Buried Truths

Chapter 5

"Shh honey, it's that weird person again,"

"I heard she's the reason we got the plague all those years ago,"

"It's almost surely a man, no woman would look like that,"

"shush, they might be cursed,"

"I heard that it's not even human, I mean look at the way it moves, it's like its floating"

By now, I was used to the stares and whispers of people, but couldn't they be any quieter about it, I grumble quietly as I stroll into The Confraria - pretty stupid name if you ask me, a place full of assassins and you go and name it with a word that sounds like someone ate flowers then vomited them out. Pretty dumb.

Cae was leaning against the wall near an alcove glaring at his half-eaten apple, I grinned and sauntered up to him,

"As destructive as your eyes look, I'm pretty sure it still won't get the job done, You're supposed to use your mouth" I muse to him, he turns to me with a growl and his fists visibly tighten at his sides.

"You know what, on second thoughts, that's a pretty scary face. I wouldn't blame the apple if it just went...poof," I shake my hands out and grin at him.

"One day, you will kill me from your stupidity alone," he snarled at me,

"Only if I'm being paid enough for killing you, also stop with the growling and snarling, you're not an animal," I look him up and down, "for the most part," I add with a grimace, he opens his mouth to say something before a velvet voice interrupts from behind me,

"My, my. If it isn't my two favourite killers making acquaintances with each other after a disastrous mission, I do hope the pair of you get along better in the future. You caused me a whirlwind of trouble," the owner of the voice steps down from the stairs, his sensual mouth tightened, and his eyes zeroed in on Cae.

"We did the mission didn't we? The princess is in custody, safe and unharmed. Lovely old Ald is comfy in his bed with mother nature. It went well. Surprisingly well, considering I had to be a man for a part of it, and by golly gosh is that princess desperate, she practically begged me to take her there and then. Do you reckon she's ever invited a man to bed?" Cae looks at me like I'm deranged before shaking his head and turning away.

"You did not "do the mission" Zornitsa, Do I have the files I asked for? No. Had you gone completely unidentified the entire night or did someone see that red shining through the dirty brown dye? To say I'm disappointed in you is an understatement. Yes, you got the target, but it was the files that were worth the real money."

"Don't blame me, Cae was being a bitch and -"

" You sent trackers after me, don't you dare call me a fucking bitch! If it wasn't for -" silver flashed from the corner of my eye and I turned around just in time to not be impaled to the alcove wall by two ornately carved knives, Cae had as much of a shocked face as I did and we both turned towards Amable,

"Don't either of you dare to raise your voices in my vicinity, I don't care if she fucking sent trackers at you, you should've been able to deal with them without being such a child about it, that's what I trained you for. And you." He turned to me slowly, his silver eyes molten. "My office, now."

Leaving no room for discussion, Amable turned around promptly and stalked up the stairs. I turned to Cae, my eyes wide and asking him for any help. He faced the ground with a sigh, So that's how it's going to be then? I lifted my head...and was in the perfect place to see the arrow coming from one of the high windows in The Confraria streaking straight for the back of Amable's retreating figure.

If I jumped now I could block the arrow with my shoulder, but... 

Amable was known for his violence, he had to be if he was to call himself The Dark King. Since our childhood, I and everyone in this guild have experienced nothing but pain from his hand. Some like it, some hate it and some, want to be like it. But he fed us, clothed us and gave us a roof to stay under, He wasn't entirely 'dark'. Or at least that's what I tried to convince myself as I jumped up the stairs and pushed Amable down as the arrow pierced my shoulder. I muffled my scream and ground my teeth together against the pain,

"Now that you've had your heroic moment, mind getting off of my chest?" his silky voice queried from under me. Sucking in a breath, I rolled off him and clutched at my shoulder, the tip of the arrow protruding from my skin. Blood ran down my top and was now also splotched on the front of Amable's gold-lined white linen shirt, I grimaced slightly at the thought of how hard it would be to get the blood off that and muttered a small apology in my head to the poor servant who had to deal with that.

"Zee!" Cae came bounding up the stairs and grabbed my unharmed shoulder twisting me to face him.

"Why the hell would you do that to yourself?! You don't even know what's on that arrow, it could be lethal for all we know. You are literally the dumbest person I know!" He shouts at me and holds my cheek with one hand. I snap at him furiously,

"Yes Cae, shout at an injured person after they just took an arrow and jumped up a flight of stairs, are you certain I'm the dumb one here?"

"Stop being so dense, that's the whole point I'm shouting at you. Why would you take an arrow for him! He's more than capable of defending himself from a god damn archer, and if he's not then he's not worth his title." His navy-purple eyes focus on mine and his breath comes out in puffs, clear side-effects from his rant. A calloused hand drops onto my injured shoulder and squeezes tightly making me cringe in pain,

"Because she had to learn her lesson, didn't you 'zee'?"