatever that may be." Again the dark snake of jealousy tears up in me, but I manage to keep the dark emotion off my face. My lighting rises to the surface, antsy at disuse and the rampant emotions within me.I really need to get that jealousy under control before it reveals something I don't want known. The rest of the court nods in assent to Azazel's orders and we disperse quickly.

"Who do you think the killer could be?" Karasi asks, breaking me out of the stupor I had been in since we had left the meeting.

We both know who he could be, Karasi. I just hope we are wrong.

"So you think it's the grand assassin, then? Why is it so bad if we believe he is the killer?" She asks, quietly curious.

Because the Grand Assassin has never done anything without having a steel cost. If we wanted his help then we would pay too steep a price for the hood of controlling your vision.

"What price did he take from you?" She asks quietly.

You'll have to be more specific. He took many prices from me.

"What was the first?"

The first. I was young, innocent. I wanted to save a boys life. My crush. He had been for years. He was nice. Kind. Innocent. I was fifteen. Heavy hands. Sweaty skin. He promised it wouldn't hurt. He promised. The pain.

I shook my head out of the memory. Glancing to Karasi, she walked with me waiting. I knew if I changed the conversation or didn't speak further, she would accept my silence. She wouldn't push further. He sold my virginity to the highest bidder for the life of the boy I thought I loved.

Shock and horror appears on her face before she takes my arm in hers and squeezes my hand. "Did he live?"

I shook my head. The Grand Assassin sent him to the gem mines. He barely made it a month.

Karasi walked in silence from there. The friendly mood has been quickly ruined by my memories of the Grand Assassin. I suppose in this, the Grand Assassin won again. He had the power to sadden me and make me distance myself from those I cared for. Even when he was many leagues away. A messenger interrupted my thoughts as he came up to Karasi and I. "My Lady," he says bowing, "The High Queen requests your presence." Looking towards Karasi, she gives me an 'I'll be okay' look before I nod and follow the messenger. What this could be about, I haven't the faintest idea.

We reach the High Queen's rooms quicker than expected and the doors are opened as I get close. The High Queen waits within, she nor anybody else are present. The doors slam closed behind me and the sound echoes off the walls. I look around at the tastefully decorated room. It is well lit, but not a soul in sight. Closing my eyes, I hear a rapid heartbeat in the next room. Panicked. Frantic. Another catches my attention. Above me. In the rafters. Slow and concentrated. An assassin. Careful as to not let my shock show, I make a show of looking around the room.

The dagger I always carry on me is tucked into a pocket of my dress. It's easy enough to reach, but I need to make sure the High Queen isn't in danger. I go towards her chambers, where her frantic heartbeat resides. Silence ensues as the door opens. Still nobody in sight. The heartbeat comes from farther inside the room. It is only until I see her, elegant dress and all, tied to a chair that I feel a knife at my throat. "Hands behind your back, bitch," A gravelly voice whispers in my ear. I don't recognize it. Judging from the way he holds the dagger, he was trained by the Grand Assassin. I start to shake in mock fright. I go to move my hands, the dagger concealed in the sleeve of my dress.

He doesn't notice the sharp edge of a blade to his balls until it's too late. "Drop the knife," I respond. He shoves away from me and goes back to land the knife in my abdomen. The blade in his eye is my only response. I turn back to check on the High Queen. Her alarmed gaze is all I see before I feel a blinding pain in the back of my head. Then, darkness.