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It sounded like so

I sat up straight, body tingling and alert

A shadow descended frolass, before twisting and sliding through the opening

The guard dropped silently to the floor

Rope ound around his waist He unbuckled the harness and turned He was draped in black, his face painted in darkness, his eyes quiet and cold His lips pulled apart and his white teeth floated in the middle of his empty face

“There you are,” he said, and he sounded like a laughing hyena

“What do we do now? I can’t climb”

“No, I doubt you can It’s not easy”

“And there’s no other harness How do you expect me to—”

I stopped, the words dead on ue

The guard’s face split as his grin got larger

The bastard

He wasn’t a guard He wasn’t from Darren either

I turned to run, a screaap and sla ed a pathetic moan as my chin smashed into the floor

Then he was on uard Not a savior

An assassin

Maeve was the master of spies She was a shadow, a silent killer She was a knife in the dark

And this was her tool

Her way of hitting Kaspar where it would hurt him the most

I was so stupid So, so stupid

Darren wouldn’t send a man like this

I knew so was off, but I hoped anyway

And now I’d pay

The killer’s hands wrapped around my throat He pinned rinning madly, like he couldn’t believe his luck

I croaked, gasped, struggled

Couldn’t breathe

“Don’t worry,” he assassin crooned “It won’t last long Aat all I prohtened

Alice

This was how Alice died

Except it was Kaspar’s hands around her throat

Choking her Killing her

Poor Alice

I wouldn’t end up like her