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The head of her lover turned to her and stared at her through shrouded, unseeing eyes. Horror filled Odette. The corpse rasped out in an unearthly voice. “You did this to me.”
She screamed.
“Odette,” a woman called out to her. “Odette!”
Odette’s eyes flew open, and she sat up, covers falling from her fully clothed body. Cold sweat had gathered on her forehead and slid down her back.
Yessly caught the balled fist she automatically threw. “Easy. It’s me.” The auburn-haired woman frowned at her. “It’s almost time to go.”
Odette sucked in air, her breaths coming fast as she tried to calm her panic. Damn it. She hated that dream and to have it tonight of all nights. She should have known better than to sleep before the evening’s activities. A slow breath escaped her, and she ran her hands over her face.
Getting out of bed, she fought to hide her shaking legs and walked across the wood floor, peeling off the heavy cotton dress she wore. The cozy room had long velvet drapes that hid any natural light. A mostly rundown candle provided the only glow in the space. Odette picked up her skin-tight ebony tunic and trousers flung over an old splintered vanity shoved in the corner.
Yessly watched her put on her clothes, already dressed in her matching outfit for the night’s endeavors. “Your mother wishes to speak with you.”
Odette took another deep breath as a wave of emotions crashed over her. “Tell her I’m coming.”
With a nod, Yessly left the room. Odette forced open a cracked drawer on the vanity table. She grabbed her knives and lifted the piece of cloth with the red hawk symbol sewn into it. The emblem of the Night Hawks, an elite group of assassins. They hadn’t failed a mission since her mother founded them—Odette had been only five then. Tying on the mask that would go over her nose and mouth, she then stashed her weapons on her body—two close to her waist, and one in her boot.
She needed to appear ready before she confronted her mother.
Nerves curled in her stomach and she pulled back her sleeve to stare at the blue skull tattooed on her wrist to remind herself they were on a time limit. The skull pact. Either they accomplished the objectives of this mission within a year, or they were all dead. Their employer had cast it to ensure they followed through.
Except Odette didn’t even know who their mysterious employer was.
Odette’s mother, Terna, was the only one who had met with them. She’d accepted the job, and its deadly conditions on the rest of the assassin’s behalf, before her mother had branded each team member with the blue-headed skull, making sure they shared in the consequences of failure.
They’d already used up four months of that time to gather intel on the family they needed to kill, studying their home, their servants, everything. Her mother had taught her that as an assassin, you got one chance. One opportunity to take out a target. If you failed, then chances of success afterward were near zero.
After dressing, she stepped out into the hall and hurried down the steps to the main area of their hideout—an old manor that had been abandoned years ago, though they paid an aged, local dignitary to keep up the pretense that he still inhabited it, no questions asked.
Her mother, Terna, lounged in a red, high-backed velvet chair in front of a large empty fireplace. Her silver streaked hair was pulled into a tight braid that went down her back. She toyed with a knife between her fingers.
“Are you prepared for tonight?”
A surge of determination coursed through Odette. “I’m ready.”
Terna eyed her with a steely gaze. “The mother and daughter are the most important. There can be no failure, no hesitation. Or we will all be dead.”
“I know.” Odette’s hands clenched at Terna’s obvious doubt. They’d been over the details of the mission so many times, Odette could recite them in her sleep. Tonight, they’d go to the home of the queen’s royal sorcerer and his family. “I’ll see it through.”
Odette had been assigned the job of killing the mother. The mother and sixteen- year-old daughter were priority kills because they were the ones tied to the skull pact. They would kill the father as well to deflect suspicion and make people assume it was an act against the queen’s head sorcerer.
This was to be Odette’s first official mission.
But not her first kill. Mother always required an initiation killing to test the loyalty of any aspiring assassin. Odette dug her nails into her palms until it hurt. She wouldn’t think of that.
Terna pursed her lips, and Odette’s shoulders straightened. Was this the only reason her mother called for her? To question Odette’s resolve?
“This mission is more dangerous than the others,” she finally said.
Odette nodded. Of course, because of the sorcerer. They usually avoided any jobs that dealt with wielders of magic because it was too risky. They possessed too much power and, typically, were shrouded in protective spells. But now, they planned on killing the most powerful sorcerer in the kingdom. The other assassins had nearly mutinied when they first heard that.
But then Terna had informed them how much they’d be paid.
“I’ve told you the pay is significant,” her mother said, as if reading her thoughts. “Enough that after we give the others their cut, for you and I to retire from this life. For good.”
Odette froze. “What are you trying to say?”
