An Assassin's Vow | A Beloved Novel

Chapter 13

Kalvir and Tal were sharing a tent that night. The former complained non-stop about the uncomfortable feeling of sleeping on the ground. And Tal almost hit him over the head with his boot—which he voiced aloud. At the threat, Kalvir quieted down before finally falling asleep.

Devan had promised them a busy day tomorrow and insisted that they all get some rest, offering to take the first watch.

Tal had been trying to sleep for three hours now, tossing and turning on his sleeping roll, unable to settle down. It wasn't as if he'd never slept on the ground—he had spent a majority of his nights over the last decade camping out under the stars. Finally giving up, the assassin slipped from the tent after blindly tugging on his boot.

Finally outside, he took in a deep, cleansing breath. The stars winked at him from the gaps into the treetop canopy. The leaves and branches were now black and dark blue in color as nighttime settled over the forest.

The fire's glow from a few dozen paces away revealed Devan huddled near the flames, staring into them. Tal silently crept forward, mindful of the sticks in his path and dried out leaves. Devan tilted his head in Tal's direction.

"Can't sleep?"

Tal stilled, staring at the prince. "Something like that..." He moved again, finally settling down on a log across the fire from Devan. The prince kept his gaze trained on the assassin, and Tal fidgeted under his watch.

"What happened here exactly?" Devan asked. When Tal gave him an inquisitive look, the prince continued. "Ten years ago. You were supposed to go through a basic survival course here. That was when you disappeared. And only two people came back. So—" he leaned forward, interlaced his fingers, and rested his elbows on his knees— "what happened?"

Tal shrugged, his right shoulder aching with the effort. "The two survivors didn't say?"

Devan narrowed his eyes. "They did... Though it didn't make a lot of sense. You have some sort of traumatic memory of this place, Tal. You've been tense ever since we left the castle—and even more so when we got here."

Tal bounced his leg up and down, drumming his fingers against his knee as he did so. "We were attacked; I barely managed to escape."

Devan tilted his head. "You're a terrible liar, Tal."

The assassin sat, bemused. "What are you talking about? I haven't lied—"

"Tal. I'm not a fool." He cracked a smile. "Come on. I see how during training you favor your right shoulder. And something tells me that you got that injury in these woods. Maybe... ten years ago?"

Tal squinted at the prince, skin crawling. "Yeah, fine. I got hurt ten years ago when we were attacked. But if you knew that already and were already aware that I despised this place, why take us on a hunting trip here?"

"Why did you agree to come?" Devan inquired.

Tal rolled his eyes. "You didn't tell us until after we'd left the castle."

"Because you never would have come with me if you knew."

"So... tricking us was your only option?" Tal crossed his arms. "Good to know."

"You misunderstand," he said. "I never tricked you. I told you where we were going. I don't lie to people, Tal. It's not in my nature."

"You didn't tell us until we'd already left the castle," he snapped.

"I can't properly help you if you don't open up to me, Tal."

No. That one word was so quick and left no room for negotiation in Tal's mind; it startled him with how hard the word was.