Page 31 of Warrior Princess Assassin (Braided Fate #1)

For a moment, my tongue is frozen. Asher’s history isn’t a secret, not really, but with him somewhere behind us being forced to march through the snow, it feels like a betrayal to talk about his past. But I need Ky to understand why I would risk so much.

“His mother was Lady Clara,” I say. “My mother’s first lady-in-waiting.

” I hesitate, because this part is always so hard to talk about.

“Ten years ago, when I was fifteen, my mother was killed in an ambush on the road while traveling to one of the northern villages. She’d admired some glass jewelry on one of the courtiers a few weeks earlier, and she wanted to examine the offerings herself.

Lady Clara was with her, of course, but she survived—while my mother was killed right beside her. ”

Talking about it drags the memory to the forefront of my brain. Asher and I saw the attack from our own carriage. He dragged me away from the window as soon as we heard the screams, then pinned me to the floor, covering me with his body. Always the protector, even then.

But the attackers never came for us. By the time a footman yanked open the door to our carriage, my mother was dead and his mother was wailing.

I have to take a steadying breath. “It was widely believed that Lady Clara conspired in the attack. She was the only one who knew of the route, the destination. The trip was spontaneous—and it wasn’t a common outing for the queen and her retinue.

The attackers took nothing, not even their jewels—and one of the footmen said Lady Clara didn’t have to beg for her life.

They just left her alive, while my mother was dead. ”

My voice trails off, because the memories are surging now, making my chest tighten. Even when they threatened Lady Clara with execution, she didn’t defend herself. Spare my son , she said. I will confess.

And then she did.

Ky waits, but when I say nothing more, he says, “Asher was a part of this conspiracy to kill the queen?”

“No!” I shake my head fiercely. “He loved my mother. He was my closest friend, and he was just as devastated as I was. He swore he didn’t know, and I believed him.

But my father declared that he couldn’t allow the son of a traitor to remain in the palace.

I still don’t know if he really believed Asher was involved or if he just wanted to send a message to anyone else who might be planning an attack on the family.

Either way, Lady Clara was executed, and Asher was sentenced, and then he was gone. ”

I have to swallow the lump in my throat.

I hate talking about this part of my life.

Within a day, I lost my mother and my best friend.

The guards dragged Asher out of the palace like a criminal.

I stood and watched from the parapets, sobbing the whole time—until Dane found me there and snapped at me to get myself together.

He said it wouldn’t do for the servants to see the princess sobbing over a traitor.

The horse stumbles through a snowdrift, and I gasp, feeling myself slip sideways. But Ky puts an arm around my waist, holding me against him. “Steady,” he murmurs.

The weight of his arm has grown warmer, and there’s a part of me that doesn’t want him to move it.

Snow continues to collect in the horse’s mane, swirling down from the darkened sky above.

In another time or place, I imagine I could be content to ride along like this, secure within the circle of his arm, letting him guide the horse while we sway together.

But he betrayed my friend. He’s no better than my brother.

The thought feels hollow. I suppose I betrayed him, too.

“You were allowed to continue your friendship with Asher after this sentencing?” he says.

“No,” I say softly. “But he knows how to slip onto the palace grounds. We explored all the time as children. After he was exiled, he began to visit my chambers.” I hesitate, wondering if I’ve revealed too much. “In secret.”

“How often?”

“Whenever he can.” I swallow, thinking back, remembering the long stretches of not knowing, my worries erased in a heartbeat anytime he would appear. “Sometimes months pass, but he always finds his way back.”

“The slavers would allow this?”

“Yes, of course. He wasn’t a prisoner.”

The king is quiet for a moment, considering that. I can’t read this silence, but after a long pause, he says, “But this means you are more than friends.”

“No!” I huff a breath. “We never—”

“ Never? ” The skepticism in his voice is thick. “I see the way you look at him. You just told me he slipped into your chambers for years .”

“He didn’t sneak under my skirts .”

As I say the words, I think of Asher pulling me close, the press of him at my back despite the layers of blankets between us. He never tried for more, but I wouldn’t have stopped him if he had.

