Hunting

The Prince and I wait in the alley while Zheng scouts the palace. Crow appears landing on my shoulder.

"Where have you been?" I ask him tapping his beak. Crow tilts his head dark brown eyes shimmering.

"Can you understand him?" the Prince asks.

"Sometimes," I say, just as Zheng returns, he looks at Crow then me his eyes have an eerie glow. Crow caws at him and takes off, "it seems he doesn't like you."

Zheng scrunches his nose, and the Prince lets out a light chuckle.

"Your friends are safe," Zheng says, "according to the guards she plans on executing them tomorrow at first light."

I keep myself from growling and ask, "according to her what are their crimes?"

"Murdering the Princess," he says, "they found her torn veil outside the burning cottage."

My heartbeat rises and I have to remind myself to remain calm, "she can't be serious," I say, "we need to get them out now."

"Yes, but how?" the Prince asks.

"The Palace has wards in place and additional guards," Zheng says.

"Just follow me," I say heading towards the Shadow Market.

"I doubt the Shadow Market can help," the Prince says.

"Fie's right," Zheng says.

"Just wait and see," I say heading towards the temple of the goddess Rania.

"Are we seriously going to pray right now," Fie sounds incredulous.

"You're named after the god of the Underworld," I say, "why are you so skeptical."

"He doesn't believe in gods," Zheng says.

They follow me inside and even though Fie doesn't believe in gods he still inclines his head and lights a candle. Zheng goes up to the goddess and kneels before her. I light a candle of my own for my grandmother then one for Doe and one for BinBin. Zheng stands and I take his place kneeling I ask the goddess to keep them safe and to help me get the others out.

I take the dagger from my boot and slash my palm crimson blood filling the chalice at her feet flame consume the blood. My wound closes as I stand, placing the dagger back in my boot, I incline my head and walk out. The chalice remains burning as if in answer to my prayer.

They follow me out of the temple and to the alley that will take us underground. Fie scrunches his nose when he sees we're going into the sewer. I roll my eyes and jump down Zheng follows then Fie they land as graceful as cats. Zheng uses his magic to close the grate.

"Why?" Fie asks as we head towards my hidden chamber.

"You truly are a Prince," I say, "the entrance we used was created as a passage nothing more."

"How do you know about the passage?" Zheng asks.

He doesn't trust me and that's fine I don't trust him, "I used to serve the Princess," I say.

"By impersonating her?"

"You wanted her dead," I say remembering his request. It seems he knew it was me under the veil. Too bad he doesn't know I'm the princess his Prince wanted dead.

Zheng sighs, "I wanted you to kill Jonathan the Princess was to die by my hand."

I whirl around catching him off guard, "why? Tell me why did she have to die and why did it have to be you that does it?"

Zheng holds up a hand and Fie moves forward.

"I told you the Prince didn't want to marry her," Zheng says, "now let's get your friends and get out."

"You only answer one question," I say.

"I insisted on the switch as a guarantee," Fie buts in, "it was the only way to make sure she died."

"You're both, scum," I spit, "if I didn't need you, I'd kill you."

There's a look I can't quite read in Zheng's eyes as I turn and place my hand over the wall. The runes give off a glow different from the one I'm used to but then the opening appears.

"What is this place?" Fie asks.

The opening closes and they both give me a concerned look.

"I use to stash things here," I say, heading for the wooden trunk under the frosted window, "you can shrink things, right?"

They blink clearly confused so I wave hands around the room. Zheng registers what I'm asking and nods.

"Good, once I find what I'm looking for I need you to pack my things up."

"You trust me to do it?"

"You'll do it or you and your Prince will never leave this room." I say, as dig into the trunk so many weapons none the one I need, "where could it be?"

"We could easily overpower you," Fie says.

I move to another trunk, "you could but that doesn't mean you'd get out. We would just die here," not the correct trunk either this one hold dresses, which gives me an idea. I rummage through and find a crimson veil a smile spreads on my face.

"What do you need that for?" Fie asks.

"I'm going hunting," I say, remembering where I placed the magic bow Master gifted me when I was ten. It shoots three magic arrows at once never running out so long as I live.

She had me bind it to me the way she did my blade. I guess I could have just called it to me. All our weapons are designed so that they may only be used by their master. Unless permitted by the owner. It's something the Queen of Assassins took from the old world.

With my fay magic powering the bow the impact should be greater. Zheng lifts a hand the open trunks closing then everything in the room shrinks. He summons a velvet pouch and tosses my things inside.

"Thanks," I say, snatching it out of his hand, "let's see what happens when the whore loses her whore?"

Zheng's eyes widen in understanding as I walk past him. "You're going to kill Jonathan?" he asks.

"Isn't that what you wanted," I say, placing my hand over the adjacent wall a door appears. Fie's the first one out Zheng tries to get out the same time I do and we end up tumbling out. "There is a series of passages that take can get you around the palace. Jonathan's chamber happens to be above the dungeon."

"That's fucked up," Fie says.

I throw the veil over my head and walk down the tunnel that will lead me to Jonathan. Once, he's dead I'll get the others out the question is how will I get them out without anyone spotting the secrete passage.

We stop outside the secrete gate Jonathan's probably never noticed it or thinks it a servant's passage. When I open the gate, I find his armoire is blocking the entrance. Zheng tilts it over as if it weighs nothing, I suppose that's one of the perks of being Fay.

One of the females on top of Jonathan screams as I step through. "The Princess came back from the dead!"

