Isaak and Sasha kept out of Ivy's way, as they hunted down the last ones on the list. With these gone Ivy could start her reign fresh.

“Everything will be different now when Ivy is royal”, Isaak said solemnly.

“You are worried for all the wrong reasons”, Sasha said. “Nothing will be different once I am finished with the king.”

“You are good Sasha. The best assassin I have met, but the king.”

Sasha beamed although she shouldn’t. There was no reason to be proud of being a taker.

“This country needs a new royal couple, and I will not rest until they have one. Now, in the meantime, we finish off that list before my sister figures out and gets pissed.”

Sasha looked around. She had a strange feeling as if they were followed. She saw no one, and there was no one close enough to hear their conversation. Sill, she lowered her voice.

“Who is next in line?”

“I’ve heard Henrietta has started working with the queen”, Isaak said. “I would love to know who the intermediator is. Haven’t figured that out yet.”

“So, she has replaced Aiden. Didn’t take her long.”

Replacing Aiden meant trouble. The king was known for his tastes, and since living in the castle Sasha was pretty sure of who provided for him. Isaak looked at her, his brows furrowed and an angry line at his eyes.

“No. Pretty sure I don’t like the new one thought”, Isaak said, his voice harsh. “Not even Aiden went gossiping with Henrietta.”

“Henrietta is harmless”, Sasha interrupted, “Really, all she does is to talk. Why do you have her on the list? I need to train the ground magically.”

Sasha had gotten all her magic back from Elias, but she still didn’t feel strong enough. Something was missing. She hoped figuring out the elemental would make her feel as in her skin again. Mixing the new magic with her old made her worse than before.

“Henrietta talks poison. Without her, we would have fewer knights in shining armor trying to impress her. Besides, she knows something about the queen's new lackey”, Isaak said.

“Maybe you can interrogate her before I start? I still need some fine-tuning before I can promise to just hurt someone with this new magic.”

“I think we will need some of your brews if we are going to crack her. She will talk, but how to know what is true?”

“Then we will have to go back to your place, and meet Ivy”, Sasha said.

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“I rather not.” Isaak looked away, “She would not approve.”

“Maybe I know of another way”, Sasha said. “There are breweries as good as my mother's closer if I just can get access.”

“We hunt her down first”, Isaak said, “Then we figure out a way to trespass Ivy.”

They had been looking everywhere for Henrietta, ending up fighting Alan instead. He was the perfect opponent, a strong magician of the defensive type that could handle her ground magic. They had caught him unaware on his way on some errand. Sasha had stopped his path, the folk on the street hastily disappearing.

“You always invites trouble, Alan. How many times have you been close to death?”

“More times than you are old girl”, Alan said. “Now, I am not stupid and there are two of you. What are you really up to? Sasha took out her sword. It pulsated in red. She had hoped for anything with another color. Unfortunately, she knew, the red said she had a murderer in front of her. And not any murderer, but someone that in a sick kind of way had enjoyed the act and still did. The sword wanted revenge, and she was the assassin delivering the blow.

Alan poured out a swarm of angry insects at her. They tried to take nibs of her flesh. A stinging feeling in her legs got her to cry out before she focused the ground magic on them. Back to earth, with them, recycling them to one big bug, which she threw back at Alan.

It stomped at him, crushing one of his feet, but missing the rest before Alan had made short of it. Sasha drew the big bug down to the underworld, knowing and feeling her dragons having a feast underneath.

“Stop playing”, Isaak told her.

He was sitting at the table by the now-empty cafe, looking at Alan and Sasha fighting in the middle of the street.

Sasha nodded and collected her magic to a tight knot in her stomach. She would keep Alan still in the middle of the wind, ending him with her red sword.

Sasha ran forward, she ducked and redirected the black lightning Alan threw at her and stepped closer. She was ready to finish the magician. For a brief moment she was caught by the grin on Alans face, he looked blissed, the smile almost otherworldly.

“Sasha!” Isaak yelled.

In the background, she heard his footsteps coming closer, but it was too late. Too occupied and sure of Alan only knowing magic, she had failed to see the short knife. She felt a throbbing pain in her stomach before she fell backward.

Sasha was laying on the ground, more blood pouring out of her than what Isaak could coop with. The rage was surging through him. He was running forward, after the fleeing Alan, but stopped. He bent down beside Sasha, vowing to let Alan pay later. Now Sasha needed him to keep his cool. Isaak pulled of his skirt. He had to try to stop the blood flow. A large crashing, a sound as if someone was tearing the houses apart as splinters got him to look up. In front of Alan, a big hole erupted from the ground, and a huge, black snake showed his ugly face. Isaak gulped but stayed still. If he left now, Sasha sure would die.

The snake spitted fire, burning the street at all sides around Alan. The man screamed, being smoked alive in dragon spit. The sound was terrible, but Isaak could feel no sympathy. When the screaming has ended the dragon bent down, throw Alan's grilled body up in the air, and devoured it in one bit.

More dragons crawled up from the hole, smaller than the first, but still making Isaak breathing short. They all came closer. Isaak looked around, holding the cloth tight towards Sasha’s stomach.

“Don’t run boy.” A small, pink dragon moved forward. “Let me see her.”

“What do you want?”

“We have not much time, and I need to heel her now. Keep your hand still, and remove the cloth when my tongue comes close. Can you do that?”

Isaak nodded. Had they wanted a barbecue they would and had he not fainted by now he would not start running.

“Please make her alright again. I will owe you”, he said.