Chosen : Assassin Book 1

Chosen - chapter twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Our remaining two days were uneventful. The Duke threw a small party on behalf of the king. We ate, drank, and were generally merry. I kept my eyes on the Duke the entire time. I watched every one. I trusted nobody. I knew he could not have set up such an intricate plan alone.

The day we departed for Hampton Court was sunny and bright. I paced about the drive awaiting everyone to join me. The carriage pulled around at nine in the morning. I climbed in and sat there, waiting for the rest.

The cramped carriage bumped along the road back toward Hampton Court. Dread filled my stomach at the thought of seeing my mother. Pressing my forehead against the window, I took in slow deep breaths.

"Are you alright?" Cassius asked, leaning forward.

"I'm fine. Thinking about mother and how she will act once we return."

He nodded his head and sat back against the stiff seat.

"How long will we remain at Hampton Court before leaving for Constantinople?"

"We don't want to leave too early," Cassius said, watching the countryside pass us.

"Of course not. The last thing we need to do is make the Duke suspicious."

"No. We don't want to do that." He ran his hand over his chin, his eyes far away.

"Tell me what you're thinking," I said, not taking my eyes away from the window.

He turned his gaze toward me. "Do you like being an assassin?"

"I don't think it's a matter of me liking it. It's what I do."

"Hmmm. I suppose it is." He sighed heavily, his face drawn and sad.

"I know this isn't an ideal situation, Cassius. I'm not very happy about it either. But like you, I didn't get to choose how my life would turn out."

"It doesn't seem fair sometimes. I think what if I hadn't been born to be king and you weren't born to protect me."

"Would you rather be a peasant?" I asked.

"Maybe not quite that low. A lord. Maybe an Earl."

"You're still confined to a lot of the strictness of a King. You would probably end up in a loveless marriage arranged by your parents like mine are trying to do for me."

"At least I wouldn't have to worry about running an entire country and people killing me all the time."

"I guess that is the one bonus," I mumbled.

He pursed his lips and looked out the window. He wasn't satisfied with my answer.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"It's okay, Joselyn."

I leaned my head on Angeline and closed my eyes. He was disappointed. He wanted me to stop what I was doing. This wasn't possible. Slowly I drifted off to sleep. My dreams filled with visions of Belle alive, hidden elsewhere in France, and Cassius dead. His beautiful lifeless body lying in a room of his palace while I kneeled beside him crying.

Horses whinnied in the distance, drawing me from the gruesome scene. I opened my eyes and saw Cassius sitting across from me. I breathed a sigh of relief happy to see his breathing body there.

"Are we there?"

"Yes," he said.

I nodded my head looking in the distance waiting for the castle to come into sight. I knew mother would be waiting. She always had to know what I was doing.