The Dark King (Book 1)

Chapter 6

A day off, a much needed day off. I turn into a completely different person. A man with blond hair, tall and skinny wearing kings color of black. I throw my hood up and walk in the streets.

Children play in the streets, I imagine they don't see many sunny days courtesy of their storm king. I couldn't imagine an entire kingdom knowing my emotions. Raidyn has been trying his best to get work done, work that he is keeping private from me. I wonder if he doesn't trust me. He shouldn't, he shouldn't trust me. I would tell Valdus everything, my priorities are laid out.

He will be your undoing.

I see the assassin, my best friend, scale from building to building. His next prey, little did I know the deed was already done. I turn the corner to see women screaming over a dead body. I rush to it, a solider, Wyd. The general was dead.

"Someone help!" A woman cries. I don't know how long I'm looking at the bloodied body before actual help shows up.

Someone grabs my shoulder to move me out of the way, it's the dark king.

"No." He gasps upon seeing the limp body of his fallen general. "Wyr." He whispers barely audible.

I stand behind him as the the rest of the crowd moves back when they hear thunder and see lighting brighten the sky.

"I need you all to get back, stay away from me." Raidyn shouts to the crowd.

The crowd doesn't bother their king, they don't mumble, but instead they all leave the king to mourn his lost friend.

"Raidyn," my voice still disguised as that of a male.

"Please, get away from me." His coarse voice manages to croak out.

I'm not afraid, I walk on the other side of Wyr's body and I crouch down. There was no indication of physical harm. No, this was a mental death. Painful.

The king looks up at me and sees my eyes in the man I'm disguised as. He clenches his fistsat his sides, his knuckles turning white. "I think you should go, most of all. You and your friend." He growls.

I look up at the building across the street, Arsen is peering down at us. I growl and run--my feet sticking to the building as I run fast up it. With a swift motion I punch Arsen as he falls down the roof, but not off as he catches himself.

"What the hell was that for?" He grabs angrily at his jaw and stables himself on the roof.

I pounce on him and hold his wrists down straddling on top of him. "Enough!" I scream in his face.

"Enough of what?" He yells back and pushes me off of him. "I'm just doing my job!"

I run my hands through the short haircut I had given myself. "No, this is enough. Stop the killing."

"You know why I can't do that, Byrd! You of all people know why I can't do that." He spits disgustedly at me. "She'll die!"

"We have to figure something out, we can come up with a plan together Arsen."

"Why the hell would I do that? I don't give two shits about these people, Byrd. Neither should you." He gives me a dirty look.

"Then don't do it to save their pitiful lives, do it for your freedom!"

"I will get my freedom by doing as King Valdus orders. Any other way is death sentence." Stubbornly he crosses his arms.

"We're nineteen years old," I say frustrated, "Can't you see we're never going to be free?"

"You're only saying this because you've fallen in love with him! You've clearly already blown your cover and what now? Now he's convinced you to try to save the kingdom?"