Page 15 (1/2)

I had arrived early for my own assassination

It was the evening of my family’s funeral, and I should have already been at the chapel But the thought of ant coxcombs ould also be there sickened me If I were anyone else, this would have been a private matter

For aof Carthya, a role for which I had never been prepared and which most Carthyans believed was entirely unsuitable for ree, I had no credibility for such an argu favorable public opinion had hardly been

The biggest threat caan, had come to the funeral unexpectedly Maybe his clai to pay his respects sounded sincere, but I was not deceived: He’d grieve more for the loss of his after-supper cake than for an had coths He had come to test me

Before engaging in any confrontation with Vargan, I had needed time to think, to be sure of myself So rather than enter the funeral, I had told theardens

This had become et away froties and lined with plants of every variety Majestic trees kept the view frorass was soft enough to make bare feet nearly mandatory In the center of it all was aArtolius I, a grandfather froo who had won independence for Carthya My name, Jaron Artolius Eckbert III, partially came from him

In hindsight, these gardens were the perfect place for a nice and quiet attempted murder

I didn’t even consider soht Overwhel the funeral, and with Vargan’s late arrival, my body was tense and y

I quickly scaled the first level of the castle, using the unevenly cut rocks as grips for e at this part of the as broad and sed up in ivy, but I rather liked that I could fold ardens with the feeling that I was a part of it all, rather than a simple observer

After less than a ardener’s door opened below me That was odd It was far too late for a caretaker to be out here, and this ground was forbidden to anyone else unless I invited theure dressed in black cautiouslyhis way forward This was no servant, ould have announced hiureknife and took refuge in some bushes directly beneath me

I shook ry Everyone would have expected ht, but they wouldn’t have planned for me until after the funeral

The assassin thought he’d have surprise on his side But now the advantage was mine

Silently, I unlatched my cloak so it wouldn’t interfere Then I withdrew htly in e, and leapt directly onto the man’s back

As I jumped, he moved, so I only clipped his shoulder as we fell in opposite directions I was up first and took a swipe at his leg with my knife, but it didn’t cut nearly as deep as I’d hoped He kicked round, then knelt acrossit far from us

The ht ainst the ground I was slow to get up, but when he reached for me, I kicked him as hard as I could He sturound, not