The Queen's Price

SEVENTY-FOUR

Surreal read the letter from Sadi twice, admiring the exquisite way he made his expectations clear without actually saying what he wanted from her. Of course, the thick packet of gold marks, which just happened to match her fee as an assassin, said all that needed to be said.

Very well. She would visit a particular town in Dhemlan, take the measure of a servant named Ida, and then decide what needed to be done. Well, how it needed to be done.

She’d visit a few towns and villages. That wouldn’t be unusual for Sadi’s second-in-command. Just passing through that part of Dhemlan to see if there was anything the District Queens needed to report to the Warlord Prince of Dhemlan.

She’d also visit Jillian and see how the young lovers were doing now that they could . . . enjoy . . . each other without Lucivar bouncing off the ceiling.

By the time she circled back around to that one Dhemlan town, she’d have a plan for how to make Ida’s death look accidental.

Smiling, Surreal went upstairs to pack some clothes—and sharpen her knives.