Page 21 of Warrior Princess Assassin (Braided Fate #1)

This time, Ky plants his feet and holds fast. It’s not just fury in his expression now, but willful determination.

Asher swears and jerks hard. Ky tries to catch himself, but the knotted bootlaces don’t let him go far. He stumbles to his knees in the snow.

But once he’s there, he sits back on his heels. His eyes are like fire.

Asher draws a blade.

I suck in a breath. “Asher.”

He’s not looking at me. “Get up,” he snaps.

The king tries to speak around the knotted rope in his mouth, but he can’t. It doesn’t take an exceptional mind to figure it out, though.

Fuck you.

Asher steps right up to him and puts the point of that dagger against Ky’s throat. “I said, get up .”

The king doesn’t move. He doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t have to. His eyes are dark and full of hatred, and the rigid stillness in his frame says volumes.

A trickle of blood appears at the edge of the blade, but he doesn’t even flinch.

I can’t keep watching Asher hurt him. Maybe I really am naive, but I never want to see him harm anyone again.

Heedless of the weapon, I step in front of him. “Asher! Stop hurting him.”

From under the hood, his expression is dispassionate and cool, and I really don’t expect him to obey. He’s a vicious stranger, not the man who hung upside down from my rafters, offering to share his cookie.

But then his eyes soften, and he’s Asher again. He withdraws the dagger point from the king’s throat, but he doesn’t put it away. Icy wind whips between us again, and my control over this moment feels very tenuous.

Asher’s voice is very quiet. “They paid to kill you, Jory.”

I wet my lips and look back at Ky. He’s watching us both—and he makes absolutely no attempt to deny that. He wrenches at the bindings, but Asher was thorough. There’s no give.

I drop to a crouch to look at the king eye to eye. The rope marks on his throat are turning purple, vivid in the sunlight, and it looks like his bottom lip has cracked and split from the pressure of being gagged.

But his eyes blaze into mine, and there’s no fear. It’s all rage.

This spiraled out of control so quickly. I’m not sure how to explain—or if he even deserves an explanation.

“Did you hire an assassin to kill me?” I say.

That cuts through the fury. He goes still, and a line appears between his eyebrows. He shakes his head and tries to speak through the gag. “No.”

I regard him levelly. “Your soldiers, then?”

He shakes his head again, more emphatically. “ No. ”

I put out a hand to Asher. “Give me the dagger.”

“He wants you dead. If you cut him loose, you will be.”

The king says something I can’t quite make out, but it sounds a lot like “ You will be.”

“I’m not cutting him loose,” I say—because it’s terrifying to consider that Asher is right. “But I need to talk to him.”

Asher sets his jaw, but he flips the dagger in his hand, then holds it out to me, hilt first.

When I look back at Ky, he’s watching this. Taking note of it as if it’s significant. It reminds me of that moment in my chambers, when he knew I’d hidden the hairpin.

Right for the eyes? That’s vicious, Princess.

I’m not vicious. Not really.

But he is. I have to remind myself that there’s a reason my father set such a far-reaching decree, banning fire in the entire kingdom. There’s a reason the taverns are full of gossip.

He sat in my chambers and spoke of hope for his people, but I can’t forget that Maddox Kyronan has a dangerous reputation that long precedes him.

And we took him prisoner.

I brace myself, then reach out and cut the gag loose.

Ky spits the knotted rope into the snow, and he wastes no time. “Why would I send an assassin?” he demands. His eyes are fierce, his accent biting. He wrenches at his bindings again. “If you had such a suspicion, why would you not involve your guards?”

“Assassins know how to get past the guards,” Asher says flatly. “ Clearly. ”

The king’s eyes glance between us. “Who is this man, Princess? Are you working in conjunction with the Draegs?”

“No!”

“How much did they offer you?”

“Nothing!” I cry. He’s getting this all wrong. “I’m not working with Draegonis.”

“Then it’s ransom,” he says bitterly. “My sister won’t pay. But my soldiers will find you.”

“I don’t want ransom! Would you listen—”

“You clearly need me alive , ” he says. “It’s obvious you’re working with someone.”

“She’s working with me,” Asher says, and he takes an aggressive step forward. “And I’m just trying to keep her alive. She’s the one trying to protect you . If she wasn’t, I would’ve left your body on the floor.”

“Asher.”

“What?” The promise of violence is back in his gaze, and this time I don’t know if it’s for me or for the king. “You saw my orders. You know what I do, Jory.”