My mouth twists into a frown. “Asher wouldn’t...he wouldn’t like that.”

“He prefers the company of men?”

Ky’s voice is so frank, and my cheeks are on fire again. “Oh! I...I don’t know.” I hesitate, because I never have conversations like this with anyone. Especially not while I’m sitting in their lap . “He just...”

My voice trails off again as I realize that Asher might tease me about someone catching his eye, but I’ve never once heard him talk about anyone real . I think of the way Asher stiffens or pulls away when I reach for him. Even when his lip was bleeding, he jerked away.

The king waits, and for a long moment, there’s no sound except the horse’s hooves swishing through the snow.

“Asher is a gentleman,” I say firmly. “He never lets me touch him. But sometimes I wonder...I wonder if he ever lets anyone touch him.”

My voice is so soft that the wind could carry my words away. I almost wish it would, because that also feels like a secret.

The king says nothing, but this silence is suddenly pointed. Profound in a way I can’t figure out.

I turn my head to look at him, because I feel as though I’ve missed something, and I want to understand. But the soldier to our left speaks into the night. “Ky. Palace guards. We’ve been spotted.”

At my back, the king’s body goes taut. I peer out into the shadows.

The forest has given way to open fields, and I recognize the moonlit palace walls far in the distance.

Everything is still dark: no lanterns, no candles, nothing.

Shadow-darkened riders are moving across the snow in our direction, but none of them carry a torch.

Ky draws our horse to a halt, half turning to face Callum and Garrett.

The two leading Asher are farther behind, and my friend is barely more than a shadow.

I can tell from his frame that his hands are still bound, and a long rope stretches from around his neck to one of the horses.

I clench my jaw. Maybe they didn’t beat him to death, but if one of those horses spooked or bolted, his neck would be broken and that would be that.

I can feel his rage from here. His panic, too. The air seems to shimmer from it.

A cornered man will make reckless choices.

I have no idea what Dane will do to him. I know what happened ten years ago, and that was bad enough. This will probably be worse.

I give a small shiver. I couldn’t do anything for Asher then. I doubt I can do anything now.

Ky’s arm is still around my waist, and I lift a hand to touch his. His skin is so warm, and for a moment, I’m struck by the knowledge that Asher would pull away—but Ky does not.

“Please,” I whisper. “Let him go.”

He inhales deeply, and when he lets it out, the breath is full of emotion that takes me by surprise. Frustration. Sorrow. Regret. “I cannot.”

My heart twists, and I feel all those same emotions. “Because I betrayed you .”

“This is not an act of vengeance, Princess. My soldiers said your brother is holding my captain at the palace. If Prince Dane believes Incendar is responsible for your disappearance, then I have no idea what he will—”

“We have Asher’s orders!” I exclaim. “I’ll tell Dane you had nothing to do with this!”

“Those same orders implicate me .” He pauses. “Do you truly believe your brother would take your word for it?”

I inhale sharply, but then my gut clenches. My heart falls.

He’s right.

Ky’s voice is still low. “Asher delivered these orders—and he is the only man with a connection to where they came from. I cannot release him, Princess. I cannot risk my people for the life of one man. You have proven yourself to be a formidable opponent, so surely you understand this.”

I snap my head around to look at him. For a moment, I think he’s mocking me, but when his golden eyes meet mine, I’m startled by the unvarnished sincerity in their depths.

“If I were formidable,” I say bitterly, “you’d be letting him go.”

“If you weren’t ,” he says, “I never would’ve removed a single weapon.”

The words light me with surprising warmth, because no one’s ever faced me like an equal—and right this moment, I hate him for it.

Garrett speaks from beside us. “Two dozen men,” he says, his tone low and foreboding. He squints in the moonlight. “Looks like more coming.”

“It seems your brother has already made up his mind,” says the king.

His voice sharpens, becoming an order. “Light your torches,” he says, and the two soldiers beside us obey immediately.

Flint strikes and fire flares to life, bringing gold to their cheeks and letting me see them both.

It’s clear that the palace guards have seen this, too, because shouts echo in the distance.

I think I hear my brother’s voice giving orders, and I wonder if he’s among them.

