Master of the Dance Read Online Free PDF

handkerchief with a rueful smile.
    "No doubt Blade will find my wounds most amusing."
    She smiled, taking the handkerchief and wiping the last traces of blood from his face. "Most certainly he will."
    Minna had long since finished ministering to her husband, given him wine, and started to tap her fingers by the time Blade arrived, almost half a time-glass later. The assassin stopped before her and bowed.
    "My Queen."
    "My Lord. Why has it taken you so long to respond to my summons?"
    "I was in the garden. Your maiden had to search for me."
    "Ah." Minna nodded. "Sit."
    Blade selected a cushion nearby, and his eyes flicked over Kerrion, widening a fraction. For a moment his expression remained blank, then he grinned, revealing a rare flash of white teeth. He chuckled, his amusement transforming his face. Minna struggled to quell a smile, finding it impossible to compose her features in the presence of Blade's infectious glee. She glanced at Kerrion, relieved to find him in the same predicament.
    Forcing herself to don a stern expression, she berated him, "It is not polite to find the King's injuries amusing, My Lord."
    "I am not a man renowned for my manners, and rarely have I been so well entertained."
    "Trelath looks worse than I do, I assure you," Kerrion said.
    "Then he must be a sorry sight indeed."
    "He is."
    "Blade," Minna said, "I have requested your presence to ask you if it would be possible to assassinate Chaymin and Trelath tonight."
    His smile faded and his brows rose. "It is possible, but not preferable."
    "But you could do it?"
    "I would rather not."
    "Why?"
    The assassin spread his hands. "Killing one prince has its risks, two on the same night would double those risks by forcing me to work faster, thereby increasing the chance of mistakes."
    "You do not make mistakes, My Lord."
    "I have not, because I plan my kills carefully and execute them diligently, without haste."
    "But as soon as you assassinate Chaymin, Trelath will know he is in danger, and take precautions."
    Blade tilted his head. "Why must Chaymin be first? I could kill Trelath tonight and Chaymin tomorrow night. He will be an easier target, even forewarned."
    Minna glanced at Kerrion. "That seems reasonable."
    Kerrion shook his head. "Chaymin is a coward. As soon as he learns of Trelath's death, he will flee."
    "And Trelath will not?" Blade asked.
    "No. He will set an ambush for you, stay awake all night if necessary. He is a warrior, and he would want to kill you. He would have a dozen soldiers in his room to guard him."
    "I see." Blade looked thoughtful. "Yet you are certain he suspects nothing now? He knows Minna-Satu was rescued by a Jashimari assassin, and he has probably guessed it was me, so he must know I am here. If he is at all clever, he will expect Minna to send me to kill him. He knows I killed his father and four of his brothers."
    "That is true, Kerrion," Minna agreed. "Trelath is not a fool."
    "Far from it." The King frowned. "But if he does expect an assassination attempt, he will already have taken precautions. I have to admit, I had not considered this possibility."
    "Which makes it all the more inadvisable to attempt both assassinations on the same night," Blade pointed out.
    "If Trelath has taken measures to protect himself, it would be extremely dangerous to attempt to kill him at all." Minna frowned at the assassin. "I will not have you put in peril, My Lord. The rest of our plan depends upon your success. If you fail, so do we."
    Blade smiled. "I do not fail. It will just be more difficult, but I will find a way."
    "You may succeed, but be captured by Trelath's guards. Then you would be tortured until you confess the name of your employer."
    "That I will not do. Do you wish to annul the assassination?"
    Minna looked at Kerrion, her expression doubtful, then turned back to the assassin. "Do you think you can succeed? Both in assassinating Trelath and escaping afterwards?"
    Blade rose and went over the table, where he picked up