Page 122 of Kingdom of Embers and Ruin

Revna nodded. “What are you going to do?”

Bryn stopped moving, her back to Revna. “What I have to do to ensure you get our message to Maude and keep our people safe.”

Bryn did not turn around to see Revna’s reaction.

“Thirty minutes,” was all Revna said before Bryn heard the door open and shut.

Alone in her room, Bryn donned the cruel mask of the Lieutenant General.

The Palace of Wind and Embers dungeons were dank and depressing. Most of the inhabitants here were forgotten over time, left to rot in the dirty cells that were housed in the deepest depths of the palace. Bryn’s riding boots dully clicked on the damp stone as she made her way to the cell that Revna had brought the Flame Assassin to.

The further down the hall she got, the deeper the shadows became. Torches on the walls had been extinguished to give the appearance of desertion in this part of the dungeon.

A nice touch by Revna and her shieldmaidens.

Bryn rounded the corner and found the cell she was looking for. Standing outside of it was Revna, a black mask that looked like a raven covering her face, its wings extending across and behind her dark eyes. Bryn did not make eye contact, their act having begun as soon as Revna brought the assassin here. She nodded to Revna, who then unlocked the cell door for her.

Flanking either side of the assassin were the two shieldmaidens, also masked. Tied to a rotting wooden chair was the Flame Assassin that answered to her uncle, head hanging to their side like they were unconscious, with a burlap sack over their head. Bryn nodded again to one of the shieldmaidens, who grabbed a bucket of water from the corner of the cell and tossed it onto the assassin.

The Flame Assassin shot awake, shouting in confusion at their dark surroundings.

“Quiet,” Bryn said, voice low and cold.

The man froze. One of the shieldmaidens tore the bag from the assassin’s head, exposing their face to Bryn. He had sandy blonde facial hair and a bald head. The entire surface of his scalp was tattooed in runes that Bryn had never seen before. His ears were small and appeared slightly tapered in the darkness, but otherwise, he seemed completely ordinary.

Eyes wide, he looked around the cell as he adjusted to the dark.

“Not the welcome I’m sure you were expecting,” Bryn said, the voice of the Lieutenant General now speaking.

The assassin's eyes focused on her now, his terror beginning to subside.

“Why am I here?” he demanded.

Bryn scoffed. “You are here because I need to debrief you,soldier.”

“Okay, but then why am Ihere?” The soldier looked around the cell again.

“Are your surroundings not up to your standard? Pity.” Bryn looked at the shieldmaiden with the bull’s mask.

In response, she pulled the man’s head back and doused the assassin in water again. When she was done, she released his head. Sputtering and choking, he flung his head forward again.

“What do you want to know?” he shouted. “Where is the General?”

“There is no need to raise your voice, Sven,” Bryn said, pacing in front of him now.

At the use of his name, Sven stopped thrashing, and true dread entered his eyes.

Her uncle kept the names of his Flame Assassins well-guarded, but Bryn had used her thirty minutes to her fullest advantage. Luck had been on her side when she crept into her uncle's office and found it empty. She searched through his files quickly and found the assassin's files, committing each name and description to memory.

When Sven had been unmasked, she knew exactly who he was.

“Tell me about your mission to Veter,” she ordered.

When he did not speak, she removed her knife from her thigh and ran it over his exposed chest, as the shieldmaidens had removed all but his undershorts. Right before she lifted the knife, she sliced across his pectoral. The cut bled onto his chest, and his breathing quickened.

“We were sent to bring back the Heir,” he said through his teeth.

“Yes, yes, I know that,” Bryn said, impatient. “I want to know what happened there.”

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