‘Spies,’ was all he said.
The kiss we’d shared lingered between us. I didn’t know how to act in front of him now. He’d saved my life by heating me up when I’d been freezing, but I didn’t feel thankful. I felt angry that he told Cal and all of the other guards not to date me. He casually accepted Regina’s referral to me as his backup, and then just so casually mentioned that he wanted me within minutes of Joslyn’s death. Did he refer to me as a backup with Regina and not a member of his Royal Guard, not a friend? Because that’s what hurt the most.
I was an insurance policy.
Smoke began to leak from my nostrils and the king’s black head swiveled in my direction. I snuffed out the fire and faced forward, ready to just focus on the task at hand.
Avenge Joslyn.
It still didn’t feel real, that she was gone, that her soul had left her body.
‘I should have protected her. What a lousy Royal Guard I make,’ I muttered to Drae.
He peered over at me. ‘Lousy Royal Guard? What about the dozen guards the Nightfall soldiers passed when they broke into my palace? Regina is beside herself that she didn’t do her job. You did more than anyone. You killed them.’
I hadn’t thought of how Regina might be taking this. How upset she would be that as the leader of the Drayken she allowed two outsiders to break in and kill the king’s betrothed. Not to mention the fact that she’d had a spy within her ranks and never knew.
I kept quiet after that, realizing that this affected more than just me. Though I was confident that out of everyone, I knew Joslyn the best and cared for her the most.
‘Go low, into that mist,’ the king said suddenly, and dropped. I lowered myself with him and then we were flying in a damp white haze.
“That outcrop of trees…” Regina said.
I peered to the left to see that just inside the fort’s gates was a small orchard. We stayed in the mist, passing over the fence, and then when we were directly over the trees Drae dropped suddenly, as if his wings had broken.
‘Drop quickly so that you aren’t seen, and then pump your wings last minute to lessen the impact,’ the king said.
Fear gripped me at such a fall. It reminded me of the time the wind had tumbled me to the ground and I’d been severely injured.
I circled the orchard, still hidden in the mist, terror consuming me. What if I didn’t fall fast enough and the guards saw us? Or what if I fell too fast and then I killed Regina, who was attached to a basket on my back? I circled for a good minute, tearing myself in two with anxiety, when Regina reached out and stroked my head. “You got this. I’ll be okay. I’ve tumbled and dove from King Valdren’s back many times.”
With that assurance, I dropped, collapsing my wings so that we were in a dead freefall. Instinct had me wanting to flap my wings to stay airborne, but Drae’s voice boomed in my mind:
‘Hold.’
The second I cleared the top of the trees, my wings burst from my back in panic.
‘Now!’ Drae cried, and I flapped like crazy to slow my descent. I did slow, but it was still a fast fall, and my feet and chest crashed into the earth as I stumbled forward like a drunken buffoon at a midsummer festival. I felt Regina teeter on top of me, then I was able to regain my balance.
Regina made quick work of unhooking my saddle, and then held out my brown leather hunting suit. The king had already changed and was waiting for me with three men, Cal included. Nox and Falcon were the other two. Falcon was an old timer with so many scars I didn’t know how his skin moved at all. He’d been burned in a fire, that’s all I knew. I’d learned that he’d also had a pet falcon which gave him the name, but it had since died. He was a good man, and the king’s very loyal friend who served under his father.
“Regina,” Drae whispered, “we will break up into two teams.” He spoke while I changed and the men gave me their backs for privacy. “Falcon, Nox, and I will go in first. You and Arwen and Cal will bring up the rear and be the extraction team.”
I knew from my training that meant I might have to prepare a way to get them out after they carried out the assassination. It was the easier of the two jobs, but he’d let me come, so I wasn’t going to complain. I finished dressing, and walked up beside him.
“Killing this guy will hurt the queen?” I whispered to Drae. I wanted to make sure that witch paid for what she’d done to my friend.
Drae nodded. “Not only that, he’s her lead commander. No mission goes through without his planning and approval.”