The fate of a prey (2)

With a determined gesture, my teacher placed her finger on a spot much farther away than the palace. My gaze followed her arm down to the control room of the barrier annexed to the headquarters of the royal army.

“Justine investigated to find a royal magician we could blackmail. We absolutely needed someone who was part of the 24-hour rotating guard system. The hardest part was finding the person who was on duty during the right hours. We had a window between midnight and five in the morning. Once the target was selected, it was just a matter of forcing their hand.”

“How did you manage to convince them?” I asked, very surprised. “Even if their family or their life is threatened, royal magicians—especially those in charge of the Capitol’s protection—have sworn unwavering loyalty to Asyria. They’re simply incorruptible; that’s why they’re entrusted with protection!”

The viper's red eyes darkened, and her lips stretched into a predatory smile.

“Oh, believe me, anyone can be convinced to abandon their principles. You just need the right methods. My partner uses techniques involving magical seals. Let’s just say she enjoys making all sorts of deals…"

What was she implying? Whatever it was, I wasn't too eager to find out. This description of Justine seemed exaggerated to me. As I thought back to our first meeting, I vaguely remembered hearing her mention a crazed magician who had hidden his crimes... Of course, I was too busy freezing my butt off to really listen.

“So, you managed to get him to deactivate a section of the magic barrier on the night of my kidnapping? And he never spoke?”

“I’ll teach you all the details of our persuasion techniques when you’re more experienced. To answer your question, we just had to contact him before our operation so he could discreetly deactivate the trap at the prearranged location.”

“Then you entered the royal gardens and climbed onto the roof using the old tree by the east wing... am I right?” I tried to guess.

“You're forgetting the most important thing: becoming undetectable! The Killing Wind never leaves a trace, never,” she insisted in a voice that sent a chill down my spine. “The Hiven Palace has tons of infrared detectors, not to mention surveillance cameras! If you want to blind your enemy, you have to plunge them into darkness. Cutting the power supply was Justine’s job. For that, nothing’s simpler than sabotaging the cables of the circuit breaker installed here, in the hedge maze!”

Aurora grabbed a pencil and marked a cross right in the middle of the northern garden area. Her pale hand then drew a straight line connecting it to the east wing where my room was located. Then she decided to cross out everything she had just drawn.

“Before attacking, you always need to isolate the target. No calls for help mean fewer reinforcements and more time to escape. That’s where mapping comes in,” she emphasized, drawing my attention to the blueprint. “Since we couldn’t scout the area ourselves, we recreated it as faithfully as possible using information bought from the royal gardeners and the plans we got directly from the builders. To put it simply, we know exactly how the Hiven Palace works. Because it’s under a permanent anti-magic spell, the rest of its protection relies on the Capitol’s magic barrier, forgetting that it’s not all-powerful. It’s this kind of flaw that we at the Killing Wind exploit."

One has to be crazy to challenge the security of the Capitol, flaw or not!

Unlike the other buildings in the Capitol, the palace walls were designed to prevent anyone from using magic inside. The wall stone blocks were mixed with a large quantity of magical micro-crystals during construction, enough to keep an anti-magic spell active for a few centuries. That’s why the Hiven Palace was one of the only public buildings in the country that operated on electricity. You can’t imagine how much these installations cost my family!

Still, you won't find better security in a country that can't do anything without magic. But if one could do without magic… it must have been child's play. Once again, the mercenaries’ reasoning was truly unconventional...

Thoughtfully, I tried to picture her account. Did organizing an assassination really take them months? Or was it just this mission because it involved royalty?

“Timing is also very important,” she added. “Your father’s transfer to the royal hospital that night was the perfect distraction for most of the guards. Our client was kind enough to inform us that night. So we moved the date up by a few days, knowing that all the parameters of our action plan were favorable. Remember, a plan must always be adaptable to the unexpected.”

What she was explaining was mostly common sense. Father had already given me similar advice for implementing contested reforms. Always plan something to distract the masses if the people refuse to swallow the pill, something along those lines... Just thinking about it brought back painful memories where all I did was fill out paperwork and listen to meaningless speeches.

“Are you always like this, so cautious? Never letting your guard down must be exhausting...”

“Yes, the success of the mission depends on it.” She nodded. “On the other hand, we don’t neglect our health; that would only add unnecessary risks. If we feel the need, we refuse missions to take a few days off and continue training.”

“Speaking of that, do you work out every day? I’ve never seen you do it since I’ve been stuck with you.”

To be so strong in combat, she must have shown undeniable dedication. Yet every move she made seemed aimed at doing as little as possible to finish quickly.

“Seriously?” she exclaimed, raising her arms. “How do you think I can beat you so easily? Experience isn’t everything! I definitely don’t want to get rusty and lose my reflexes, but I don’t have as much free time as I used to because I have to watch your back. Don’t forget that we’re the top criminals around here! And our specialty is murder. So if you want to stay alive, you train as much as you need to without complaining."

