Whispers and Shadows

Chapter 5

Blue

I’d been studying Prince Mikael for some time. If I was one of the realm’s greatest assassins and strategists, the prince of the West was one of Demonia’s greatest minds. He was not called “the Wise” for nothing—or rather, he would be called that if his now-secret plans came to fruition.

Which meant I would not be able to deceive him for long, if at all. I simply had to get through his gates without causing a stir.

Few in Demonia knew my true face. But this time it would be different; this time I had to build alliances. I would never again die in obscurity.

Tossing my hood off I walked through the gates with the haughty defiance of a lowborn noble desperate to work her way higher up the rungs of power.

Not one of the ten knights guarding the entrance to the palace looked my way. I smirked. Social engineering was something I’d grown quite adept at in my past life. If you looked, acted, and spoke like you belonged, no one would dare question whether you actually did. I entered the palace’s courtyard and joined the drunk nobles lingering and gossipping there; it really was just like every other castle at this time of night.

Prince Mikael’s grounds and much of its castle, like all the rest of the princes, were open to all citizens of the dark realms. Only a small section of it was partitioned off to the family.

I did not stand out in the slightest. I had good quality clothing, but not great. I was pretty enough, but not a rare beauty. I looked like I came from money, but not like a woman of great consequence. I was just like the rest of the sheep gathered around me, which meant I wouldn’t stand out at all.

I made my way into the castle proper. All castles were designed mostly the same, and that was to make any visiting dignitaries feel instantly at ease. But only those closest to the princes even knew of the hidden halls and stairways littered throughout.

Still, it was a foolish idea if you asked me, but useful in this case. I turned up a flight of stairs.

They were here to make successful matches and bring honor and glory to their houses. They all made me sick. The rich got richer while the poor got poorer. In some ways, Demonia was superior to the middle and upper lands, and in others we were well behind the times.

Trailing my fingers along the cold stone walls, I kept walking as I waited to hear the gentle hum of magic.

Hummmm…

I smirked as the pulsing vibration of low-level magic tingled the tips of my fingertips.

There weren’t many mages in the land. And while dark fae sorcerers were powerful, they stayed relatively confined in their Tower back in the emperor’s domain. Not even princes could afford to keep high-level mages on staff.

But I was the daughter of the great high light priestess, and father had taken great pains to conceal the level of my power. If the Tower had discovered the strength of my mana they’d have taken me away and sealed me up to be used at the emperor’s whim, as was their right.

With a flick of my wrist I increased the shadow around my form, concealing that which I would reveal only to me.

“Ipsum revelare,” I whispered the spell, and the hidden stairwell was suddenly unveiled. Lifting my skirts, I followed the winding stairwell, counting each step along the way.

“Ten. Twenty-five… Fifty… Seventy-eight…. Two Hundred and One.” I turned. This was where his chamber door would be. At least if it was built as father’s was.

“Ipsum revelare,” I said. Just as I’d suspected, a door opened.

Still bathed in shadow, I moved into the room. This was the outer chamber of the prince’s private room.

It was quiet here. Peaceful.

Moonlight sliced through the windows, adding a hint of blue and gold to the walls and rows of books.

The flickering flames of lighted torches highlighted a few of the titles.

Prince Mikael was, as I’d heard, a scholar. Unlike father, whose outer chamber was nothing more than a den of inequity full of nude men and women meeting his every need.

“I could ask you why you’re here, but I suspect you’ve come to kill me.

“If that’s the case, then reveal yourself, assassin. I’d rather look my killer in the eye.”

The deep voice made me shiver, but it was the innate power and eloquence in his tone that startled me.

I’d never actually seen or heard Prince Mikael in my other life. In fact, he and I had never crossed paths even once. He’d always been an enigma to me. A weak prince from a neighboring realm whom father had regarded as a great threat.

Impressed despite myself, I turned and quickly vanished his concealing spell.

I’d never even heard him come up on me.

Hm. That was interesting. Was I somehow weakened from traveling back in time? Were my powers not as reliable now?

He stood less than five feet from me and lean against a massive oak desk, his legs crossed at his ankles and his arms crossed beneath his chest.

Taller than I’d expected, with an athlete’s build, he had the kind of perfect features only pureblood could boast.

Jet black hair spilled down past his knees, he had milky white skin, and piercing emerald green eyes. I wet my lips, realizing that he studied me as intently as I did him.

“At first,” he said slowly, “I suspected you could only be some small-time assassin sent to rattle me, or threaten me to quit my fight for the throne. But if my suspicions are correct you are no ordinary assassin. And somehow I do not think I will make it out of here alive unless you grant me mercy.”

