Page 14 of In The Dark

I killed Helga’s son.

King Elion continues. “He relieved the guard at the door so he could take a quick break on duty. The original guard found him after a few hours. Do you care to explain what happened last night, Isa?” He strokes his long white beard, piercing me with his steely gaze.

Well, that answers my question.

My posture remains taut as I hold his stare, trying not to visibly tremble at the news. “It was a mistake, Your Majesty. He was a casualty. I had no knowledge of who he was. He was guarding the door, and I needed to gain entrance?—”

He calmly points a finger at me. “Not only that… The target you were originally there for was not taken care of and his room was empty. Not a single drop of blood in the room as I requested,” he says with a calmness that has my entire being screaming to make a run for it.

Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run.

My stomach coils at the thought. It’s not possible—Fae can’t return after dying, and now King Elion thinks I didn’t complete my mission.

This is bad.My head spins for an excuse—anything to explain what happened—only to come up blank. Perhaps I didn’t check his pulse long enough, but I know I did. Alec had no pulse. I’m sure of it.

My head shakes. “I completed my?—”

“Apparently not when he’s missing!” he bellows, furiously looking away. His oily hair falls to his brow in his fit of rage. “This just tells me that you tracked the wrong male. You failed. And now the crown pays the price. The Silver Lily is an important part of how we receive information. I wanted to use his death as a message, but Helga told me he was nowhere to befound when she inspected his room this morning,” he states calmly, looking out the windows. “You have become quite comfortable here, have you not?”

I nod, chin high, while my panic climbs up my spine as I recall every detail from last night—anything to determine where the mistake was. I’m suddenly fighting the urge to reach for my wrist out of habit. This target was incredibly important and I failed.I fucking failed?

“I asked you a question, Isa.” He leans forward, stroking his beard. “You have become quite comfortable… have you not? Living in your chambers, eating fine food, coming and going whenever you please.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” My hands clasp behind my back with nothing left to do but agree.

King Elion can be incredibly frightening when he becomes calm. I can take his wrath. It’s when he’s quiet that I worry, wondering what my punishment is going to be. Ezra stands beside me and attempts to step forward when the king lifts his hand in warning.

Theron steps into view and grins.

Ezra doesn’t typically step in, but he stops when the king glares at him, forcing him to hold his position. He hasn’t so much as breathed a word and would never dare interrupt the king at anyone’s expense. But I can see that he’s nervous with the way he’s started to shift on his feet, clearly wanting to do something for me. We were trained not to make mistakes, and I’ve apparently made a huge one.

Elion slides his eyes back to me with a calmness. “That ends now. You are to complete this mission and find your target, is that understood?”

“Yes.” I exhale, relieved and hoping I’m not sent to Theron after this conversation. I glance up to find him smiling down his nose at me, and I inwardly shudder.

“Good. Ezra is to accompany you since you can’t seem tocomplete a mission by yourself without failing. He’s an excellent tracker. You’ll find your target and finish it quickly with him by your side under his command.”

My eyes snap up in confusion. Ezra’s command? I’ve trained my whole life for this, and he’s having someone watch me like a child. There’s a reason I get the high priority targets, and because ofonemistake, he’s having someone accompany me? Why go to Theron when this is clearly my punishment?

My teeth grind, my calm composure suddenly slipping. “Your Majesty, I don’t need Ezra to complete this mission?—”

“This is not up for discussion! Get the job done and do it quickly. We cannot afford to have this target out in the open for much longer. It was why I needed it taken care of last night, which youfailedto do. You have three days, and that’s all you will receive.” He dismisses us with a wave of his hand. “Find him and get out of my sight.”

I nod and we bow, quickly making our exit. Leaving the castle grounds, we look at each other, sharing the same exact expression and at a complete loss for words. I’m embarrassed… and then I’mfuming. I storm off into the direction of my chambers.

“Where are you going?” Ezra asks, hurrying to follow me across the front of the castle and down the gravel path.

“As much as I love having you around, Ezra, I don’t need you to accompany me. Just stay behind and let me do this alone. I can track him myself,” I get out, refusing to have someone watch me.

“Absolutely not,” he says, catching up. “You heard the king—he’ll have my head if I don’t go. If we both track him, we can find him faster. You will need me there. Who else would keep you company?”

I suddenly stop and spin around, almost having him run into me, my hair barely missing his chest.

This is not the first time we’ve had an argument where Istorm off in a fit of rage while he tries to calm me down. I admire his ability to maintain his composure, but I hate feeling as if I can’t complete a mission by myself.

I gaze up to look at him, but he grips my shoulders with a small smile. He softens a little, palming my cheek.

“It’s not your fault. It could’ve happened to anyone.” He glances at my hair and thumbs the braid with my birthmark, and I frown, my eyes darting away.