Page 16 of Warrior Princess Assassin (Braided Fate #1)

He considers this for a good long while, and I wonder if he thinks this is a trap. But he must decide to trust me , because he sketches a sigil in the air, and the faint glow appears again before disappearing.

“If there were fire anywhere near,” he says, “I could call it to my hand.”

“How far?” I say.

“Quite a distance. Does your father’s magic not work similarly?”

I shake my head. “It’s not the same. He draws weather across the sky.” Last night, I was terrified of Maddox Kyronan and his magic, but now that he’s in front of me, I’m intrigued. “Would you show me?” I say. “With real fire?”

A light sparks in his eye, and he leans in. For a breathless span of time, I think he’s going to say yes . It’s like that moment in the atrium when he felt like a co-conspirator, when we were both hiding but we had the same goal.

But the king seems to catch himself, because he goes still, then sits back. “I’m reluctant to risk the alliance when we’ve come so close.” His voice finds that gentle purr again. “Once we are in accord, Princess, I will show you anything you desire.”

I have to take a deep breath and remind myself of all the reasons I was prepared to hate him. All the reasons I was ready to beg Asher to help me escape.

All the reasons I kept that hairpin tucked in my palm.

But it’s hard to reconcile the stories about his brutality when he sits in front of me and talks about trust and truth and feeding his people. When he defends me against my brother and apologizes for using force.

“You have quite the talent for dodging my questions,” he says. “You still haven’t told me why you dressed as a servant.”

That flush on my cheeks returns. But maybe his admission about a nervous habit has loosened something inside me, because I admit, “I was curious.” A line appears between his eyebrows, and I add, “I wanted to see you on my terms.”

For as fierce as he seems, something in his gaze gentles. Softens. “So you took it upon yourself to dress in disguise.”

“Yes.” The word lands between us with weight, because it really was that simple.

I consider his lines about truth and integrity and everything he assumed when I wasn’t present at the alliance negotiations.

I’ve been sitting here wondering if I’d survive the humiliation, but I suddenly realize that he’s been worried about something entirely different: that my appearance this morning was part of something nefarious, instead of desperate and innocent.

His eyes are too intense. I have to look away.

“What did you discover?” he says.

“I didn’t know you were... you .” I reach out and tap the worn, scarred leather over his forearm. “You certainly aren’t dressed as a king.”

He catches my hand, lightning quick, and I remember the way he did the same thing in the atrium. Like before, I can feel his strength, but his grip isn’t painful. It’s warm. Soothing.

“I fight alongside my soldiers in battle,” he says. “If I look like a king, I become the primary target.”

I look at his hand on mine, and my heart thrums. Some of it is fear—but some of it isn’t. “The rumors here say that your touch burns,” I say.

He looks right back at me. “It can.”

That’s sobering. I almost pull away.

But he turns my wrist, using his other hand to push back my sleeve a few inches. There, on the pale skin of my forearm, a few dusty blue marks reveal where Dane grabbed me last night.

Maddox Kyronan’s eyes flick back up to mine. “A man doesn’t need magic to cause harm, Princess.”

I swallow.

“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me,” he says.

“We’ve set a course,” I say.

That makes him smile—and there’s nothing cunning about this one. His eyes have lit with surprise, and for an instant, the flicker of hope his expression is almost boyish. It makes me blush in a way that I feel to my core.

“Forgive me for interrupting your morning,” he says. “I’ll leave you in peace.” He lets go to stand.

But this is the most peace I’ve felt since I woke up, and I want to beg him to stay.

As he straps his weapons into place, he says, “I’ll have Sev—Captain Zale—bring you the contracts so you can review them before our meeting. If you wish to have any terms struck, send word by midday.”

I stare at him, because this is said with such cool practicality that I almost can’t comprehend it. “You will?”

“Yes. Strike the entire section about your...ah, prescribed services , if you wish.” He threads the sword belt through the buckle.

“ I didn’t add those passages. I’m not going to bind anyone to my bed with a contract .

” His gaze darkens. “Your brother said it was all you were willing to offer. I thought it might be an affront to reject it.”

Of course Dane allowed him to think I was involved with the negotiations from afar.

I stand up to face him. “What if I want to strike the whole thing?”

The king’s hand goes still on a strap of leather, and he looks at me. “Then we’ll strike the whole thing, and we’ll begin anew.” He finishes with that buckle and steps close again. “My people are in need. I want to help them.”

He means that. He truly means it.

“We’re in need, too,” I say.

He nods. “I know. We can help each other.”

The air shifts between us, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I have a shred of power, instead of everyone in my life keeping it out of reach.

