Page 62 of A Queen’s Game (Aithyr Uprising #1)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Valeriya

S louched against an alley wall, Valeriya caught her breath after overhearing a passing guard say someone found Marietta at the Temple of Therypon. Relief flooded her, releasing the tension coiled in her chest.

If her memory served correctly, many flocked to Therypon for both mental and physical healing.

For Marietta to go there meant she was in a worse condition than Valeriya first assumed.

Guilt knotted her stomach. Perhaps learning of Tilan in such a way wasn’t helpful to Marietta’s already stressful life changes.

No—this was on Keyain. Valeriya may have misjudged Marietta’s reaction, but it was Keyain who was responsible for helping her.

To think Keyain let the situation get to where the girl had to flee the palace.

Part of her believed the Exisotis came to get Marietta before Valeriya wielded her in court.

It was only a matter of time before they would appear, whether Wyltam or Keyain believed they would. Marietta was one of their own.

The other part feared she was abducted, left to the fate of the other missing pilinos in Satiros. What would the crown do if a lady at court disappeared? Maybe that’s what it took for Wyltam and Keyain to take action.

The evening breeze blew past, tossing the two braids woven down her back, reaching mid-waist. Though no one passing would see them, or the black leggings and top she wore.

No, they would see a curvy half-elf walking along at night; the illusion magic would hold as long as Valeriya maintained her concentration.

Deep within Greening Juncture, Valeriya paused in an alleyway to catch her breath. She had intended to reach the Weeds, the only section of the city where pilinos could live, to see if she could find her. Now that the danger had passed, Valeriya turned to make her way back to the palace.

“Interesting times for you to be out alone,” slurred a deep voice as bodies appeared at the entrance of the alley.

Valeriya hid her sneer. Drunk males preying on a helpless pilinos stoked her anger. Typical. “Only trying to make it home.”

Her steps were slow as she approached, her heart steady.

In the dim, she made out three males who leered down at her half-elven form.

A breeze caught the overbearing scent of alcohol that wafted from them.

Three against one. In theory, Valeriya would be at a disadvantage, but she had the element of surprise on her side.

“Few of your kind making it home these days.” A short male with choppy blond hair stepped forward, sizing her up. “Makes a dark alley a dangerous place for you.”

What were the chances that these were the elves responsible for the missing pilinos? A wrathful smile curled to her lips as she pulled aithyr into her body. “Whatever do you mean?”

She stood a few feet from them now. One male ducked his head and stepped out of the alley. “All good,” he called back to his friends.

“You could disappear like those other clips.” He took a step to her right, the last of the trio stepping to her left.

Such words were implication enough for Valeriya. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

The males closed in. “You’re a brave little clip, aren’t you?”

Valeriya laughed as a sly smile slid to her face. “The problem with marking a target you don’t know is that you run the risk of underestimating them.”

The male to her left lurched forward, grabbing her wrist. In a fluid motion, she kicked the male in his knee and grabbed his arm, twisting as the male cried out in pain.

Valeriya released the energy stored in her body through her grasp.

Purple, crackling electricity danced around his limb as he dropped to the ground.

“The fuck?” The male behind her took a bewildered step back, stumbling.

“Nothing is ever as it seems,” she said, pulling out a dagger. The light globes from the main street reflected on its glinted edge.

The male turned to run but Valeriya chucked her weapon. The metal found the soft spot behind his knee, the male collapsing. She chuckled as she approached the male sprawled on the ground, his panting the only sound. “Where are the missing pilinos?”

“Wh-what?” he stammered, cowering as she stood above him.

“Don’t act stupid.” Valeriya kicked, feeling the crack of his ribs. Wyltam had said that Keyain would take care of their disappearances but Valeriya knew that was as good as doing nothing. This was her chance to find them. “Tell me where they are and what you’re doing with them.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The male flinched as she kicked him again.

“I warned you. Don’t—” A dull blow knocked into the back of her skull, her version going white from the pain. She joined the male on the ground, groaning as she tried to stand.

“What in the hells is this?” The male who attacked her from behind stood over her with furrowed brows. “She looks exactly like….”

The male on the ground next to her scrambled back. “She looks like Queen Valeriya.”

She glanced down at her body, realizing her illusion dropped with the hit to her head. “Shit,” she hissed, rolling into a crouched position.

Though it was unlikely anyone would ever believe that the Queen attacked them in an alley, it wasn’t a rumor she was eager to have going around.

The best way to remain discreet for her and her sister’s plan was to give no hints of Valeriya’s mage abilities—which included any rumors.

With a sigh, she resigned herself to the task she must complete.

Aithyr coated her body in her disguise once more as she sized them up. “As I said, an unknown target can be the most dangerous one.” Valeriya glared at the two males who pulled knives out. “You’ve chosen poorly this evening.”

With a quick motion, Valeriya threw the dagger at the male to her left, trailing its trajectory.

The male hit the blade away, but Valeriya was on him before he could attack.

With one foot placed behind him, she used her body’s momentum to shove, causing him to trip, and she pulled another dagger to her hand.

“Stupid bitch,” the male said as he thudded to the gravel and stones of the alley.

Valeriya jumped on him, pinning his arms down with her knees as she aimed for his jaw before he could speak again. Her punch landed, sending pain through her hand and earning a crack from his jaw. As she went to hit again, crackling lightning danced around her fist.

The male bucked, throwing Valeriya off him.

Before she responded, he stood, drawing his leg back, and kicked her in the chest. Pain bloomed with a snap.

He drew back his leg and kicked again, landing in the same spot.

Valeriya grabbed his leg on his next kick, pulling him back to the ground.

The male had seen who she was—incapacitating him would no longer be an option.

Her dagger found its mark between his ribs, fresh blood coating her hand.

A panicked cry came from the end of the alley. The other male crawled towards the main street with her dagger still penetrating the back of his knee. Valeriya jumped up, closing the space between them.

“Please,” he begged. “I swear—”

Valeriya grabbed him by his hair, placing the edge of her dagger against the pulse of his neck. “One last chance. Tell me what you’ve done with the missing pilinos.”

“Help!” he shrieked, fighting against her hold. “Help—”

The blade cut deep, silencing his cries.

Valeriya dropped her dagger by the unconscious male, the one she knocked out with magic. At least he had lived, meaning the guards would have one of them to question.

Footfalls sounded from the main street, followed by the barking of orders. Valeriya faded into the dark of the alley, taking off before someone would see her.

She had never taken a life prior to this.

The blood on her hands and the stillness of their bodies haunted her as she traveled through the city streets.

Though she had trained to become a mage, she never believed that she would need to kill anyone.

Now, she’d killed two. There was one slight solace to the edge of guilt she felt: pilinos would stop disappearing.

That terror ended at the edge of her knife.

The thought steadied her as she raced toward the palace.