AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I flipped to the next page of my book.
He sighed, putting his thumb and index finger in between his brows. “You are such a pain. Put the book down and let’s go.”
“Ha!” I laughed, “Like I would ever willingly go anywhere with you ever again.”
I was mad, really mad, and I let it show in my voice, not caring what he thought of my attitude.
He gave me an irritated look. “My father has requested our presence in his office to explain the details of our training together.”
I put the book down beside me and sat up. “Well, how convenient of him to ask for us now when he had all night. You know what would have been a great time to ask? Probably right before you humiliated me in front of everyone. Yeah, that would have been great timing.”
I stared straight into his soul. I wanted him to know I was pissed at him, that I wouldn’t brush off an encounter like that.
“He actually sent me to get you during dinner. That’s why I showed up to the ballroom in the first place.”
I blinked slowly. “It seems like you failed in delivering that information correctly, and it’s not my problem that you’re just now deciding to tell me he’s waiting. I’m already in bed and I’m not going. You can tell Pater I said that myself, I don’t care.”
“Well, I think you do. Which is why I know you will follow me out of here.”
I scoffed. “And why is that?”
“Because whether you want to admit it or not, you crave power, and being the assassin gives you a taste of it. You wouldn’t want to miss the assignment Pater has for us. Plus, you look up to him as a father and you wouldn’t want to let him down. You fear failure and disappointment from others, so that would be your motivation to follow me to this meeting, so you can get all of the information you need to be successful, despite how much you might hate standing next to me.”
I grunted and threw my book at him from across the room. I hated that he was right, and in the moment, throwing the book seemed like the right thing to do in order for me to get my aggression out. The book hit his shoulder, hard, and with his Shadow blood I knew he could’ve easily caught it. Also, he saw my arm pull back and release, giving him plenty of time to see me aim the book at him.
“Why didn’t you catch the book?” I said, emotionless as I got out of bed and walked past him, headed straight for Pater’s quarters.
“Because maybe I deserved it.”
If that was supposed to be an apology, I didn’t accept it. He should feel bad for how he acted earlier and for making me get out of bed because he was too distracted humiliating me to tell me that Pater planned our meeting tonight.
I didn’t bother changing before we left my room, and I felt quite ridiculous in my silver silk pajamas and wet braided hair; I felt a lot like a child on a mission to find a midnight snack.
The walk to Pater’s office was silent except for the sound of our footsteps on the marble floors. There were a few stragglers wandering about the castle, but besides them, most everyone was in bed. I should walk the castle and grounds at night more often, without Bennett, of course. It’s a lot more peaceful at night.
We arrived at the office to find Pater, who looked very annoyed, and I let out a big sigh as I sat on my favorite settee in front of the roaring fire, making sure to leave no room on it so Bennett couldn’t sit next to me.
He chose to stand awkwardly in the corner, instead of sitting on one of the two chairs that were placed directly opposite of Pater’s desk.
“It's about time you got here,” Pater said flatly. He was usually never in a bad mood, and it was pretty rare for me to see him in one.
“You can blame the tardiness on your son, considering I wasn’t even aware of this meeting until ten minutes ago,” I said, not even trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.
Bennett didn’t even start to defend himself and instead just crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, staying silent.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Pater stood from the chair positioned behind his desk and walked over to the front of it, leaning against it and placing his hands on either side of it for support. “You’re here now, even if you are two hours late.”
I instinctively looked at Bennett and found him to be already looking at me.
When he looked away he said, “So what is this all about?”
“Although the way it played out wasn’t ideal, my intention all along was to have Bennett learn that you were the assassin.”
“Huh?” I said.
“Then why didn’t you just tell me?” Bennett said, clearly frustrated.
Pater crossed his arms. “Because I wanted you to see what she was capable of—what she has been accomplishing over these past four years as my assassin. Your little bet was the perfect opportunity to do so, so I played along with it and it got the end result I wanted anyway.”