They definitely don’t sound like they’re rejoicing about my safety. They sound ready to fight to the death.

“I’m the king of Incendar,” Ky says to me, turning to face the oncoming guards. “I think it’s time your brother had a reminder.”

A chill washes through me. The king and his men might be badly outnumbered, but there’s a reason his army has such a vicious reputation. I suddenly realize it’s not just Asher who’s in danger here. It’s the entire alliance. It’s all of Astranza.

I remember the fury in Dane’s voice when he was scolding me about the wedding dress. We’re forming an alliance to have a chance at ending this war! I’m not starting another one!

I don’t want to start another one either.

I swallow hard. “Ky,” I say. “Please. Stop this. Let me talk to Dane. He doesn’t understand.”

The light from the torches reflects off his face, throwing shadows along his cheeks. “And what would you say, Princess? Am I to believe you would speak in my defense to Prince Dane?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

His golden eyes are so cold in the flickering torchlight. He doesn’t believe me. It’s clear he doesn’t believe me.

What’s worse is that I can’t blame him.

The palace guards draw closer. At our back, his soldiers’ torches seem to blaze hotter for a moment, a reminder of the power he wields. I shiver.

“He has the princess!” a man cries—and I’m shocked to realize it’s Dane. The voice is full of outrage, and maybe a little fear. Was he worried about the alliance, or was he worried about me ?

Ky’s arm tightens on my waist, and it makes me gasp.

I can’t decide if the movement is protective or possessive—a threat or a promise.

Maybe both. He sketches a sigil and draws a flicker to his palm, holding it right in front of me.

It’s tiny, dancing like the flame of a candle.

I stare at the light, fascinated despite myself.

Another cry goes up from the palace guard, and Dane shouts an order. Weapons are drawn, but Ky’s soldiers don’t flinch. Neither does he.

“Dane was not responsible for this,” I say in a rush.

“And you have every right to be angry. With me, with Asher, with Dane himself. But it was my choice to remove you from the palace. Not his. Do not unravel this alliance because I saw a threat and took steps to protect you. Do not risk all of our people because my brother doesn’t understand . ”

Against me, the king goes rigid. I can see his expression in the firelight, and his jaw is tight. His two soldiers are watching him, waiting for a signal—but they’re ready to fight. I can see it. The ones coming up behind probably are, too.

“Six archers,” says Callum from the other side. His hand slips to the back of his saddle, reaching for a bow.

“Hold,” says Ky. His eyes are still on mine. That ball of flame blazes above his palm.

I wet my lips. “Perhaps someone in the palace is plotting against you—just as someone from Incendar might be plotting against me . But this alliance is bigger than that. You say you want to protect your people. If that’s true, then you will douse your flames and you will allow me to speak to Dane.

You will not put all of this at risk over a petty grievance. ”

“Petty!” he exclaims. His eyebrows go up, and he laughs a little under his breath, but not like anything is funny.

But I stare right back at him, because nothing is. I think of the secrets I know about my father, and everything that’s at stake. I think of Asher, who risked his life to protect mine, and just like before, he’ll pay the price.

Be brave, be strong, be smart.

My heart gives a wrench, and my eyes grow hot. But tears won’t help me, and they definitely won’t help Asher. Not now. I steel my spine and keep my eyes on the king.

He sobers, then runs a hand across his jaw. “How can I trust you?” His eyes narrow. “It’s clear you don’t trust me .”

Maybe he’s right, and we’ll never trust each other. But I remember that moment when we were alone in my chambers, that single flicker of connection I felt when he spoke of protecting his people, and I wanted to protect mine.

“I don’t trust you,” I say coolly—because it’s likely I never will again. “But I won’t risk my people over the life of one man either.” I pause. “Surely you understand this, Your Majesty.”

The king studies me for one eternal second. A new emotion lights in his gaze, and it’s so rare that I don’t recognize it for a moment: regard. “As I said,” he murmurs. “Formidable.”

And then, before I can react, he crushes the flame out of his palm and turns to face my brother.

“Prince Dane,” he calls sharply. “Have your soldiers lower their arms. Your sister would like to talk.”