The Death Queen

Chapter 15

I'd finally gotten to sleep. The instant my eyes closed, Amari appeared in front of me yet again. But something was different this time. Instead of the friendly welcome that she used to give me, she glared at me and spoke in a harsh, irritated tone.

"As soon as I finish giving you your next order, I need you to head for the Coven immediately. Teleport to speed it up. I have another target that you absolutely have to assassinate tonight. If you fail, you will be severely punished."

"Understood. Who is the target?"

"The target is Queen Sophie." Amari spat the title, 'Queen' through gritted teeth, as though it pained her to refer to her enemy's girlfriend as anything other than "that fucking bitch".

"Okay. I'll do that. But I have a question. What if General Trey tries to protect her? You know she will."

Amari sighed. "You have a sword. Injure her enough to keep her from doing anything, but leave her alive."

"Right, you want to kill her yourself. Yes, I'll make sure to do that. Any other orders?"

"Yes. Wake up and get on it!"

My eyes shot open, and I got up from my corner between two rocks. The moon was high in the sky, and given how long the nights were in winter, it wouldn't be setting any time soon. I had plenty of time to carry out my mission before the sun rose, especially if I teleported directly to the castle.

I was getting pretty good at performing the spell. I no longer needed Amari's guidance. I didn't understand how the spell worked, but I would probably never understand the complex workings of magic. According to Amari, it was so hard to understand because it followed virtually no concrete rules, except that weapons and blood were usually required. The only way to learn spells was by rote memorization.

I had teleported directly into the Coven castle. From here, it would take me a while to navigate to Queen Sophie's bedroom, but I could also teleport... No, I wanted to explore the castle. It shouldn't take too long, and the knowledge might be useful.

I started off down the hallway, looking at the aged paintings of former Queens that lined the left wall. They were illuminated by torches lit with General Trey's bright white fire, which were spaced at long intervals, far enough away from the paintings to avoid setting them on fire.

The hallway ended at a spiraling staircase, which passed several windows. From the windows, I could faintly make out the border wall, where my year group was still fighting. Assuming they weren't all dead yet.

The staircase abruptly ended, and I found myself standing in a massive, mostly empty room that was clearly designated for training. There was an archery range, several sword dummies, an obstacle course, sticks for slicing practice, and an ax and spear throwing range. On one of the walls, a sheet of parchment was posted that detailed the rules of the training room. I went over to read it.

This training hall is for the use of princesses and Queens only. No commoners are permitted to use this equipment.

Trainees below the age of five are to be supervised by an adult over the age of thirteen at all times.

Sharp weapons are only to be used for slicing or throwing practice. Dull weapons are to be used for sparring, in order to avoid deaths.

Return equipment to its proper place in the storage closet after each training session.

If a piece of equipment is damaged beyond usefulness, remove it from the castle and have it replaced as soon as possible.

Huh. Honestly, fuck these rules. I went over to the storage closet and replaced the sword I'd stolen from the Azuri man with a rykal. The sword had been perfectly functional, but it just wasn't my weapon. It had served me well enough, and now I didn't need it anymore. Neither did the man I'd killed to get it.