ass panes of the arched windows rattled sharply, and several decorative porcelain vases slid off the mantelpiece, shattering into tiny pieces across

tress was in absolute chaos, and every protective instinct I had honed during those brutal training sessions screamed at me to move

ter the blast. I kept my breath shallow, dropping my center of gravity into a low stance just as a silent, masked assassin slipped into the room. The intruder wore midni

uards, the assassin lunged directly

been just a second before. The attacker recovered instantly, spinning around to sweep t

s and crossing them in front of my chest, my eyes

answering only with another vicious do

ker was physically stronger, pressing the weight of their blade down against my daggers until my knees began to buckle under the immense pressure. I remembered t

mbled forward, losing their balance for a fraction of a second, and I seized the moment to drive my elbow directly into their ribs. A muffled grunt escaped th

fingers losing their grip on a heavy, sealed metal cylinder they had been carrying in their left vest

ra that made the air in the room turn incredibly heavy. The assassin glanced toward the door, realizing their time had o

room with his claws fully extended. His dark hair was disheveled, his clothes were singed from the explosion

y side, grabbing my shoulders with trembling hands to inspec

his hands down, pointing toward the open balcony. "The assassin just went out the window.

il of fresh blood I had drawn from the intruder. He stopped right near the bedpost, his foot brushing against the object the assassi

held up a discarded silver dagger for me to see. "The intricate wolf engraving along the hil

s the reality of his words settled into my mind. "The

dropping into a dangerous, low register that vibrated with pure malice. "He sent his personal

l me?" I asked, shaking my head as I looked at the broken room. "It do

inder lying near the rug. He walked over and scooped up the heavy container, his nostrils flaring as he caught the scent left behind

losives," I warned, stepping closer to his side as he examin

ly bypassing the locking mechanism with a loud metallic screech. He reached inside, his expression dark, fully expecting to pull out a map of our border weaknesses or a

r, recognizing the official royal seal pressed into the wax at the very bottom. Brian unrolled the document, his

, his voice shaking with an emotion I had never heard from h

lpha Arthur himself, which explicitly ordered the immediate, quiet execution of her older br