I feel capable instead of forgotten. I thought this alliance would mean yielding to this man, but instead, it seems to mean taking control of something. Something good , something meaningful .

But I can’t get ahead of myself. My father is dying. The alliance might well be a farce. Maddox Kyronan wants the best for his people—but I’m not sure Astranza can offer it for very long.

So I take hold of my skirts and offer him a curtsy. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He reaches out to take my hand, and despite the rough edges and common armor, he proves he’s still a king. He offers me a perfect courtly bow, and when he straightens, he doesn’t let go of my hand.

“Ky,” he says.

My eyebrows go up. “Ky?”

His eyes flick skyward, and if anything, his expression turns a bit sheepish. “Maddox Kyronan is far too long.”

It startles a giggle out of me, and he grins—possibly the first real smile I’ve seen on his face. It robs him of some of the severity—and it scares me how much I like this, too.

“Jory, then,” I say to him. “Because Marjoriana is far too pretentious.”

“Jory,” he says, and it’s startling to hear it in his accent. Warmth crawls up my neck.

He offers me a nod, then lets go of my hand. “Until later, Princess.”

Then he’s through the door, and I let out a breath, pressing my hands over my heart. Absolutely none of that went the way I thought it would.

Ky really meant everything he said. The desire rang in every syllable he spoke. It’s the only reason he’s putting up with Dane’s antics at all.

But so many people are afraid of him. So many people have horrific stories about him. That must mean something .

A shadow passes across my window, and I think nothing of it. A bird, perhaps.

But then it happens again, followed by a scrape of metal along my windowsill.

My heart leaps to my throat. If it were the middle of the night, I’d know it was Asher.

But it’s midmorning—and Asher is gone.

A bitter draft swirls through the room. The window is open, a man in black coming over the sill.

Terror grips my chest, and I think about the four thousand weapons the king was wearing, and I almost wish he were still here.

I scrabble for another handful of hairpins, inhaling sharply to scream for the guards.

The intruder is quicker than thought, because he has a hand over my mouth before I can make a sound, and his other hand clamps around my waist. He wrenches me away from the table before I can grab anything, and I swing an elbow into his midsection, then clamp down hard with my teeth on his gloved hand.

My attacker grunts, and I earn an inch of freedom, so I reach out, swiping a hand along the surface of the dressing table.

My fingers finally close on one of those hairpins.

I don’t think. I stab back.

The man grunts again, tightening his grip. “Jory, stop !” he growls against my hair. “It’s me!”

Asher .

I freeze. As soon as I go still, he lets me go.

I whirl around and smack him on the arm. Twice for good measure. My heart is still pounding. “What are you doing?” I begin to shout, but he slaps a hand over my mouth again.

“ Guards , Jory.” His face is in shadow under the hood of his jacket, but he’s breathing like he’s run a race.

My own heart won’t stop pounding. I shove his hand away from my mouth, but I keep my voice down. “What is wrong with you!” I whisper furiously. “Why did you grab me?”

“I’ve been waiting for him to go. You need to leave.” He shoves back his hood. “You need to leave now .”

I suddenly can’t process what he’s saying. I haven’t seen Asher in the sunlight in ten years.

His hair is still so blond, but it glistens in the sunlight.

I always thought he was pale, but his skin is like warm desert sand at midday, and the ink-brands on his cheek are stark.

I never knew they were vaguely different colors, but in the bright light of day, I discover some lines are blue, some are black, one is purple. I wonder if it means anything.

“Jory,” he’s saying urgently. “Are you listening to me? You must leave .”

It jolts me out of my reverie. “What? Why? ”

“Because I’ve been given orders to kill you. If I don’t do it, they’re going to send another Hunter. We need to make it look like you ran, that you fled the marriage. That you’re rejecting the alliance to Incendar. I’ll hide his body, then lay tracks to make it look like he went after you.”

There are too many shocks in that statement. “Asher—”

“Now, Jory. You don’t understand the kind of men who will come after me if I fail. Who will come after you. We’ll arrange a place to meet. You must go quickly—”

“What are you talking about ?” My voice is rising, and I don’t care. “What body? What—”

“Damn it, would you listen to me? There are two people I’ve been ordered to kill. You can escape, but I don’t want Incendar to pin the blame on you. You need to be gone before I do it.”

I stare at him. “Asher. What are you saying to me?”

“The Hunter’s Guild has been hired to kill you both .” His blue eyes are so fierce. “So now you are going to run.”

“And what are you going to do?” I say, but my voice is small.

Because I already know. My brain has caught up.

“I’m going to kill Maddox Kyronan, the king of Incendar.”