ICE

150. The Assassin

THERE WAS ANOTHER sound, an eerily soft scraping noise that sent chills racing down the length of her spine. Ravenna shifted around on the bed. She kept her back pressed against the extravagant headboard behind her. She pulled the thick quilt over her waist, concealing one of her hands beneath it. Her other hand curled tight around Caelan's spellbook. She kept it open in front of her, staring intently at the pages without actually reading them.

Only this time, instead of focusing on her thoughts, she listened. She listed to the world around her — to the soft, scurrying footsteps that traveled down the hallway, moving away from the royal chambers. She listened to the mattress settle beneath her shifting weight. She listened to her heart, thudding dangerously fast at the back of her throat.

She sucked in a deep breath. It was a poor attempt at steadying her electrified nerves.

There was a shimmer of a sound — a muted whisper of wind fluttering across the stones that covered the floor. Her fingers curled into a tight fist beneath the quilt, her nails digging into the base of her palm. Whoever it was had just materialized into her room.

That sound was followed by careful footsteps toward her bed. Each step was slow and calculated. Almost as if the person wanted to remain undetected. Ravenna did not dare to look up from the book in her hands. She kept her gaze zeroed in on one of the various doodles that appeared on the open page in front of her.

As the person crept closer, her concealed fist tightened. Magic danced across her knuckles, its icy glow invisible beneath the thick quilt that covered her hand. She forced her gaze to shift to the next page — as if she were actually reading it.

The footsteps seemed to stop, a mere foot from the end of her bed. She heaved a small sigh. "I suppose you've saved me the trouble of tracking you down," she remarked. "I am sure that you would not have been very easy for the humans to find."

A few silent moments passed between them. Ravenna kept her gaze focused on Caelan's spellbook. A frown graced her facial features. "Who are you, exactly?" she asked.

The masked figure did not respond. She rolled her eyes — of course they would choose to take the dramatic approach, standing quietly at the edge of her bed like a creep. "I guess I should not be that surprised," she mused, mostly to herself. She quietly closed the spellbook in her hands and gently set it on the mattress beside her. Her gaze lifted, scanning over the figure that stood at the foot of her bed.

The assassin stood tall. A bit taller than she had anticipated, with broad shoulders and visibly muscular limbs. The masked individual sported a very extravagant set of armor — something that Ravenna would have expected from a member of the royal family. It appeared to be made from pure obsidian, detailed with bright gold across the front. A matching inky colored cape was attached to their shoulders, pinned into place there by a gold and emerald decorative pin. Dark hair framed the masked individual's face, trailing down over their shoulders, toward the floor.

The mask itself was impressive. Milky white bone that had been carved into the shape of a snarling dragon. It hid their face entirely. Even their eyes were shrouded in darkness, concealed within the shadows of the mask.

Ravenna scowled at the person. "Are you here to kill me?"

The assassin said nothing in response.

From the corner of her eyes, she noticed their hand twitch upward. Her reaction was immediate. A cloud of icy daggers materialized within the air around her head, glinting maliciously in the moonlight that flooded the room — each blade aimed at the masked figure.

"Answer me," she demanded. Her gaze hardened.

The masked figure did not answer her. Another minute of silence passed between them.

It only strengthened Ravenna's anger and she glared openly at them. Her cloud of daggers quivered in the air around her. "How did you defeat my soldiers?"

"It was not that hard," the masked figure answered. Their voice was muffled only slightly by the mask. It was deep and familiar to her. "The additional mind-control spells that were placed upon your soldiers made it fairly easy to defeat them."

Ravenna frowned at them. "Mind-control?"

The assassin tilted their head slightly. "I guess that I should not be too surprised that you did not notice. I was able to detect two additional spells, layered atop the initial spell you use to create them. One gives another the ability to control them. The other amplifies the armor that you initially designed for them, making it appear stronger. Both spells are connected by a diamond-like gem in the center of their breastplate."

Ravenna felt sick to her stomach. "Of course," she muttered under her breath. Her stomach churned within her, twisted into a bunch of knots. Of course, Vyses would have added another spell that allowed him to also control the soldiers.

"Once that gem is shattered, the soldiers essentially are virtually useless," the masked figure continued, their voice rather nonchalant.

The rumors that she'd heard about her soldiers raced through the forefront of her mind — about how they treated local villagers worse than the Imperial Guards had. At the time, she had written them off as pure gossip. It had just been mere slander spread by the guards to make others fear her ice soldiers.

Now she wondered whether the rumors had been ingrained with truth.

"I will admit that you have improved," the assassin said. They seemed to hesitate for a moment and then added, "But you are still about as observant as you are stupid."

Annoyance immediately flashed through Ravenna's veins. She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowed. She could feel the talisman start to burn against her chest. "That is quite an amusing statement," she remarked, her voice dripping with venom. "Especially considering you haven't seemed to take notice of the soldiers standing behind you."

A chuckle escaped the masked individual. They did not glance back. Instead, their hand lifted to the mask that covered their face. The trio of ice soldiers standing behind the assassin readied their weapons.

The assassin tugged at the mask free, pulling it away from their face — a familiar looking face that sent waves of shock flooding through Ravenna.

He arched a dark eyebrow at her. "Would you really kill an old friend?" he questioned, amusement flooding his tone. 

~

hey sweet friends!

Thank you so, so, so much for your patience with me last week! I am definitely doing better. As some of you may know, I have issues with my stomach and have been in + out of the doctors for the past few years now. Sometimes it is just a little harder to deal with. I am definitely better this week though and so updates should resume as normal! To make up for last week, I am going to post the next chapter within the next few days! So double updates this week! :D

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy Christmas/week last week! I appreciate you all so much! And for those who celebrate New Years this week, I hope that you have an awesome one! Or just a normal awesome week if you don't celebrate! ❤

ash ❤