Kiana watched the window carefully. The energy in the room was tense, a messenger had just given them news that the city wall had been breached.

Fiona was methodically sliding between sword positions, her face steely and the king was trying to resist touching his doublet where Kiana figured he must have hidden his own secret weapon. Kiana gripped her dagger tighter. It wasn't her dagger, but it was long and sharp and would do the job if needed.

Two figures rounded the street corner and Kiana gasped. Matius was covered in blood and stumbling at Fiona's uncle's side. She was about to turn to announce this to the others when something about Fenrin's face caught her eye.

Kiana knew people, knew when they were hiding things like fear and suspicion. Something was wrong with the way Fenrin walked by Matius. He kept just too much distance between them and seemed overly focused on facing forward. It made the hair on Kiana's neck stand on end and she looked over the kind mage again.

His face was terribly pale, his left cheek still dribbling a bit of blood from two clotted wounds. He must be out of magic to have not healed himself looking as pale as he was. But why? There were plenty of other mages along the backline, most focused on healing.

Matius stumbled and Fenrin's eyes quickly flicked to the side, not to Matius but behind him. They were nearing the door and Kiana sucked in a breath as she made out the red smudge of a third footprint left by the pair. An invisible assailant. Invisible like Hi'zar had been when he'd taken her out of Aziron.

Options and possibilities flitted through Kiana's calculating mind as she considered the implications. Fiona came up behind Kiana as the pieces clicked into place. There was only one person who would want to come here alone, would have the ego and skills to best and use the Third Apprentice as a hostage—the queen was coming.

"Who's that? Stars, is that Matius? He's hurt!" Fiona turned to run out and Kiana reflexively grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong, Kiana?"

Her mind spun, Fenrin had to know the queen was there. Had to be biding his time. Kiana just needed to give him the chance. She slowly moved away from the window. Her instinct told her to just lie to Fiona and keep her cards close to her chest, but she'd made a promise and she had to trust Fiona could handle herself.

Still, she didn't want to scare Fiona or risk her or the king acting without thinking. "I need you to trust me and step away from the door. Act natural when they come in but keep your distance," she said quickly.

Fiona looked at the door nervously but seeing Kiana had a plan, backed up, her sword lowered but steady in her hand.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Kiana pressed herself against the space between the door and window, her dagger at her chest. Fenrin stepped inside, slamming the door open and Matius almost pushing in over the threshold. For a brief moment, Fenrin and Kiana met each other's eyes, both flickering with recognition, before Kiana reached forward and grabbed Matius, wrapping her arms around him and falling backwards, her dagger sticking out from his back like a protective spine.

Fenrin moved in a flash, his sword falling into the space between Matius and the door. He grunted as dark red poured out of his side.

"It's Lyra, she's invisible!" he shouted and Fiona went pale. Kiana rolled until Matius was under her and crouched over him, keeping her back to the wall. The room wasn't large and in the brief breath before hell broke loose, Kiana's spine tingled with fear. The queen was outnumbered, but Kiana was terrified, locked in a room with an angry tiger.

As her brain caught up with who she was facing, it was almost not surprising when her back hit the wall and hot pain flashed across her chest. The dagger had been thrown from so close, flickering into sight too soon to dodge. She could see it sticking out of her at the edge of her vision. It was strange how numb she felt now watching the rest of Lyra's attack play out in slow motion.

Fiona's eyes followed the thrown dagger, her body turning to Kiana. Fenrin managed to block another flying knife that whistled to him and made careful slashes where it had come from. Red splattered to the floor, showing he'd at least wounded his target.

Kiana knew people. Knew how they thought and moved. Like an observer of some strange game of chess, she almost laughed as Lyra made the wrong move.

Surely the queen thought it was easy, that the right target would make her daughter and brother easy prey. It was a pattern she used so often, the man to control the child to control the man.

But going after Eirik had been her undoing. Kiana knew, Kiana saw the flashes of recognition, the look of a man who had been in this situation too many times to count. Invisibility meant nothing to a blind man. Eirik knew his wife, he knew her touch, her habits, her body. While Fiona and Fenrin searched and Kiana watched, Eirik struck.

The knife from his doublet had so little distance to travel to reach Lyra's throat, exactly where Eirik knew it would be. The queen appeared, her smirk still visible on her face before it dissolved into confusion. Her half-raised weapon falling and her pale fingers moving to touch the sharp thing lodged in her neck.

Kiana knew people and she knew a killing blow when she saw one.

As did the queen, her face twisting from disbelief to rage and she clawed at her husband's face, her hands falling as her legs gave out. Her green eyes rolled wildly and as she hit the floor, her fingers roamed to her belt.

“Watch out!” Kiana tried to give a warning, but her body didn't seem to want to respond. She felt like she was floating.

The queen plunged something into the king's leg as Fenrin reached her, his sword point lowered to rest on her heaving chest. She tried to say something but blood bubbled from her lips. Fenrin and Lyra locked eyes one last time before, with a last twitch, Lyra Bryndotter died.

Kiana was so busy watching the queen that she didn't realize Fiona was near her until her warm hand held her face. Strange that she could feel that but nothing else. Somehow she rolled her head to the side. Fiona's beautiful lips were moving but Kiana couldn't hear the words, her mind growing fuzzy.

The princess was so lovely. Her eyes as limitless as the blue sky itself. Kiana could feel herself falling into those eyes, drifting away like a bird riding the wind.

Drifting...drifting....