"I don’t see why you wouldn’t train in front of your student so he can learn from your habits. That would solve the problem."

I was curious to observe the routine that had made her so powerful. If it could also save me from being cooped up in my room...

"Alright, next time, I’ll take you under my wing. I just didn’t want to discourage you right from the start, that’s all."

After that brief aside, Aurora quickly dove into the heart of our lesson. The most impressive thing was seeing firsthand how their plans accounted for everything. Emergency exits, a myriad of priorities in case of unforeseen events, and even how far to go in a direct confrontation.

Our attention gradually shifted to the blank map laid out on the table. Aurora brushed aside her silver hair, then overlaid a transparent sheet on top of the map. With one swift move, the map was no longer blank: dozens of colorful lines snaked through the palace corridors. In the midst of this tangled mess, my room was the central point where all the paths converged.

Curiously, the hidden passages I often used in the palace weren’t marked on her map. Mentioning them now, when they would never set foot in a public institution again, seemed pointless.

"For our escape, we meticulously studied the route of the night patrols: a lot of personnel outside, few in the corridors. These are the green lines right here," she pointed out. "Since the safest access was via the roof, we had to choose an entry point that minimized the distance to our target."

By touching a small magical seal on the edge of the map, everything changed. The white markings vanished into the dark blue background, and new ones appeared in different places, as if the map were liquid.

"This is the top floor. The windows of your quarters face the inner courtyard. The problem is that they’re far too exposed. The other best alternative was this branch of the east wing, which ends in a dead end."

"I see. Its orientation faces the Hiven Forest, your escape route."

"Exactly."

Her pencil shaded the entire right edge of the map, which focused only on the Palace, ignoring the rest of the Capitol.

"From the forest to your room takes twelve minutes—seven if we hurry," she continued. "But it only takes five minutes for the soldiers deployed on-site to reach your room. Like us, the palace guards use communicators, which means any signal of an intrusion is transmitted within seconds. We knew the return would be in a rush, so we did everything we could to cushion it."

"But how can you reduce seven minutes to five without using magic?"

"We asked ourselves the same question. First, you can limit the weight of your equipment and distribute it evenly across your body. Then, it’s about creating chaos among the troops. And for that, nothing works better than a good diversion!"

"What kind of diversion did you use?"

"Well, you were the diversion. I mean, if I had actually killed you as planned..."

"Excuse me?!"

"It’s not as horrible as it sounds," she defended herself. "In the event of an intrusion, protocol requires that the royal family be immediately evacuated by an escort. Once in your room, the guards would have found your corpse, which would have inevitably caused panic. And good luck finding a fugitive in the dark! Anyway, if I hadn’t taken you with me, everything would have been simpler..."

"You took me... on a whim? How did you get out of it if the plan changed at the last minute? Wasn’t it too risky to sacrifice your five minutes when your life was on the line?"

What could have made her change her mind at such a critical moment? Didn't she hate nobles, and my family most of all? So why was I given special treatment? She claimed to know nothing about me before that night, but that wasn't the impression she gave.

It was as if she knew I would provide something she desired. It didn't make sense—I had nothing to offer her that she didn’t already possess. I recalled that inexplicable moment that marked our first encounter. I had been so afraid, but for a prince, having many enemies was unsurprising. The idea that she spared me and risked her career because I somehow inspired pity in her... It was utterly absurd. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t like I was going to complain.

"This was the riskiest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m no beginner. Unforeseen events are commonplace in this line of work. We’re experienced enough to improvise. As for you, I didn’t stray that far from the original plan; I just added a last-minute passenger to the convoy. A sort of gamble."

"You have some strange metaphors."

"It’s more fun that way. Transforming reality based on the moment’s inspiration..."

The girl let her thoughts wander for a moment, then, without warning, ventured into a delicate subject.

"You know, when I saw you in your bedroom, I realized how unjust your fate was. It’s fair to say it inspired me a lot. You, who know everything about the Capitol and the government, could still play a decisive role if you joined the right side. So, I decided to give you a chance... and I don’t regret it for a second."

Aurora could be truly terrifying at moments like this. Her transparency stunned me. Death awaited anyone who didn’t join her side, so I was relieved to no longer be her enemy. It reminded me of Father’s last policy: "Make your enemies believe you’re their ally, then silently dominate them."

Aurora would never be capable of adopting such a strategy. She was cautious by nature. No doubt about it—only Father could imagine such schemes and dare to maintain them for years. Only Father... and me, his son.

He had shaped me in his image since birth, instilling his way of thinking. He had shown me how to extract everything one could from a person. How to rule with an iron fist. I could commit the same atrocities he was capable of—for the bright future of the kingdom. To win against my captor. To win my freedom.

Should I act the same way and betray Aurora once I had gained enough of her help? Was that the only way to escape an eternity of servitude? Did I stand any chance against this battle-hardened machine?

"Tell me, Aurora, how many people have you assassinated in the name of the Killer Wind?"