Chapter 1.42: Die For Your Cause

Her hand grabbed under the man's chin, and she withheld a gasp. It shocked her to see the bruising added to discoloration on her skin. "Tell me who told you to try to kill me. Who exactly made the offer with all of you?" The pain she was feeling was evident in her voice. It was weak, with her volume changing with every word.

The man struggled. He looked terrified to answer. But like anyone under the dark-haired woman's magic, he was forced to speak. "It was the prince's bride-to-be. She offered us the money and told us to take care of the problem. Her words, not mine."

If Leila didn't feel like a bus had hit her, she would have laughed. It made perfect sense. The woman she had suspected the least was the prime suspect. This entire journey she has assumed the freshly turned adult was some pawn. Hell, she still wasn't sure if she was the one in control. Or if the prince put her up to such a cowardly act. Either way, it made her sympathy shrivel up and die. The younger girl should have stayed in her place. While the heiress had almost died, the attempt was very amateurish. If she came with more than Ezekiel or brought a healthy Alek, the killers were toast. Sending a bunch of lowlifes against a famed assassin and love rival was just idiotic.

Speaking of Ezekiel, the man had become eerily silent since the interrogation started. Leila didn't want to focus too much of her attention and energy on the blonde. It was clear that she was reaching her limit on how bad her headache was. It didn't help that she was so angry earlier she refused to eat much. Her body was desperately searching for free proteins that weren't there. She wondered if this was what diabetics felt like running low on insulin. The black-haired assassin felt sluggish when her bones didn't scream for rest. If she decided to think about Ezekiel, her control might break. And being forced to fight an angry killer she just violated would take her out.

Her dirty, broken nails dug into his skin and drew blood as she pressed. Leila needed more info now that the mistress was involved. "Was there meant to be anyone else involved besides you and her? List every participant, dead or alive."

"The prince's bride was the only one present for the deal. She came to me alone, offering money to take your life and get rid of the evidence. The other man came with the woman I killed. They work as a pair and she paid them after me for backup. I don't know anything else." His answer satisfied the heiress, who grinned. It proved to her that the mistress was more involved than she initially assumed.

This made her decide that once she killed the prince, she would make her suffer. The girl was stepping into a world she wasn't familiar with. A world of killers and betrayal. Maybe it was for the better that she showed her true colors now to the royal family. They might find her intelligent enough to keep around. But she wasn't sure the bride told the prince what she was doing. All of this could have been done behind his back in a fit of insecurity. Honestly, she didn't know what was the truth. What Leila knew for sure was that time was running out for revenge. There would be countless other attempts on her life after this. She had to be better prepared next time.

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"You're going to get rid of any evidence of my presence on this bridge. And throw your partner's corpses into the water." Her purple eyes bore deep into his soul, sucking it dry. From his expression, she could tell this was hurting him. "Once everything is done, drown yourself."

Ezekiel cursed under his breath. He looked at her from the side with a strange expression. "Cleo…"

Harshly, she put up a hand to shush him. If she lost control of the man, they would be in trouble. Her chest felt increasingly tight with every syllable she uttered. Her body aching, that made her want to keel over and vomit. The contract killer had a troublesome look as his body moved. Like a robot, the man got up from his position and used some of his vines to fly away. He landed where the remains of the girl were and picked up what he could manage. From the impact of the slam, her body wasn't completely solid anymore. Instead, she was just a pile of shattered bones and intestines. Leila made sure to look away as her skin turned green and her cheeks puffed out.

She had hoped that she would be fine, but her lips opened, and out came chunks of vomit. Her horrific migraine forced anything that remained in her stomach out. The dark-haired woman leaned over the bridge to puke into the lake below. This was one of the many consequences of Cleo's abilities. When researching mind magic, it became evident that eventually, her body wouldn't be able to take it. Using it even in small amounts made her feel weak. Leila didn't enjoy getting nosebleeds, having constant night terrors and headaches all morning. She knew it was a good idea to give magic realistic handicaps in fiction, but this was ridiculous. As soon as she returned home, she'd need to come up with a better training regiment.

"You just made a man kill himself. With a simple sentence, you caused someone's death." Hearing Ezekiel's criticisms made her scowl. The man moved to pat her back, but she shrugged him away.

Slowly, she got up to look at him face-to-face. This was a pain, as she still had to puke, but they needed to hash things out properly. "It was either us or him. And I choose us, just as Cleo would have." Her body was shaking from exhaustion, making her sound more pathetic than confident.

"You're serious about this? You genuinely believe that you're a different person than the Cleo I knew?" His blonde hair glistened under the sun as he put a hand on her arm. It was a gentle touch, almost as if he was afraid he would scare her off.

Like you would an animal, she noted quietly. Leila’s eyes narrowed as she debated what to say and how to truly feel about his words. Her gaze briefly went down to his hand, and she sighed. The sigh was so deep that she felt empty when it ended. This emptiness was long and hollow as she gave in. There wasn't much fight left in the woman, anyway.

She nodded her head. "I'm not her. I never was."

"I don't think I can trust you then. Not after what you did to me. But," Ezekiel's voice caught in his throat and his grip tightened. So tight that she winced, causing him to quickly let go. "If what you're saying is true…you had no reason to feel anything for me. Because I see that you're right about one thing. The woman who lives in my memories isn't you."

"I tried to be her. I messed it all up by dragging you into this revenge quest. Once I finish, you can do whatever you want for me. I wouldn't care what it was, as I deserve it all." This amount of self-pity was sickening, but Leila felt overwhelmed by it. Her head was spinning with pain and hurt feelings.

Ezekiel nodded his head, making her heart plummet. Any relationship they ever had was over now, and she wasn't sure what to say. "You could never be here." That made the emptiness worse.