Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) Jessie Eaker (best reads txt) 📖

was unfair of me.” She looked away. “I was going to tell both of you anyway. I just hadn’t found the right time. I was afraid you would hate me.”

“Fumiko...”

She ignored my protest, raising her eyes to look into mine. “I was taught to be a killer, so I became good at it. I far exceeded my master’s expectations. I became... death.” She drew a deep breath and lightly brushed a lock of my hair to the side. She smiled sadly. “You remind me of him.”

“Who?”

“My first love.” I felt her myst rising. “Not so much in the way you look. No offense. He was more handsome.” She shook her head. “No, it’s in your personality. Something similar inside each of you. Something that makes people love you.”

“What happened to him?”

Fumiko put her fingers on the side of my head. I could feel her memories drawing me in. “As you would expect... I helped kill him.”

“Killed?” I began to fight the plunge. I sensed this was going to be too painful to bear. But the current of her myst was too strong, and I was sucked deep into them.

With back straight and head held high, I walked stately down the corridor with two heavily armed guards at my back. Today, I carried no weapon, and my face was unmasked—open for all to see. My dress was the magnificent robe of a daughter of the emperor, and I wore rouge on my lips and blush on my cheeks. This was a different costume than I typically wore, but suitable for the role I played today.

Lady Fumiko.

My target was a powerful lord—the second most powerful in the empire. Lord Shengli Luoyangei. His lands were rich, and his people strong. It was said that he could call out thousands of loyal fighters at a moment’s notice. He was young too, having recently inherited his position. But it was already clear he was a shrewd and competent leader. One that had pointed out the corruption in the empire. But as most found out, it was not wise to make ripples among the nobles.

One attempt had previously been made on my target’s life, but it had failed miserably. The assassin had nearly been caught and had been forced to resort to the poison we all carried.

But this time my role was not to kill, but to gather intelligence. I was to visit as the emperor’s daughter on the pretext of becoming one of his wives. Were it to happen in reality, I would be reaching far above my station. Since I was the product of a disgraced concubine, and so far down the line, my pedigree was practically useless, this would be seen as a desperate move by my family. However, it would be just enough to open a door.

As I walked down the hall, my eyes noticed the guards’ position, accessible windows, and potential shadows. I drew a map in my mind of each of these. I could see why the previous attempt had failed. It would be extremely difficult for someone to slip inside without being detected. The manor’s walls were thick, and every entrance was heavily guarded. I had already spotted several strategically placed myst alarms and far-eyes. No, getting in this way with an army, little alone a single assassin, was nearly impossible.

We stopped in front of an unmarked door. Two additional guards were stationed on either side of it. They fingered their swords as they eyed me. I ignored them, pretending to be the princess and utterly unaware of how they assessed my potential threat. But as they observed me, I did likewise, noting their armor, their polished swords, and the way they stood. Both were well equipped and appeared highly trained.

A grizzled man in his mid-years opened the door. He gave me an appraising look and then frowned as if disappointed. He sighed and opened the door further, allowing both myself and my guards to enter.

I expected this to be a small dining room or perhaps lounge, but I was surprised to find the large room empty except for a single writing desk to one side. There were no windows, nor draperies, and the floor was polished marble. A picture of the previous lord and another of a woman I didn’t recognize were the only decorations on the walls. The room made me feel lonely.

The chamber’s only other occupant, a young man, sat at the desk with a stack of papers, writing brush and inkwell. It was devoid of anything else, except for a small board game in the far corner—Waring Generals—with the pieces already set for their next game. The young man was deep in concentration on the paper he was reading and didn’t appear to notice us as we entered the room. What was odd was he had somehow managed to scrunch up his face to hold his writing brush between his upper lip and nose. He looked quite comical.

The young man didn’t even glance our way until the grizzly one cleared his throat.

The young man’s eyes jerked in our direction, and then he immediately grabbed for the brush, yet missed. In his haste, he sent it flying... toward me. I reacted without even thinking and caught the wayward brush between two fingers, saving my dress from the threatening ink stains.

I nearly panicked. I wasn’t supposed to show any of my skills and to disguise my walk, so no one knew I was practiced in martial arts. I made a show of awkwardly removing the brush but was unsure what to do with it since I dare not approach the desk yet. So I just held it.

The grizzly old man sighed. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief since he didn’t seem to notice anything.

“My lord, this is the woman we discussed. She is Lady Fumiko of the Zhangjunen family.”

The young