Far away, in the kingdom of Evendell, Jackob suddenly awoke from a deep sleep, gasping and pulling himself upright in the bed.
“No,” he moaned quietly, not wanting to wake his queen. It was too late, however. She was a light sleeper, and Jackob’s sudden movement had awakened her.
“What’s wrong?” Even only half-awake and tousled from sleep, Natasha was a pretty woman with long brown curls falling in natural ringlets around her shoulders and her bright blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight coming through the window. The moon was starting to set, morning a few hours away.
“It’s Tarren. He’s gone.”
After all these years apart, Jackob had figured that the link would have faded more than this, but apparently, he’d been wrong. He hadn't been able to sense Tarren’s feelings since shortly after he’d left his position as the Bacovian king’s bodyguard, but the link had apparently remained, unbroken by time or distance. Jackob had felt Tarren die.
Natasha gasped. “Does that mean…?” Her voice trailed off, not wanting to complete the thought, not wanting to admit that her youngest child could be dead.
“No. Aislynn wasn’t assigned to Tarren. She’s guarding Eryk, who is king now, I suppose. Tarren wanted him protected, so that’s what we did.”
Natasha looked a little relieved by that revelation, but now that she was fully awake, her thoughts were running quickly though her head.
“So let me get this straight,” she said. “Tarren wanted Eryk protected, so we sent Aislynn to protect him. That left Tarren unguarded, despite the fact that the pact is to protect the monarch, and now Tarren’s dead. Don’t you think that this could cause just a few problems?”
“It was Tarren’s request, and one that he had the right to make. The magic binding the kingdoms didn't seem to have any problems with it either. Aislynn was selected, not someone who would have been more suitable for Tarren. And I expect that the bond is firmly in place by now as well, linking Aislynn to Eryk.”
“Aislynn has been there for only five days. Five! That is going to have to raise some suspicions. I mean, anyone who knows what she is could easily assume that she had something to do with this. A new assassin comes into town, hooks up with the prince, and a few days later the king’s dead.”
“That’s ridiculous. There was an attack on both Tarren and Eryk before she even got there. How would anyone make that leap?” Jackob was sure that Natasha was simply jumping at shadows.
“But those assassins were both killed, weren't they? What if they think that Aislynn was the next assassin sent to complete the contract?”
“Then I'll just have to explain it to them, won’t I?” Jackob was getting frustrated now, though he knew that his wife was only trying to point out the other side of the argument so that they would be prepared if the accusations started to fly. He rose from the bed. “I guess I had better pack.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Natasha already knew where he thought he was going, but it was better if he said it himself before she started arguing with him.
“I have to go to Bacovia,” he replied, “and you know it too, so don’t bother starting an argument. Aislynn could be in a lot of trouble, and even if she isn't, I should be there for the funeral. The political ties between our kingdoms are important, to say nothing of the fact that he was my friend.”
While he was speaking, Jackob got dressed quickly and starting throwing things into a pair of saddlebags. Natasha rose gracefully from the bed herself, and started folding Jackob’s clothing properly. She put her hand over his to prevent him from flinging further articles into the bags.
“I'll help you pack,” she said soothingly. “You go and take care of what you need to before you leave, and I'll get this finished here.”
Jackob smiled a sad smile and leaned down to kiss his queen on the forehead. “Thank you, my love.” And he left the room without a backwards glance.
Natasha sighed as she packed her husband’s belongings, making sure to pack something particularly formal for his arrival, and something black for the funeral. She hated running the kingdom without him, but she would do what she had to. She knew that it was more important for him to be in Bacovia than here, even if she didn't particularly like it. She sighed and continued her packing.
The bells ringing across the city woke him from a deep and dreamless sleep. He rolled over, confused by the sound in his sleepy state, and his cheek encountered something cold. He sat up quickly, heart pounding in his chest, and reached down gingerly to see what it was. When his hand encountered the object, he picked it up and smiled. In his hand lay a small coin, smooth and cold, inscribed with a black scorpion. He was so close now; two down and only one victim remaining until he finally attained his goal.
It didn't occur to him until later to wonder about a man who could sneak into his guarded room while he slept and leave this token on his pillow. A shudder ran down his spine when he thought of how close to death he could have been.
Eryk didn't stand a chance.