Queen Of Glass

Chapter 21

"What do you mean 'their heads have arrived?'"

"Your highness—Wendlyn sent back the heads of five of your naval commanders."
The parchment that the King of Adarlan had been holding in his hand was crushed into a compact ball. He had little tolerance for ill news—especially that regarding Wendlyn. "Which ones?" he growled, his voice deep and edged with an impatience that was known and feared throughout his empire.
The officer paled and trembled slightly. Even his army officials were belittled in his presence. "Mathais, Munroe, Jusdar, Elphey, and Pargain."
Before the king could speak, the man extracted with a shaking hand a piece of parchment from his pocket. "And...and this came with the heads."
The officer handed the note to his ruler and took a few steps back.
Unfolding it, the king read the two words that were scrawled upon the yellow paper and ripped it to shreds. Those barbaric beasts! How dare they do such a thing to me, King of the greatest empire the world has ever known? His brown mustache vibrated above his lip as the king sought to keep himself from beheading the innocent officer.
"You are dismissed," he said roughly to the man. After bowing, the man turned from his lord and left, shutting the door firmly behind him.
The king looked at the remains of the note and slammed his fist down upon the desk at which he sat. His chancellors would not be pleased by this. Their assault on Wendlyn had lasted for three years—three years of wasted men, money, and artillery. His advisors were beginning to hint at dropping their pursuit of the country, but the king would hear none of it. He needed to add Wendlyn's proud crown to his collection. Only after he had conquered and reformed the distant country would he cease.
But if his latest plan didn't work...
'It will work, my lord,' his chancellors had advised him those many months ago. 'And by autumn of next year, you will have the crown of Wendlyn in your trophy room.' However, now they were having second thoughts about the plan that had been so many months in the making. Now they were considering sending those entire girls home...
It was out of the question. One of those girls would go and complete her mission, bringing back the key to Wendlyn's defeat. He had weekly reports about their progress and often observed their training sessions. The etiquette and dancing nonsense mattered little to him—just as long as they were all able to kill, nothing would matter.
I know one of them is eager to be given written permission to slaughter once again. That one...
When his son had suggested releasing Celaena Sardothien from the salt mines of Endovier, his father had thought him mad. 'A trained assassin? Teaching her how to be a better killer? Are you out of your mind, boy?' But his advisors had agreed with the prince that Celaena Sardothien might be well suited for the job.
'But what is to keep her from going to Wendlyn and never returning? How can we trust her?' That had been his excuse to keep the girl buried beneath the mountains. But once again, his son and chancellors had found a suitable solution. 'We will make a bargain with her, father—one that she can't refuse...and we'll add in a few twists upon her departure to Wendlyn that will make her come back. Consider her training more of a way to find suitable bait for the lure that will bring her back home.' His son's idea had been valid, and his advisors had pressed the matter upon him so fervently that he had signed the release forms for the assassin. It was one of the rare occasions on which he yielded to the wishes of his kin and council—had the fate of Wendlyn not been on the line, he would have denied his chancellors and reprimanded his son for being so foolish
That boy's becoming more and more troublesome every day. Soon he'll demand his own palace. Perhaps I should ship him off to the army. No, that's no good. If he gains the friendship and trust of my men...who knows what he will do?
The King of Adarlan read the document in front of him and crumpled it up, deciding it to be another useless amendment that the peasants were trying to get him to pass in their favor. Had they the opportunity, the worthless beasts that worked at the bottom of the social ladder would probably try to destroy him. He had enemies all around him—both in his country and beyond it, and safety was an issue of particular greatness to him.