His lips were tipped into a sort of smirking grin. My brows dipped. That was not the type of reaction I was used to eliciting from others when they learned the bogeyman of Demonia had found them.

Still, his voice did not quiver with fear. And though I could see the silver walking stick resting beside him, there wasn’t much about him that looked sick or weak to me.

I could smell him now too. He smelled of cyprus oil. Earthy and rich, it was not unpleasant. Not that it mattered. Still, I inhaled deeply one last time, letting the perfume roll around my nose before answering.

“You know me? How?”

Grabbing his cane, he moved toward one of the sitting chairs, easing slowly into it. I had noticed his limp, but really, where was the deformed creature my father had always told me about?

He poured himself a cup of tea, and now the smell of mint reached me.

He held the delicate bone-white china out toward me. “I was just about to take my midnight repast. Care to join me?”

Frowning, I stared at the mug full of steaming bright green fluid.

He raised his brow, before saying with a smirk, “You’re the highest trained mage outside of the emperor’s land; do you honestly think I would dare try?”

Rattled that he actually did seem to know me, I accepted his offering hesitantly. The cup was warm in my hands. How did he know that about me? Or was he simply guessing? And extremely accurately at that?

“Sit, assassin,” he pointed at the chair opposite him. “And explain yourself.”

He already had the commanding presence of an emperor. Father did too, to an extent, but ‘the devil of the South’ would never have entertained his would-be assassin as Prince Mikael did.

I’d underestimated the man. An unsettling feeling gripped my insides. I’d always heard of his intellect, but seeing it now right in front of me was rattling.

Though he was right; he could never poison me with such a crude play. Father had made me immune to most poisons as a child. I wouldn’t detail the process, but suffice it to say I’d nearly died from his tender mercies a time or twenty. I sipped the tea. It was good, with just a hint of sweetness. I hid my smile.

His eyes were thinned, studious. “I’ve sweets on the tray just there,” he pointed with his chin.

I wasn’t normally one who ate sweets, but Prince Mikael wasn’t like anything I’d expected. For the first time in my life I felt indebted, like I should take it. Though I’d done nothing wrong, I sort of felt like I had. My actions had led directly to the death of this man in the other time. Not by my hand, but by father’s very own. Father had killed the prince with sadistic glee.

I’d come tonight to see him with my own eyes, and for one reason only: to see if Prince Mikael was the true leader Demonia needed. Seeing him now, I could not doubt it. His influence and power were what had made him a prince in such a short time, but there was a je ne sais quoi about him that was unmistakable.

I set the cup back down; for just a second it trembled in my hand. His brows twitched. No doubt his eagle-eyed gaze had noticed that too.

Not sure where to start, I nibbled on the corner of the cookie. Anise. I liked anise.

“You like sweets,” he said. I looked up, only to note his relaxed posture. He had his legs crossed and was leaning with one arm on his armrest, his chin resting casually on his fist looking at me almost indulgently. Like one would at a puppy, or a kitten who was acting naughty but was kind of cute regardless.

I frowned. What was wrong with me tonight?

Finishing up the last bite of cookie, I rubbed at my brow. “Not usually. Thank your chef for me, I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed cookies in my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

I blinked. “You? You baked these, with your own hands?”

He rolled his wrist with a low chuckle. “Is that impossible to believe? Sometimes when I’m mulling over a riddle I cannot solve, I bake. I find the repetition relaxes me enough to think.”

Oh? “The cookies are fresh. What riddle has you rattled, Prince Mikael?”

“You are as bright as you are beautiful.”

I instantly frowned. “No need to patronize; I know I am half-blood. I shouldn’t even be in this realm, let alone your private chamber.”

“And yet I haven’t called for my Knights of the Moon. Why is that?” He bounced his leg, looking at ease and completely relaxed.

What was this?

Not the type of reaction I was used to, for sure. If someone actually did realize who I was they were either pissing their pants or begging me to spare their life. And yet the prince looked amused.

I shook my head. “You are a strange man, Prince.”

He shrugged. “You do not say anything I haven’t heard all my life. I am strange. I’m also intrigued. Why would Prince Damian send you out to see me now? I am no threat to him. Yet.”

He stopped talking, turned to stare out the window, and then back at me.

His shockingly green eyes suddenly glanced down at the pouch I still had tied to my belt.

“Unless,” he said slowly, “Damian knew of Princess Scimica’s secret journey. If that’s the case, then it means my bride is dead. Is she not, Blue? A message from your prince to me, no?”