They trusted me.

I held the kingdom on my shoulders, and even though king never showed it, he knew it too. He'd appointed me as the head guard and his personal adviser. Every meeting, every ball, I stood next to him—people knew me, but no one knew I was his assassin. The ones in the castle had been sworn to secrecy.

"You carried out the plan?" I heard the king's voice as soon as I stepped through the doors of the throne room.

"Of course, Your Majesty." I bowed low.

"You're exceptionally clean today," the king said, relaxing on his throne—jeweled mahogany.

He was talking about blood. "I shot him in the head from a distance. He didn't even see me," I lied. When you were someone like me, you had to lie to stay out of trouble. The king was frightening when he was angry.

He nodded in approval.

Just then, someone entered, boots clicking against the polished floors. I didn't turn my head towards the intruder, but the look on the king's face said it all.

"Xavier, my son."

"Father," he greeted.

Xavier Cane was the most troublesome prince I'd known in my entire life, and I knew many princes. He was not someone I enjoyed being around. Even the sound of his voice put me on edge, but I showed no hint of any emotion towards him. He strolled past me, the scarlet cape dancing around his ankles. His dark curls showed off their shine from the many chandeliers hanging above us. Xavier's black leather boots completed the dark vibe he sent off. He wasn't horrible looks-wise, but his attitude was one any assassin—or any human being for that matter—could hate. Unless, of course, you were one of the jittery female servants or royalty that visited the palace just to get a look at him.

"Why are you here?" the king asked warily, and Xavier bowed, making sure he stood right beside me.

"I just wanted to drop by and congratulate Adalia on her latest mission," Xavier said with a smile, glancing at me out of the corners of his golden eyes and winking.

I set my jaw, hands clasped behind my back.

Xavier decided to continue. "How was your latest mission?"

"None of your business," I said smoothly, with a covert scowl.

"Now, now, Adalia—"

"Don't call me that," I scowled, my eyes shooting daggers.

"Fine," he shrugged, unfazed. "Now, now, Assassin, that's not how you talk to your prince," Xavier tsked. His lightly tanned skin showed that he'd been spending more time outdoors than usual—probably riding. "You're staring."

"Leave my presence."

"Let's take this outside, shall we?" He motioned towards the king who watched us through narrowed eyes. We walked out of the throne room, and as soon as the doors shut, I hit him as hard as I could dare, and with enough force to rattle his bones. He staggered back as the guards watched, but they didn't dare make a move towards me.

Xavier kept his cool and regained his balance. "I guess we're even, then." I turned on my heel and stalked off. He fell into step beside me.

"Why are you always so angry?"

He had the nerve to ask. I pivoted on my heel to face him, stopping abruptly and looked up into his eyes, scowling. "I'm really not. I just loathe you."

The prince smiled at me and rested a hand on my shoulder. He pitied me.

"One day, you'll be like the other girls and try to court me. It happens all the time; the hatred is just a cover for the true feelings underneath."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. "You—" I stopped myself, deciding it was best if I ignored him and walked away, muttering insults under my breath. This was what he did. He drove me insane.

No one got under my skin like Xavier did, and he knew it.

"Xavier, stop following me, or I'll kill you. And believe me; it's not hard for me to do something like that."

"Alright. However you wish." He flashed me a killer smile any other girl would've swooned over, and walked off.

Xavier Cane, I strongly dislike you.

-

Later that night I sat in my room on my bed, yawning and stretching, ready to sleep. 

I was exhausted. Being an assassin wasn't easy. I had so much blood on my hands from the past years that the number of people I killed was, well, uncountable at this point.

The nightmares had stopped at age thirteen. Now, it wasjust a game of hunt.

I pulled the covers over my head and drifted off into a

dreamless sleep.

-

The next day, I was invited to have breakfast with the king.

"Your Majesty," I greeted with a slight curtsy. I wore a loose-fitted white tunic, brown pants, and knee-high boots. My dark hair was braided down my back, and a sword hung in its sheath at my hip—a gift from Queen Celeste herself. It was something I could never part with. My fingers rested on the emerald pommel as I entered the room.

