Page 56 of Vicious Princess (The Trials of Death and Honor #1)
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
I don’t admit it out loud, not even to Daegel, but I’m nervous as fuck about today. I’m perched on the roof of one of the buildings next to the warehouse, watching one of the three back entrances—one with no apparent purpose other than to serve as an escape route.
The plan Ezkai Gavriel approved isn’t perfect.
But with all the opinions and endless discussions, we had to settle on something. I guess that’s why we have an Ezkai General—someone has to make the final decision to prevent all the arguing and take full responsibility of their choice.
That’s a lot for one person to carry on their shoulders.
I am to watch the back entrance and wait. Once someone else—they hadn’t decided who before I left—joins me, we’ll take out the bouncers and slip inside. From there, I’ll find my way into Gloria’s office, where I’ll eliminate her.
We have Ezkai stationed at all the back entrances and playing pretend inside just in case things go wrong and I need backup.
While I sit on the roof alone, keeping watch, I can’t help but think about what Dad would think of me now, leading the cadets on this mission. I have spent so many years of my life working hard to be like Mom and Dad, working hard to make them proud.
Yet, when that day is finally here…they can’t witness it.
I close my eyes for a brief moment. I wish you could see me. All this is for you.
It’s funny. I thought I killed that part of me, the part that still held the beliefs my parents instilled in me, the part that wants to be honorable, good, respectful?—
Someone’s behind me.
My eyes snap open right as I reach for a blade strapped to my corset and pivot, angling it at my attacker’s side.
Daegel’s eyes flash.
“You should have announced yourself,” I hiss at him, pulling the blade away. “I could have fucking stabbed you!”
He ignores my words, saying, “Damn good reflexes, princess. I see all that private training is paying off.”
With a scoff, I roll my eyes. I turn to again face the back entrance that’s been calm all these hours. Nobody goes in or out.
Daegel settles next to me on one knee.
Without looking at him, I ask, “What are you doing here? No way Ezkai Gavriel assigned you to me.”
“He had no other choice,” Daegel says. I can hear the pride in his voice. “I outrank him as an Ezkai Major.”
“You pulled rank?” I arch an eyebrow as I turn to him. “Abusing your power for nothing, sir? Scandalous.”
His gaze darkness. “I love it when you call me ‘sir.’ Make sure you do it more often.” Daegel leans in closer. “Especially when I’m balls deep in your sweet, tight, warm pussy.”
I blink rapidly, my whole body aflame.
He pulls away with a chuckle. In his official instructor voice, he says, “Change of plans, Cadet Wildarrow.”
“What?”
Daegel meets my gaze. All the teasing, flirty amusement is gone now. “There are things only I know about, which I couldn’t reveal during the strategy brainstorm.”
My stomach sinks. Oh no.
“That’s why I requested to accompany you here. You’re the only one who can know the truth.”
I nod. I’m pleased he’s finally trusting me with this and bringing me along instead of trying to conceal things in order to “protect” me.
“What is it? Tell me,” I say.
“Gloria isn’t the only one running this place.” My eyebrows hike all the way to my hairline at his words. “She’s the head of the Esclar family, but she has two brothers who are also in the family business and run this place with her.”
“The three shadowy figures on that platform,” I say, things clicking into place.
Daegel nods.
I bristle. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
“I’m telling you now, Phoenix,” he says, pleading.
“I couldn’t say it in front of Gloria, or in front of other Ezkai, and we were preoccupied with either fighting or”—my cheeks heat without him even saying it—“ making up , so there wasn’t much time to dive deep into the details of it all.
I don’t want to fight about it now, when we’re short on time as it is. ”
“Okay. Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“We need to take out the brothers, too,” I say. “Otherwise, they’ll simply take over and keep doing whatever they’re doing.”
“Yes, exactly. In fact, it may even worsen the situation because the three siblings don’t always see eye to eye. Believe it or not, Gloria’s not the worst out of the three,” he says. “So today we have three targets instead of one.”
“Wonderful,” I mutter. “How do we kill all three of them without setting off the alarms and getting killed ourselves?”
“That’s where the change of plans comes into play. There’s the fourth entrance, the one we used the other night to escape. We’ll use it to get inside and make our way close to Gloria’s office. Later today, she and her brothers are meeting another Caligos family to discuss merging their businesses.”
“Are all of them going to be Decarios?”
Daegel shakes his head. “The other family, Akitake, are not Decarios. Yet they’re very wealthy and powerful. But Gloria’s brothers are Decarios.”
I nod, trying to process the information. Three siblings, possibly two of Gloria’s bouncers, maybe more—all Decarios. Plus, this Akitake family and whoever they bring.
“How are the two of us taking out that many people?” I frown. “Do you know if the Akitake family has Decarios amongst their security?”
“I don’t know. But it’s safe to assume they do, considering their wealth. They’ll surely bring them here today. Sho Akitake is not a stupid fae. He won’t go into negotiations with Gloria without being armed to his damned teeth.”
“We need backup,” I say.
“If we say anything to any Ezkai, they’ll know,” Daegel says carefully. “So far, they have no solid evidence on my or my family’s relationship to Caligos. This can be enough to condemn me and them.”
Gods fucking damn it. I grind my teeth, and breathe while I count to ten.
“Fine. We don’t tell the Ezkai,” I say. “But we can’t go in there just the two of us. We’ll be incredibly outnumbered. We need at least one other person to better our odds. Someone damn good.”
“I don’t trust anyone,” Daegel says.
I rise to my feet. “You’re in luck, because I trust someone just enough.”