Their Fireheart

Chapter Thirty

Aelin

That Master's final words seemed to hang in the air for a long moment.

"It is my will, that the sole beneficiary of all my fortune, assets, and holdings should be my heir, Celaena Sardothien."

It was as though they needed to crystalize into reality. That they were so outlandish, so ridiculous, that it took everyone a minute to realize it wasn't some awful joke. But then, all at once, the truth hit, and the bomb dropped.

Clarisse whipped around in her chair, faster than I'd ever seen her move. "What?"

"No fucking way," Aedion blurted out.

I gaped at the Master, jaw slightly slack, appearing just as surprised as the rest of the room. "Excuse me?"

The Master gave me a watery smile, nervously flicking his eyes at the other occupants. "Everything - all of it, is left to you. Well, except for ... this sum to Lysandra, to pay off her debt, and this smaller sum to Madame Clarisse, to settle his outstanding dues." He showed both of them the paper.

"I -" Lysandra squeaked out before snapping her mouth shut, her shoulders rigid as though she was forcing herself to remain facing forward. Tern and Mullin shot wary glances her way - surely, Arobynn would have mentioned this to her, wouldn't he?

Her outburst was quickly forgotten when her Madame screeched in fury. "That's impossible," she protested shrilly. "He promised I was in that will."

"And it would appear that you are," I drawled, pushing off the wall to peer at the almost insultingly small number listed out on the parchment. "Don't be a greedy cow, though I know that's difficult for you."

She gaped at me, and I shot her a simpering smile. Which apparently, was a step too far for Tern.

"Where are the duplicates?" He demanded, storming around the table towards the Master. "Have you inspected them?"

The Master flinched at his approach, but didn't protest when he snatched the parchment from his hands, inspecting it for any sign of tampering. His face fell as he couldn't find a single one - the document was signed by Arobynn and unmistakably legal.

At his obvious distress, the Master said nervously, "We verified the copies in our vaults this morning. All identical, all dated from three months ago."

When I hadn't been in the city, on this continent, or anywhere else in this entire realm.

Not that they knew that little detail.

I stepped forward. "So, just to make sure there is no mistake - aside from those two, teensy little sums for Lysandra and Clarisse ... all of this, this house, the Guild, everything you listed that is encompassed within his fortune - it's all mine?"

The Master nodded again, already scrambling to pack up his case and escape before the bombshell he'd dropped really exploded. "Congratulations, Miss Sardothien."

"Wonderful," I breathed, relishing the pale faces of the three assassins before turning toward Clarisse and Lysandra. "In that case ..."

I bared my teeth in a bloodthirsty smile. "You two can get the hell off my property, and stop defiling it with your putrid, bloated carcasses."

The Master choked.

Lysandra's eyes met mine, a flash of something that looked a hell of a lot like gratitude sparkling in those emerald depths for a split second - before she was rushing towards the door, seemingly unable to move fast enough. Clarisse, however, remained seated.