I closed my eyes.No.That would be too merciful for him.Anger surged within me.“The plan is to assassinate him at the finale ball.During the six balls leading up to it, I will sabotage every alliance he tries to form and destroy every pact he tries to create.When he looks me in the eyes before I kill him, I want him to know he is ruined—and I want him to know who it was that ruined him.”
“And you think you are capable of accomplishing this on your own?”
I had Desmond and Nadiyah backing me, but the plan was all my own.Every detail had been meticulously planned to perfection over the last five years.I would not fail.
“Yes,” I said.
“Hmm.”The Enchantress feigned confusion.“I seem to recall a botched assassination that occurred, oh, about six months ago?”
I stiffened, memories of that night flashing through my mind.I’d nearly cost my brother and my friend their lives.The three months of probation we’d been placed on had almost destroyed Nadiyah, and I’d questioned if the headmistress of the Dark Walkers would ever allow us into her presence again.
“There were unexpected complications that night,” I said.“Individuals present who had not been disclosed.”
“And you think there will be no unexpected complications at any of the seven Paravellian Balls?”
I clenched my jaw.“We’ve been planning this assassination for five years.What happened that night in Ravenwood will never happen again.”
I would sacrifice myself to make sure of it.
“If you won’t allow me to pay you with gold,” I said, changing the subject.“What can I pay you with?”
She ran a hand through her ebony hair.“I will make you a bargain.”
“What kind of bargain?”
“I am no worshipper of King Zaricor either.”She sighed.“He is a vile, wicked man.If you can complete your mission, if you cankillhim, that’s almost reason enough to lend you the magic, but I want something else in return.”She paused.“Half of the bargain I will ask for now, and the other half I will come to collect later.”
My heartbeat quickened.“Come to collect what exactly?”
She shrugged.“It depends on when you accomplish the first task.”
Bargaining for something when you didn’t know what the exchange entailed was a dangerous game.It could be a trick.It was idiocy to agree—but I was desperate.Beyond desperate.
“What is the first task?”I asked.
“There is a man in the court of Paravellia by the name of Richard Athello.He wears a ring on his right hand, a gold band with vines and leaves encompassing an opal stone.I want you to remove it from his finger and bring it to me.”
My eyes narrowed.She was an enchantress.Why not steal the ring herself?The task seemed easy.Almosttooeasy.But I wasn’t in a position to be asking questions.
“Done.”
“But,” she continued, “should you fail to deliver on your end of the bargain—you will come work for me as payment.”
I stared at her.“As what, a housemaid?”
“You’re a Dark Walker.Your skills would be wasted on cleaning.”
A chill swept through the room, my jaw tightening.“You want me to kill for you?”
“I want you to do whatever I ask you to.”She lifted an eyebrow.“Onlyifyou don’t fulfill your end of the bargain.Follow through and you won’t have to worry about it.”
The request didn’t surprise me.Dark Walkers were highly sought after by those who wanted something done quickly and discreetly.
But I had joined them to learn their skills, not to kill.I’d had nowhere else to go, and we’d been accepted into the tower.I couldn’t agree to work for her, tokillfor her, if that was what she was implying, but nor could I execute our plan without the aid of her enchantment.
Working for her would be collateral if I didn’t fulfill my end of the bargain—and I planned to.I would do everything to make sure of it.
I swallowed.“Done.”