I let out a laugh and pull the bowstring back three arrows fly out. Piercing the female that screamed I let out three more the female ridding Jonathan's face gets impaled to the wall. It seems he was too preoccupied to hear what the first female said. Jonathan looks up blood dripping onto him. His eyes go wide when he sees me, he shakes his head no.

I let out another laugh, "don't worry this will hurt," call my blade to me.

Jonathan tries to run but Zheng blocks his path when he turns Fie is holding his blade against his throat. I walk over, taking my time savoring his fear. The veil falls and his eyes get even wider.

"I'll give you anything," he pleads.

"There's nothing you can give me besides the satisfaction of pissing Elena off," I bring my blade up Zheng holds him still while Fie takes Jonathan's right arm and holds it up. Blade connects with flesh cutting through bone Fie let's go and Jonathan's arm falls with a thud.

He tries to scream but Zheng is holding his jaw as if he'd rip it off. My blade moves down stopping short of his so-called manhood. Zheng and Fie wince as I cut it off leave it to them to find it unsettling. "Open," I say, using the veil to pick it up and shove it down his throat, "that's for trying to abuse her when she was sixteen."

Remembering I have claws I rest them over his heart, "you should have been a better person," my claws dig in crushing bone I pull his heart out and toss it into the hearth. Once done chopping him up I cut off his head and place it on a forgotten tray. I make sure his playthings are dead and cut off their heads just in case. Zheng picks up a piece of wood from the shattered armoire and incinerates them.

Fie goes out of his way to move the armoire to the side, "so they think there was a struggle," he says dipping some of the wood in Jonathan's blood.

"Let's get the others," I say, heading for the secrete passage when I hear footsteps approaching. We make it through just in time the gate sealing behind us as if it was never there.

***

The dungeons unguarded Elena probably has the guards hunting for Jonathan's assassin. We wait a few seconds and when no one comes we make our way down the dungeon's halls searching every cell. They're all empty the only scent down here is of death.

I look at Zheng who just shrugs, "You said they'd be executed by at sunrise," I say, "so where are they?"

"That's what the guards were gossiping about," he says.

"Is there no other place she'd keep them in?" Fie asks.

"None that…" I stop short remembering like Jonathan she likes to take things by force perhaps she thought to fuck them before offing them.

"What is it?" Zheng asks as I take off running down the secrete passage. They follow behind me I don't even turn back to see if the gateway closed, I just keep running. Turning here and there until I'm outside her bathing chamber.

The gateway opens and we step through there in her bathing pool lies Bastian's head his corps floats next to it.

"More!" Elena screams from her chamber, "harder!"

Zheng pulls me back placing a finger to his lips then pointing to listen. There's the sound of chains and grunting along with that of four additional heartbeats. Fie moves on cats' feet sliding close to the wall he pulls out a mirror and holds it just so. We move close to Fie and look into the mirror.

The whore has an audience there's a chain around Nan's throat. She's bent over and two of her huntsmen hold onto the chain a third beats Nan forcing him to thrust into Elena's ass. She lets out a moan of pleasure and Nan grunts not in pleasure but, in disgust. Jing's chained under Elena; he doesn't seem to move.

Another huntsman holds a mortal girl of about fifteen a blade to her throat. The girl's barely conscious I guess no one's told Elena about Jonathan. Unless she simply doesn't care, although it explains why there were no guards in the dungeon. I can hear their heartbeats they're standing outside her chamber.

I pull up my bow and turn three arrows zoom out piercing one of the huntsmen. He falls over as I pull the bowstring and release three more arrows. Jing's eyes open and he pushes Elena up throwing her off guard she's unable to block the arrow that punctures her shoulder. The other two arrows hit the huntsmen holding the girl. He falls back the blade slicing her throat open she slumps out of his hold toppling forward.

"Fuck," I say.

Elena growls as she gets to her feet, "who are you?"

"You should know," I say, pulling the string back.

Her eyes widen, "impossible," she says.

"Is it?"

"Wait if you kill me the people will die," she says a manic look in her eyes, "I bound them to me the way that Shadow Queen use to."

"What you have done is nothing like what the Empress did when she walked this earth." Zheng says pure venom laces his words, "how dare vermin compare to her?"

Elena cackles, "you have no magic here."

A wave of darkness hits her knocking her on her ass. I look to Zheng and notice tendrils of darkness dancing around him. "Your sorcery was to keep magic out but once inside it has no effect," Zheng says blasting her once more she skids back hitting the wall. "She's only bound to the land I can kill her now or we can come back later."

"Death would be to kind for her and the others don't have much time," I can hear their hearts slowing, "I have a better idea," I walk over and pull the blade from my boot, "let her be the fairest of them all with such lovely scars."

Her eyes widen as I bring the blade down her cheek Zheng's darkness keeps her in place. As I carve jagged lines down her hideous face. "Let the curse you place on Princess Anastasia fall upon its castor," I say and watch with amazement as horns sprout out of Elena's forehead, "let you return to your true form," her skin shrivels up as her true age is revealed her hair grays and her teeth yellow a few falling out. I lean in and whisper, "don't worry stepmother I'll let you be Queen a little longer." with the end of my bow I knock her out. Fie's already removed the chains binding Nan and Jiang.

"BaiBai?" Jiang asks.

"Safe," I say, as we lead them towards the bathing chamber. I'm about to step into the pool to retrieve Bastian's remains when Zheng lifts him out of the water wrapping us all in darkness we are suddenly back at the Nightingale.