I have to swallow. I don’t want the reminder. I look back at Ky and try to keep my voice level. “I am trying to protect you,” I say. “Either my father or my brother hired an assassin to kill you. We had to get out of the palace.”

“Now your king is the one who hired an assassin?” He looks between us like we’re crazy—and the sad part is that maybe we are.

In the harsh silence of the woods, this entire adventure feels insane.

“And instead of alerting me or my soldiers about the nature of the threat,” he continues, “you felt it was most prudent to do... this .”

“Yes,” I say.

“I have written orders,” Asher says, glaring at him. “The Crown hired me to kill you. And you hired me to kill her .”

“No.” Ky glares right back, his gaze burning like hot embers. “I didn’t.”

“I don’t believe you were responsible either,” I say in a rush. “But Asher has proof that someone from Incendar did. Once it’s clear that we’re not dead, another assassin will be sent. We had to get out of the palace.”

Ky hasn’t looked away from Asher. “Did this man tell you this, Princess? He killed my soldier. I am bound in the middle of the woods. None of this feels like protection .”

“I didn’t kill your soldier!” Asher says, aggrieved. He puts out a hand. “Give me the knife, Jor. This is taking too long. Just leave him. Come on.”

I hesitate, because I’m thinking of the moment he put the hilt against my neck, a demonstration of what he was capable of. Ten minutes later, he was proving it.

“Asher.” I wet my lips. “You really didn’t kill that man?”

“Trust me, I know how to kill people. I don’t do it for free.”

I stare at him, biting the edge of my lip. My heart keeps tripping along, stumbling between fear and hope. He’s never lied to me before—but he’s never done any of this before, either.

I’m not the boy you remember.

I suppose he’s proving it.

Asher’s eyes go a bit sad, and he draws back, his mouth forming a line. “Fine. Believe what you want. But they’ll be tracking us soon. We need to move.”

That strikes its mark. I swallow and hold out the blade.

Ky makes an aggravated sound. “Do not go with him, Princess. I asked to begin with honesty, and I have. If you are not lying to me , then he is lying to you .”

Asher thrusts the weapon back into its hilt. “She’s known me a lot longer than she’s known you, asshole. The only reason you’re here is that she’s trying to keep you safe. If you won’t get up and walk, sit there and freeze.”

“If you are truly trying to save my life,” Ky says, “then unbind me. I can defend myself.”

“ No ,” Asher snaps. “Jory might think you’re harmless, but I don’t.”

The king’s voice drops. “I never said I was harmless, Asher.”

It’s the first time the king has said his name, and the low intensity of it strikes a chord in my chest, making me shiver in a way that has nothing to do with the snow.

To my surprise, that purring accent seems to have an effect on Asher, too.

He seems to falter, some of the disdain slipping off his face.

But as they glare at each other, snowflakes continue to fall from the sky, and I try to pull at a cloak I don’t have. My breath streams out of my mouth in clouded bursts.

Asher’s gaze shifts to me, his eyes in shadow under the hood of his coat. “ Please ,” he says more quietly, and I can feel his urgency. “I know a place, and we need to get out of sight.”

I nod quickly. “I’ll follow you.”

“This way,” he says, turning away from Ky and heading toward the trees, forging into the brush. The black of his clothing is a stark contrast to the snow-covered forest.

But I hesitate, giving Ky one last look. His eyes are still shadowed and angry, and I have no way to undo that.

“Please,” I say. “Come with us. I didn’t mean for it to happen this way, but he’s not lying. I’m not either. If Asher says it wasn’t safe for us in the palace, I believe him.”

Before I can change my mind, I turn to trail after my friend, feeling my heartbeat pound with every step. Behind me, there’s nothing but shrouded silence, emphasizing that there’s no turning back on the decisions I’ve already made.

I didn’t kill your soldier , Asher said.

Oh, how I hope that’s true. I’ve never doubted him—but then I’ve never seen him like this. Full of violence and ruthlessness. He might not have killed that soldier, but he could have. And now he’s leaving the king in the snow to freeze.

Please , I think. Please follow us.

But maybe that would be worse. We did take him prisoner. He surely doesn’t see me as an ally now.

Oh, Asher.

I wish I’d known it would be like this. But maybe it could only be like this.

Either way, after an agonizing minute, I hear the king give a ragged sigh. Then he must shove to his feet, because his hobbled footsteps are heavy in the snow as he begins to follow.