I sat opposite of the king, preparing to eat. Before I could lift the spoon to my lips, the doors opened. To my disappointment, Prince Xavier walked in.

"Good morning," he drawled. His hair wasn't combed down today like it usually was. He sat to my right. I pretended to adjust my chair, accidentally setting one of the legs on the toe of his boot. I apologized with a bittersweet smile when he grunted in pain. He cursed under his breath, and was then scolded by his father. I shot Xavier a smirk.

We waited for the king to start, and when he did, we piled our plates with delicious food—Astodia's finest.

As we ate, the king broke the silence. "Assassin," he addressed me as if it was a very casual thing to say, "I have another assignment for you. Your target is Duke Charleston of Dystalphi. His arrival is scheduled for tomorrow, and he will be staying close to the castle. Find him." And that was it.

That's all he said to me.

I accepted, but it wasn't like I had a choice.

I felt Xavier's boot touch mine and looked up. Meet me later, he mouthed.

All that could be heard was the clinking of utensils against the plates.

-

I waited for Xavier outside. I crossed my arms over my chest as he appeared, walking past the doors and into the courtyard.

"What?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "I just wanted to give you a friendly reminder; the duke is staying in an area that is highly protected. He is also a personal adviser to the king of Dystalphi, so don't leave a trace behind because we can't afford to lose our alliance. We don't want another war, understand?"

I bit back a snide remark. This time, he was serious. I nodded solemnly.

He patted my shoulder. "Please don't die. I do enjoy teasing you. You should see your face when you're bothered. It's as red as a tomato."

I rolled my eyes. There was no point in arguing. "At least I'm not an ugly hag."

He bowed. "Good luck."

The rest of the day I had barely anything to do. Being an assassin wasn't all that exciting. No one hung around me out of fear, so I spent my days alone. Sadly, Xavier was the only soul besides the king who had the guts to meet my eyes when he spoke.

I sat in a tree, carving signs with my knife along the wooden branches. The image of that man was still stuck in my head. His pleading face. The way I'd lied to him. I ripped out a leaf and tore it to shreds, watching the pieces flutter to the ground.

The queen always told me that trees were alive and that they had feelings. But if I didn't understand human emotions, why would I ever care about the opinions of a tree?

My family left me on the streets when I was six. They weren't related to me by blood, which was probably why they treated me so horribly.

For one year I survived alone, foraging on the streets for food and living in makeshift shelters because they had never wanted a daughter. I had only ever been a liability, a burden. Then, the king and queen found me. Queen Celeste had told me that King Sadim had seen something in me, so he took me back with them. And that's when I started my training. 

At first, I was only ordered to carry out his assassinations when the victims slept at night, posing as a servant or a maid. It made things easier since no one expected a little girl to be a threat. But, after the queen's death, a lot more people started dying. The king was angry, and this was his way of getting revenge.

Suddenly, the sound of a lone horse's hooves snapped me out of my thoughts. I crouched, pulling a dagger out of my belt slowly, the other hand pressed against the tree for balance. The horse was coming into view. I couldn't see the face of the rider, so this was a do or die situation. Nobody was supposed to be riding in this part of the forest.

The horse was going to be right under me in five seconds.

Four seconds.

Three.

Two.

I leaped, wind whipping against my face. And that's when I realized that the rider was none other than the bratty prince.

I tried to stop mid-fall. I knew it was impossible, but there was no way I was going to sit behind Xavier on a horse willingly. He'd tease me about it for the rest of my life.

My foot slipped against the saddle as I landed, a hard shock running through my tailbone. I slammed into the seat behind Xavier.

"Where did you come from?" he questioned over his shoulder, a cheeky grin spreading across his lips.

Suddenly, the horse whinnied and reared. I clutched Xavier for dear life as we were almost thrown off the thoroughbred.

When the horse fell back on all fours again, Xavier was chuckling. And that's when realized I was glued to the back of the prince, my eyes squeezed shut. Xavier knew my one fear. The silliest fear anyone could ever have, assassin or not.

"I see our little assassin hasn't gotten over her fear of falling."