Back to my target.
Queen Evelina of the Protectors, demons and frankly the whole damn world, according to her. She is a hero, loved and admired by so many, but unluckily for her, there is one person who isn’t a fan.
And that’s my boss.
I don’t want to kill her, but my boss is the only reason I have air in my lungs, even though I figure he would prefer me dead most days. He found me on the streets, a few days away from starving to death, and saved me. I still remember that day, seeing his ugly ass demon face hovering over me as I clung to a dumpster for warmth. It wasn’t my finest moment.
He told me I had potential. And he was damn right.
Thankfully, I’m the best damn thief and assassin that he has now, and that means he can’t get rid of me just yet. Yet. I clutch the champagne glass tighter in my hand as I wait for the perfect moment to make my play, to do my damn job.
To kill the queen before my glamour fades and everyone figures out I’m not a guest.
Personally, I have nothing against the beautiful queen. If anything, I admire the stories told of her. She had nothing, grew up an orphan on the streets much like me and was a good thief, if rumours are true. At some point, she became an assassin, again like me, and was feared throughout the supe community.
But that’s where our stories change. Evelina became a queen, and I am still a lowly assassin who lives in a shitty apartment and has enemies bigger than all the people in this damn demon and Protector city put together. Turns out, killing and stealing from bad guys gets you on the enemies list. Go figure. Tonight that is all going to change though. I’m going to be free and rich the second I finish my task, even when it sucks that it has to be me that does this. I glance up at the corner of the room, seeing Mossy, my weird sidekick, taking out the cameras. My sidekick is a monkey. A fae monkey to be exact, and he knows more curse words than a drunken pirate. Being a tiny ass monkey with a big attitude and flipping awesome tech skills has been helpful over the years, but first and foremost he is my family. At the end of the day, it’s been Mossy and me since I came to this world, and we have got each other’s backs.
The queen finally leaves the ballroom, and I follow her down the corridor she heads into, making sure my footsteps are silent even in stupid high heels. I softly pull out my sword from the back of my silver dress, and I almost smile when she turns back, her eyes narrowing on me. My glamour fades at the perfect moment, and I almost sigh. It feels like that moment you take your bra off after a long day and wipe off the makeup so you finally feel free. Her gaze flickers to my sword, and in the blink of an eye, she pulls out a glistening purple sword from one of the slits in her gown. The midnight blue dress she has on is stunning, looking like she is wrapped in a million stars. It only makes me hate her more.
I hate her because I have no choice to be here.
This is her debt, and I’m paying it by killing her sorry ass. The queen needs to keep her enemies in check.
“Seems we have similar hiding places. These dresses are a bitch to wear but great for hiding shit,” I remark, taking a step closer. I’ve heard the queen is a brilliant fighter, at least back in her day. It’s been ten years since the war, and I’m hoping she is a little less quick on her feet now.
Her laugh fills the corridor. “You’re going to make my night interesting, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to make your night final, Queen Evelina. This isn’t personal for me, so I’m sorry,” I reply, and before she can talk again, I charge at her. She meets my sword with an expert block, and with incredible strength, she knocks me into the wall. I kick at her feet, and she almost falls but gives me enough time to slam my sword into her arm. She hisses as I cut her, and she hits me with a blast of blue energy. Wow, the queen plays dirty. I like it. I hold in a shriek as I fly down the corridor, rolling out into the ballroom, which is soon filled with screams. I shoot to my feet in the circle of people, and a man I recognise as one of the kings steps forward with fury on his face. Damn, I didn’t want to fight this many and especially not them. Thankfully, the demon overlord king isn’t here tonight, or I would be dead already. I’m not that fucking stupid. Evelina walks right in front of him, not looking away from my eyes as she speaks.
“Don’t even think about helping me. This is the best fight I’ve had in ages, so back the fuck up, babe.”
Ah shit. She thinks like me.
Evelina runs at me with a crazy smile on her face, and I block each of her moves. Our swords clash against each other with every single hit, and I grit my teeth as her sword catches my shoulder. Sweat creeps down my neck as she cuts my dress, and I make the mistake of stepping back. The air is suddenly knocked out of my lungs after I trip and my back hits the floor. In seconds, her sword is at my neck, and she leans over me. Dammit.
I knew fighting in a dress against a trained assassin queen was going to be the death of me. I blame the dress. I hate dresses.
Cocking her head to the side, the cold metal tip presses deeper against my neck, hard enough to make me bleed a tiny bit if she wanted, but she doesn’t push it. “Why were you sent here to kill me?”
“Revenge,” I angrily growl. She laughs as she presses the sword further into my neck, catching me slightly, and I start to bleed. Her three kings stand behind her in a line, like a wall she can fall on if she ever needs it. I hate that she has them. She has family. I have a monkey who has deserted me. Figures.
“Who sent you?” one of the kings demands. “And, Evie, let her up. She is just a kid.”
“But I’m having fun, and she has to be at least eighteen. That’s not a kid, old man,” Queen Evelina says as she pouts, and it pisses me off. I’m twenty, thank you very much. I slam my hand into her sword, knocking it out of her hands, and she jumps back as I crawl to my feet. Panic starts to set in as I realise I can’t win against them all without a weapon.
“She smells like a reaper and something I don’t know,” one of the kings states from Evelina’s side.
“Then she belongs to us.” A man steps out of the crowd, and I don’t know him, but I sure as hell recognise my own kind when I see them. Reapers. I might be from fae, but my father sure as shit wasn’t. It took me all of a year to bump into a reaper in this world, and they told me the truth about who I was and something my mother never mentioned. As fucked up as it is, it gives me some connection to this world even when I crave another. I’ve hid from my own kind my entire life after I soon figured out they are crazy, and I have no interest in being in their world for longer than I need to be. I tug a dagger out of my dress and hold it to my own throat, making the man pause.
The packed ballroom goes silent. No one makes a move.
My plan C sucks. But so does life right about now.
Queen Evelina steps closer as silent tears fall down my cheeks. Screw her. Screw the world. All it’s ever done is hurt me, and my boss told me to kill myself if I ever get caught rather than come back empty-handed. He will kill me, and it won’t be pretty. I have to do this. I will get to see my mother and uncle again. I try to make myself, but my hand shakes, and I feel like I can’t breathe. “Whatever is going on, death won’t let you escape it. Someone fucked you over, sending you to kill me when they knew it was impossible. Let me help you. I vow to help you. I vow on my throne to protect you…but don’t do this. You. Are. Worth. More.”