Chapter 9

Time started to become a blur again. Days and weeks were flying by, although they were much different than before. The Emperor shifted his focus off teaching me and Jerric to use weaponry and was now hammering the art of stealth into our heads. When I failed, I was still beaten. Jerric was not. He was rewarded with words or kind gestures from Yviss instead, which was something I'd never seen or expected from my torturer. He must be experimenting or something. Deciding on which method, between pain and reward, would create a better tool. That stuck in my head throughout our new types of training, poking at and distracting me eternally. Nonetheless, I kept most of my focus on learning whatever Yviss wanted us to know. How to move silently, how to act naturally in bad situations, how to successfully wear a disguise. How to lie well. We were going to be assassins by the end of this. The Emperor's control over me and Jerric was so complete that he looked as though he never even slightly feared the two incredibly dangerous weapons he was forging. There were also a few noteworthy times when we would be sent to kill someone or accompany Yviss to public speeches or Arena battles, only to stand silently at his sides and watch the crowd. At the end of each day, I was brought aside and blinded by Yviss' Gift. From there, he would start touching me in uncomfortable and strange ways, occasionally sliding a knife along my back or doing some other disgusting or painful movement. It was terrifying; being unable to see while someone stood by and did whatever they wished. In the recesses of my mind, I was very aware of a growing fear locking me under Yviss' control, but I could do nothing.

A month, or maybe two, went by. Jerric still tried to make me into his friend, I still pushed him away. Attachment led to even more blackmail, which led to a greater loss of free will. I didn't have any of that to spare. The Emperor continued to hold the wiping out of all the captives in the Arena over my head like a knife, keeping me thoroughly contained to his will. So, I could never say no.

On one of the particularly easy days, I could already tell something was about to happen. Yviss had been less harsh than usual and hadn't touched me at all. Those things had become so normal that their absence set off quite a few red flags. As usual, my instincts didn't misguide me.

"Vite. Jerric. I've got a fun surprise for the two of you today. Two surprises, actually," the Emperor spoke as if he was being generous or kind in some way, "A man to kill and another weapon to retrieve."

I slowly raised an exasperated eyebrow at the man while Jerric grinned stupidly. Another sword. That one was probably going to be for the person who was apparently my partner in this job now. Yviss had spoken to the both of us, as I anticipated, and now there was a liability to look after on this mission. And a lot more words that would be filling my ears.

"Thank you, Yviss. I won't fail you." Jerric's smile only grew larger as he thanked the Emperor, and I could almost feel the excitement radiating from his body. The way he phrased his sentence wasn't any better; almost implying that I would fail while he succeeded. It didn't match the things he had been saying through our cells. This was precisely why I'd kept him at bay for all this time.

"Who and where?" Still in my usual empty voice, I spoke while looking down. Eye contact was something best avoided in my experience. The target's name and location would be great, assuming the sword was with him. If not, we'd have to deal with more travel. Not that the Emperor cared, of course. He took a moment or two before answering.

"The sword is in the Pine; the man is in the Ridgelands. There's a large celebration happening up there soon, and I thought I might just graciously get you two on the guest list." Disgust filled me when the Emperor talked again. I despised how he made everything sound like it was his generosity, or graciousness, or kindness. Those two locations were also across the continent from each other, to make things better. The only real good news was that I would still be allowed to take my newer weapon with me, and I could try and get some practice in with my Gift once I was away from all this Crystalglass that limited me.

"A party? That'll be fun. A shame we have to kill someone at it, but still," Jerric said, enthusiastically reaching for his own sword, which was always at his side. Another right I hadn't been allowed to have yet inside the Arena. I almost audibly expressed my disapproval of Jerric through a harsh scolding, but Yviss' presence was enough of a deterrent. The said man handed me a map with two locations marked on it, nearly a hundred miles across. This would take a very long time.

"Best if we begin. This will take several weeks." I turned my back to the Emperor, wanting to get started and finished as quickly as possible. Big mistake. Three sharp points of metal almost immediately tore across my shoulders and upper body. A whip. More specifically, the one that Yviss always carried on him, made for fast discipline. Less intense than his seven pointed one, but still not something I liked to feel. With a grunt of pain, I managed to barely stay standing and look towards the Emperor in hopes of mercy. His icy eyes locked onto mine, and the whip in his hands twitched again. I flinched, but a second blow didn't come. Jerric was watching in visible horror, somehow not realizing until now that this was my life. That was likely the only thing that stayed Yviss' hand as I exhaled in relief, wincing from pain. He didn't want to reveal his worse side to Jerric. I could use that. For now, though, I pocketed the map and reached behind me to try and get an idea of how bad the tears in my body were. As my cold fingers probed the area around the wounds through my shirt, it was easy enough to tell they weren't the worst I'd had and could probably go without treatment. I'd been lucky this time. Several long and agonizing seconds went by before we were finally told to go and do our job, after Yviss gave us a bit more information, provisions, and my weapon. A clean sketch of the target was attached to the back of the map I'd been given. He was a small and vaguely handsome man, well dressed and clearly rich, if the solid gold bracelets were anything to judge by. Hopefully he enjoyed that money, as he wouldn't be alive much longer to own it. Only as I left the room did I notice the odd man with the grey mask watching us with dark eyes. It was unsettling, but I had no time for that.