Page 35 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 35 – NATHON

T his was the last thing that I expected to see when I went to visit Lord Elias. One unusual death within these Palace walls per year would have been strange. But two, two in one day?

I took in the scene, the wide eyes of the dead man fixed upon the ceiling.

“Isn’t that her escort?” I pointed at the Princess standing behind him.

Elias didn’t respond. He and the Princess looked at each other tensely.

I walked over to the body and looked down at it. The sword was sticking out of his chest. The angle, the position of it, the point of entry. It was utterly clear.

“Why has the Princess killed her own escort in your room?” I put to Elias, resting my hands on my elbows.

The Princess wrapped her arms around herself. “I—"

“It wasn’t her,” Elias lied.

I looked back down at the body. It was definitely her.

But, if the Lord insisted that he had done it, then I could play along.

“I see. Your swordsmanship really has suffered after all these years away from fighting.”

Elias’s golden outfit was stained in blood. To any other individual that had stumbled across this scene, it would certainly seem that he had been the one to kill this man.

“What are you going to do? Elias asked. His gaze was fixed upon me resolutely.

“I don’t see how it would benefit me in any way to reveal your murderous activities. Or her little night visit.” I pointed at the Princess. She looked completely lost.

“I don’t believe that.” He looked at me with suspicion.

He was right, to some extent. I could imagine certain benefits in revealing them. Elias would be out of the way, and he was clearly protective of the King. The Jurasan Princess would be eliminated from the Courting Season, which would improve Loria’s chances.

But, having Lord Elias owe me, was far better than having him gone.

“If that’s the case, what do you intend to do?” I asked him.

Elias laughed. “I’m not a fucking fool. If I fight you, I’ll die.”

“Well, you certainly would if you fought like that…” I pointed at the dead man.

“Exactly.” He was admirably consistent in his facade.

“So, what do you propose?” I asked.

“I’ll…I’ll drop out of the season,” the Princess blurted out.

We both turned to her. She stepped forwards slightly.

No. Absolutely not. The Princess dropping out of the season wasn’t anywhere near useful enough.

“It seems like that’s something that would benefit you more than me, Princess. That’s just not how this works.” Her face clouded over in disappointment.

Elias scowled. “Aren’t you pleased with yourself? You’ve backed us into a corner and can demand whatever you want in exchange for your silence.”

“You have to admit, it’s hardly something to be displeased about.” I outstretched my palms and shrugged.

“Leave her out of it.” Elias slightly nodded behind him, at the Princess.

“But I—" the Princess started.

“Done,” I cut her off.

Elias let out a breath. He turned around and approached her, picking up a dark shawl from the floor, and handing it to her.

“Here, you should go back.”

“I…but you—"

“Go back,” Elias repeated, waving the shawl in the air.

“I didn’t mean to come here, I just…I didn’t know where to go, and this door was open, and I was—"

“Stop,” Elias cut her off. “You don’t have to explain.”

She looked up at him and gulped. Then suddenly her facial expression changed. “I’ll find a way to thank you.” She placed the shawl around her shoulders and made her way towards the door, she glanced at me wearily as she walked past.

“I am grateful,” she said to me. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. She scurried out of the door.

After it was closed, I turned to Elias. We stared at each other for a few moments.

“You need to move this body now,” I told him.

“I thought I’d wait two to three hours for it to grow heavier and more bloated before I tried, actually,” Elias said, his face straight.

I laughed. “Well, I suppose anyone would be angry if they completed a murder this poorly. Look at your clothes after all, and they’re probably the only decent set that you own.”

“I’ll handle it.” Elias walked over to a drinks cabinet and poured himself some wine.

“How? You can’t wander around wearing that.”

“Then I’ll change.”

“Ahhh, but you need to get rid of those clothes as soon as possible. Not wait for two to three hours for the blood to marinate into the fabric.”

Elias slammed his drink down. “If it weren’t for the fact you’d saved my cousin’s life, I think that I’d truly hate you.”

He and everyone else. I was used to being hated. I was used to the feeling. There was a part of me that had even grown comfortable with it. Who would I be if I wasn’t hated? I didn’t know. I didn’t even know if I wanted to know.

“Does that mean you hated me before I saved his life?” I asked.

“I didn’t give a fuck about you beforehand.” He poured another drink.

After swallowing some, Elias spoke again. “Look, Vulture, go and think hard about what you want from me because I won’t be doing you two favours. Let me handle this myself.”

I stepped towards him, pointed two fingers in the air.

“You will do me two favours, and in return, I will handle the body.”

“Two favours for you? Ha. I’d be better off taking the risk.”

“Are you sure about that? Someone just tried to kill your cousin. You can’t exactly prevent further assassination attempts from a prison cell.”

I refrained from telling him that if I were to be ordered to end his life, there was no way he could prevent the King’s death. At all.

Elias sighed deeply. “In fact, I think I fucking hate you anyway.”

He approached the body. “How are you going to handle this by yourself?”

“I’ve done it plenty of times before.”

Elias smiled sarcastically. “I’m sure you have, but not here, not within unfamiliar territory and—"

“Unfamiliar?” I raised an eyebrow at him. I’d already spent the first few days here traversing and memorising the entirety of the Palace’s layout. Besides, I had disposed of plenty of bodies in unfamiliar territory before.

“ And …” Elias stressed the word, irritated by my interruption, “He’s too heavy.”

I stroked the corner of my lips. That was true. This ridiculous outfit the man was wearing added several extra pounds to him. Stripping him would take too long, and if anyone did notice anything from a far distance, seeing one man carrying another would be far more noticeable and alarming if one of them were naked.

Loria wouldn’t be strong enough to lift him…besides, I didn’t want her involved.

The Jurasan Princess looked even more frail than Loria did, acquiring her help would be tantamount to asking a child to help carry him with me.

I smiled to myself.

Of course.

I strode towards the door.

“I thought you said—" Elias began.

“Ssssh. I have an idea.”