Mae

Mae froze as she stood in the small cavern, her entire body going into overdrive.

The first thing she was sure of — her cover was blown. Not only had Ben been stupid enough to use her name, he hadn’t even turned around to make sure she was the only one there. A rookie move. Mae groaned. “Well, this just ruined our plans.”

She turned to look at the princess, who was staring at her with a fury so strong Mae was sure she could have left the earth in a pile of ash. Even though her dark eyes were wide, there was anger written all over her. “Who are you?”

“Oh, what the fuck,” Ben said as he stared at them both. He held a knife in his hand and he took a few steps closer toward them.

Robin bared her teeth, fangs exposed and irises taking a redder shade. She held her hands at her side, her palms upward as her veins went a shade distinctly darker. “Do not lie to me.”

Mae took in a breath and put her hands up beside her head, trying to show she meant no harm. Well, she meant to kill the princess, but not right now. There was still work to be done! “Robin, please calm down.” She turned to look back at Ben. “You need to get out of here, I’ll handle this.”

Robin stepped to the side, blocking the entrance to the cavern. “He’s not going anywhere.” She met Mae’s gaze, and she narrowed her eyes. “I’m going to give you five seconds to answer before I rip both of your throats out with my teeth."

She scoffed as she looked over the princess. Robin really had no idea who she was dealing with and how easily both of them could avoid her attacks. It's why they'd been chosen for this job, probably. She probably should and be done with it, but there was still something in the back of her mind wanting more information about the assignment she’d been given.

Maybe she could tell a little bit of truth, and a little bit of a lie. She knew that’d be risky, but every mission had risks.

She took a deep breath. “I’m not a princess from Diamandis,” she said.

Robin laughed, sarcasm dripping from her throat. “Of course not.” She lowered her hands a bit, but her fangs were still out. She balled her hands into fists and glanced once at Ben before she turned her attention back toward Mae.

“We’re here on an assignment to spy on the movements of the king. We don’t want another invasion any more than you do,” Mae started lying. She was technically here to gather intel, so it wasn’t completely a lie. She walked a bit closer to the princess, measuring each of her steps carefully. This moment was almost more volatile than what had happened in the arena.

Robin regarded her carefully. “Why shouldn’t I go tell my father right now?”

Ben went to stand beside Mae, quickly picking up on her lie. “We’ll only be here for the Decennial Festival. Once it’s over, we’ll be gone. We don’t want to cause any harm to anyone.”

The princess put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath as she looked down. Mae could almost feel the anger rolling off of her pretty face. Even when she was angry, she still exuded an elegance that any blessed could only wish for. “Then what was that in the arena?”

Mae wished she knew. Clearly there were other people here at work. Maybe the person who hired her and Ben were going after the royals as well. This one would easily be a truth. "I don't know what that was. I'm just as confused as you are."

This time Robin scoffed. She paced the entrance to the cave and crossed her arms over her chest. Despite looking like she was calming down, Mae knew the woman was still fuming. "How the hell am I supposed to believe that, Mae?" 

The assassin hated the way the princess spat out her name. Why, though? She was supposed to be killing her, yet the moment the princess regarded her with anger, she felt as if the world was slowly falling apart. It was ridiculous. Stop being so stupid, Mae. She'll be dead soon anyway, she scolded herself mentally. Even though she was an assassin, she still didn't enjoy being a dirty liar.

As she stopped pacing, Robin faced Mae one more time. "What sort of information are you trying to get on my father? Why are you trying to get information?"

This time Ben stepped forward, standing beside Mae. They were only a few feet away from the princess now. "He's planning another invasion to the south. He's getting reckless, and he's putting every blessed and unblessed person in Azure in danger."

Robin nodded. "You're not wrong about that. Flori's next. We're running out of funds to do it, but he's still trying. He doesn't care who he kills." She looked them both over for a moment as her fangs retracted. "It's very dangerous. For all of us. Perhaps what happened in the arena was another attempt to stop him."

Mae thought it over, but the volley of arrows going straight toward the royal family was suspect. It could have been a warning against the king, or it could have been a direct attack against Robin. Whichever it was, Mae wasn't sure. All she was sure of was that there was another person in this castle attempting to do something that could change the course of this kingdom forever.

Taking a deep breath, Mae knew she needed to be very careful with her next words. "And do you want him to keep doing this?"

Robin's head whipped toward the assassin as her eyes widened. "No. He could kill us all. He's already killed so many. I can't even say a word about it without getting hit or attacked."

Hit or attacked? Bile filled the back of Mae's mouth as she stared at the princess, disgust forming in the pits of her stomach as she thought about the king. She shouldn't care what happened to the princess, but all things considered, the only thing she could see about the princess was that this woman was good. That had to be the reason the unblessed came to her.

Before Mae could respond to that, Robin waved her hand in the air. The princess sighed and then said, "I'll make a deal with the two of you. I won't out you to my father or the guards — I have a feeling we're on the same side here. But in return, I'm going to need something. If there's someone or something come for me, or for my people, I need to know about it as soon as you discover it. I don't want anyone else to die for these pointless wars. I have a feeling this festival is a front for something bigger."

Oh, gods. Groaning internally, Mae slowly nodded. Robin was so unaware that the biggest threat to her life and her kingdom was standing right in front of her. 

Ben cleared his throat. "Deal."

Robin nodded. "Good, I'm glad we can agree." She turned her attention back to Mae. "No more secrets, Mae. I was beginning to quite like your company, and I wouldn't want that to change. Would you?"

Warmth creeped up her cheeks as she shook her head. "No, I don't think I would like that to change either." 

Smiling, Robin turned back toward the entrance of the cave. "C'mon, let's get out of this damp cave. Why the hell some petty rebels would meet in such a vile place is beyond me."

Scrunching her brows together, Mae stomped to the front of the cave. Even after that entire conversation, the princess still had a level of sass she could only dream of achieving. "Lets go, princess." She tried to hold the vileness from her voice as she pushed back into the tunnel system to lead the princess back into the castle.