Queen of the Underworld | Book 3

• forty •

//song: House of the Rising Sun - Lauren O'Connel

I tried to steady my breathing as we walked down the street. My footsteps didn't echo down the empty street even though logic told me they would.

Asmo had made it so that we wouldn't make any noise as we followed the man down the street.

It was eerily quiet.

He turned down one alley then another. The more he turned, the more the crowd thinned out and I realized wherever we were going, it was not a place I'd wander on my own. The streets narrowed and became dirtier and unkempt. The homes became smaller and clustered.

I vaguely remembered warnings from my childhood. The warnings my parents would give me when we passed a certain side of our city. They'd tug on my hand as they held it and kept me close to their side.

I noticed that Asmo did the same in his own way. He watched corners carefully, eyed the closed doors with more scrutiny than I thought was warranted. He was being careful in how he followed the man, staying close as he did.

The man stopped suddenly and knocked on the door in front of him.

Asmo casually stepped aside, moving into a small terrace away from view. I moved with him, following his steps and pushing myself inside. My heart beat erratically and for a moment, a smile appeared on my lips.

I was high on the adrenaline coursing through me.

Asmo, peered around the corner, watching the man's back.

"I didn't know we were hiding, Asmo," I whispered with a small laugh.

I heard him chuckle quietly. "People here might not know I'm the prince." He turned to me again with a half smile. "But they do know me." He relaxed slightly turning to me. "I'd rather they not know that I'm involved with what is about to happen."

I swallowed the sudden fear I felt at the mention of what we were about to do. He hadn't outright said what his plan was, I had only come to my own conclusion...but I needed to hear it from him. I needed that confirmation. "What is about to happen?"

After a moment of silence, he relaxed against the wall. "He went inside. Now, we just wait for him to come out. We'll get him then. It shouldn't be too long." He completely ignored my question but for a moment, I was all right with pushing it out of my mind.

I nodded, watching him as he placed his hands in the pockets of his coat.

The welcome smell of fresh rain took over and the small patter of light rain against the cobblestone road was a comforting sound.

I tucked stray black hair away from my face. "How do they know you, then?" I whispered. "If they don't know you as the prince?"

He kept an eye on the road beyond my line of vision as he spoke. "I've lived on my own in this district most of my life. Rich but no one worth knowing. My family was irrelevant when Robyn was king since I am sseveral times removed. Robyn went mad then Warren died. Damien has no children, so I'm the heir after him. Before then, I was mostly avoided."

I took a deep, quiet breath. Asmo was sharing more information than before. It could be information I could use in the future. I frowned and pushed him to continue sharing more. "Avoided? It sounds lonely."

He looked at me with a devious smile. "How is your darling Julian?"

My voice answered for me. It was that mechanical voice that I had no control over. "He's noticed I no longer want to be with him. I cringe when we touch. He's already pulling away." My hands flew to my mouth, my eyes wide.