A Court of Water and Shadow

20

The castle was very empty when the girl woke. There were no killings to conduct, no guards to weave around, and the training room was completely empty.

She was not let out of her cell for a few hours, causing her to exercise on the cold ground. I was happy to see that her efforts in making herself stronger has been showing. The assassin outfit that she wore was now fit to her body perfectly. She didn't look how I used to look however. Instead of the soft curves that I had grown to love, the girl had curves of pure muscle. Her hips flared perfectly to strong thighs and her arms were defined in a subtle way. Her abs were starting to show on her stomach and her ass...well her ass was probably the only thing that went back to normal. Thank you squats.

Zagra unlocked her cell as she was finishing up her push-ups, his stare was one of ravenous hunger that made me nauseous. "Evelyn, what do you say we go for a walk today? I think it's time you explore the kingdom that you will rule one day."

Excitement bubbled inside of me at the thought of seeing the sky again. Of course, the girl just casually agreed and took Zagra's arm. They stopped at the bathing chambers so she could brush her teeth and use the toilet, and then they traveled through the castle towards the main gates.

Even the servants that were usually hurrying about had been absent. I thought it was strange, but maybe it was due to the fact that the King was absent. Zagra didn't show any sort of care about it, so he continued walking until they were finally free of the castle walls.

The last time the girl had been this close to freedom was when they tried to lure Feyre to Hybern. At the time, I was enraged by the fact that the girl only set her sights on the horizon. Now, I'm insanely thrilled to see the girl's eyes wander about.

The village surrounding the castle was set a ways back, blocked by a stone wall with a gate for entry and exit. Beyond the gate the girl took in the busy foot traffic of Hybern's people. They seemed to always be in a rush, even if they were just walking across the road. Something that disturbed me was that there were no smiles or laughter, but I shouldn't be too surprised by that considering who their king was.

Zagra led the girl beyond the gates and then for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe. As if the girl thought the same thing, she released a small breath of air as soon as the gates closed behind her.

"Everyone's away for battle. My father is very confident that this will be the end." Zagra gave the girl a weak smile as they wandered through the streets.

"Are you confident?" The girl asked, sparing a glance to the male beside her.

Zagra sighed and furrowed his eyebrows. "I have to be, but I still have my worries. I figured a nice walk with my future queen would help ease my concern."

The girl simply turned her head forward as they continued walking. They weren't in a hurry like the rest of the people here, which made their presence known to everyone. Hybern's people gave the two of them wide-eyes looks followed by a quick bow as they passed, and I couldn't help but feel smug because of that. I'm sure the girl's reputation has carried over the stone walls—and it wasn't a reputation to be proud of—but it still felt nice to have some sort of recognition.

With every turn the two of them took, Hybern reminded me more and more of a dreary port town than a profitable kingdom. The buildings lacked expression and crumbled in areas due to the weather. The grass seemed to be sparse and yellow—mostly consumed by the dirt. Wooden fences were covered in rot and they were broken in areas that defeated the purpose of a fence.

Even the clothes that the people wore seemed to be gray and lifeless. The females wore unflattering gowns covered in dirt from their daily activities and the males wore clothes of equal design.