ARC: Assassin Queen by Anna Kashina Page B

was afraid, she realized. Perhaps he had reasons to be. If this happened in a real fight, against an enemy motivated to kill her rather than stay his hand to prevent injury, she would be dead. On the other hand, she would hardly expect to face anyone of Raishan ’ s skill in a real battle, would she?
    Egey Bashi let out a sigh. “ Here, Aghat Kara, let me give you something to ease the swelling. ” He fumbled in his medicine pack.
    Kara winced as his calloused fingers massaged the ointment into her skin. It stung, a coolness spreading over the affected area as the cure worked its course. She glanced into her reflection in the window pane. Her dark skin made the bruise nearly unnoticeable anyway. After the cure, she was certain no one could even tell she had been hit.
    “ You said you felt a pulling sensation as you were fighting? ” Egey Bashi asked.
    “Yes.” Kara wondered at his frown, etched so deeply that it threatened to become permanent. “ Why? ”
    Again, the two men exchanged a glance.
    She sighed. “ Can the two of you stop acting as if I ’ m not here? ”
    “ Have you found anything else about the link, Magister? ” Mai asked.
    The Keeper gave him a dark look. “ Nothing good, I ’ m afraid. ”
    “Let ’ s hear the bad, then. ”
    “ The fact that the sensation became obvious during a fight confirms what I said earlier. They are trying to use this link to pull away her gift. When she ’ s using it, she becomes far more vulnerable. ”
    Kara ’ s eyes widened. “ What? ”
    “ Your fighting ability. They are trying to steal it and confer it to their warriors. ”
    Kara felt the blood instantly drain out of her face. The throbbing in her temple eased. She felt cold, as if dropped into a pond of water. “ Can they? ”
    “Yes.”
    “But…” She turned to Mai, vaguely aware of how desperate she must look.
    He sprang out of the chair and stepped up to her side. His closeness felt reassuring, in sharp contrast with the frown that wouldn ’ t leave his face.
    “ It will be all right, ” Mai said.
    “ How? ”
    “ The Magister promised to come up with ways to neutralize this link. ”
    The Keeper frowned. “ Apart from sedating her, you mean? ”
    “ Yes, apart from that. ”
    “ Sedating me?”
    Mai shot her a quick glance. “ That was one of the Magister ’ s suggestions, before I told him what I think about that. I ’ m surprised it even came up this time. ”
    She bit back a lump rising in her throat. She didn ’ t want to be sedated. But if there was even a slightest chance that, because of her, their enemies might learn to fight like a Diamond Majat …
    “ I will consider it, ” she said
    “ I bloody hope not, ” Mai said. “ You are instrumental to our plans. However, before we can even discuss them, we must be sure you are in full control of your own mind. ”
    She stiffened as she noticed Mai ’ s tightening jaw, the way his eyes darted to the Keeper again. She understood these looks, and her options, all too well. If stealing her gift was even a possibility, the only reasonable course of action would be to kill her. From the look in Mai ’ s eyes she was certain the possibility had been discussed at the King ’ s council after she left, even though she knew Mai would never entertain the thought. She wouldn ’ t either, if their roles were reversed. She didn ’ t want to die. But, given the alternatives, if sedation could help, it was definitely an option. If things remained as they were, she must at least bear this in mind. She forced a smile, aware of how both men were watching her now, as if evaluating her.
    “ What does it feel like when they use the link? ” Egey Bashi asked.
    She thought about it. “ Like someone ’ s touching me. Lightly, at first, but then it begins to feel as if I am being pulled. The reason I wavered when I fought Raishan was because it seemed as if the floor was disappearing from under my feet. And then … I… I realized exactly