The Stolen Prince

Prologue

Jade

I was very good at killing people.

I didn't enjoy it, but I did it to survive. I wouldn't call it murder. A lowly name such as that didn't meet the grace at which I performed my tasks.

Assassination was an art, a mastery, and something few could beat me at, but it also created a gilded cage in which I was eternally trapped.

❁

"It's an offer that's not meant to be refused."

I stumbled back into reality as a large, scarred male hand slid a small wooden chest accented with gold swirls over the hardwood desk.

The chest was a light caramel lacquer, one that showed money. The components the chest was made of could no longer be found in Astral, the owner had to be incredibly rich to acquire it. My keen eyes took in every detail, trying to discern what lay inside before it was opened.

I despised surprises. Especially from Koe.

I fingered the golden latch, my hands dancing over the wood. I wanted to learn as much as possible. I liked the upper hand in any possible situation.

Unfortunately for me, so did Koe.

I finally opened the latch, and inside the tiny box lay an array of gems of every possible color. They glittered when the small beams of moonlight streaming through the little window touched them. My breath hitched as my eyes swept across the plain chest with its remarkable contents.

Whomever the money belonged to was trying not to bring attention to themselves. And were doing a poor job at it.

My lithe fingers raked through the chest. The disrupted stones tumbled away from their positions stacked against each other in the wooden chest.

None of the stones possessed magical qualities. I realized sadly. They were just decorative. When I was younger my mother made sure I knew valuable skills. Skills like being able to discern types of gems and expensive stones. I schooled my features into a happy surprise. The stones would still sell for an astronomical price. Most people didn't know the difference between a regular diamond and one that could heal at a single touch.

I sighed dramatically as I raised my head from the small fortune. "I already told you Koe, I don't get involved with anything that involves royalty. It's too risky. Even I'm not going to take that chance." As I crossed my arms across my chest, my black leather jacket pulled tight with movement. I gracefully lowered myself into the chair offered to me and reclined lazily in front of the massive oak desk, and the man behind it.

Koe Cradlework

Owner of Cradlework Trinkets, a tiny beat-up shop just off the main street in Lazuli, the capital city of Avriel. For those who sought doers of dark deeds, the shop was secretly the headquarters of Koe's network of spies. He peddled his business in the upstairs part of the building. Koe collected favors and was the best-employed Assassin Lord in Lazuli. He never lifted a finger, he just had his lackeys do his work instead. Lackeys that were indebted to him.

And sadly I was one of those people.

"How much of it did you take already?" I asked, nodding to the chest full of treasure.

"Just enough, just enough. Don't worry, you're getting your fill if you decide to take the job. Or I can find someone else. I know quite a lot of people who would kill for this amount of money."  He smirked like I was in on an inside joke, he knew he held the power in this situation. "I know you would too. Think of it, you could pay all your little debts with this. If you just take this tiny little job." The job was anything but little and so were my debts.

He wanted me to kidnap the second prince of Avriel.

"Who hired you to do this? Why steal the second prince and not the first? Has it been seen that he will rule?" My breath hitched at the prospect of another leader of the Azulian throne. The heirs to the thrones were not based on birth order, but on worthiness. The Goddess designed such a system so no unworthy predecessor would lead.

Priestesses would occasionally prophesize the next ruler of a kingdom. They claimed it was a deviation from the Goddess. I thought that was horse shit. The Goddess didn't speak to anyone, she let the world live out as fate had destined it. The priestesses who claimed a conference with the Goddess were looking for attention and nothing else.

I rose from my chair and walked around the room, my muddy boots scuffing the threadbare carpet. The light weight of the knives I had strapped to my legs was a small reassurance. I stared out the tiny window that overlooked the streets below. The moon was lower than when I first got here. Daybreak would come soon. I needed to leave.

I looked over my shoulder, leveling my gaze with Koe's stern brown eyes. He was a couple of years older than me. His golden brown skin pulled taut over the coarse muscle that bulged along his arms. He leveled a look at me. By the way his eyes glistened, I knew he knew he was winning.

"It doesn't go against your moral code if that's why you're so reserved about the job. You wouldn't hurt the prince. All I need you to do is get him to Mordic. Once you do that, I'll find you and take care of the rest." Koe heaved a big sigh. His most enjoyable performance was him pretending that my heavy, bejeweled, as I thought of it, conscience was the most inconvenient thing in the world. After all, the best assassin needed to choose between right or wrong, or they would be lost to the world of men forever.

"At least I have a moral compass. Yours seems to be broken." I gave a little, mischievous smirk over my shoulder, keeping my back to him. Showed him that I was not afraid. I would not let him have all the power.

"Jade, others will be there. If you don't go I'll send someone else who doesn't have the same reservations about murder as you," He spoke in an upbeat tone, ignoring the fact that we were talking about ending someone's life. "Either way, I prefer you to do the job. You're my best, even if you're only 18 at that. I never would have thought a pretty girl like you could be so good at the precise art of assassination. Trust you to prove me wrong."

Koe had taken me in when I was lost in a new city. He charged me for it, but it had been a small kindness for a lost girl.

I needed the money. I could admit to that fact. My other job was at a jewelry store, but the owner was old and didn't pay me much. Other shopkeepers around the city didn't trust me. They would never give me a job. I needed this.

I walked back across the red, threadbare carpet up to Koe. I leveled my gaze and held my chin high.

"Fine. What do I need to do?"