A Dangerous Destiny: The Pure One Book I

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Fiona

Fiona was a few blocks from the safe house when she smelled a whiff of burning in the air. Looking over the rooftops, she could see a dense whitish gray smoke leaking into the sky from somewhere, not far in the distance, slowly blanketing the area. Fire? Again the sent of burning wafted towards her. Strange.

She stopped for a moment. Listening for any sound of commotion up ahead. And then she heard it. The distinct sound of footsteps behind her. The roads had begun to clear significantly now, making the sound all the more prominent, and Fiona felt her heart beat begin to speed up as she realized the steps were undoubtedly getting closer.

Without looking back, Fiona turned down a side road and waited. As a clocked figure appeared around the corner, Fiona held her staff firmly in her left hand and reached for the knife in her belt with her right, heart racing all the more as the figure walked towards her. Fiona's grip on the knife handle tightened and her body tensed. She could not attack until she was certain there was reason to do so. It would do no good to lash out against a stranger and attract the attention of the Guard. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. But as the man drew closer he removed his hood and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh Alex. Thank the God," she said, feeling her body relax again as she let go of the knife. Then she noticed his expression. "What's wrong?"

Alex's skin was nearly devoid of color, his eyes clouded with a fear.

"What's wrong?" she asked again, feeling her own fear rising, muscles contracting, bracing herself.

"We were betrayed Fiona," he said finally. She could hear the crack in his voice as he spoke the words.

"I don't understand," Fiona answered, looking at him in confusion, searching his face for more information. "That boy, the traitor in our midst was already eliminated."

He looked away from her.

"Alex talk to me." Fiona could hear her own voice growing more panicked. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She could feel it instinctively.

"I knew that someone was giving information to the Crown," he said. "I was sure the boy was the only leak. I thought I was careful enough. I wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

When he didn't respond Fiona grabbed him by the shoulders. "Look at me God Damn it!" she said shaking him slightly. "What happened?"

"They're dead Fee. The King's men found the safe house. They burned it to the ground. From what I could pick up, at least four were taken alive, the rest..." he trailed off.

"Damn it." She said as she released him.

"The King must have been waiting until after the execution. He knew we would let our guard down." Alex looked to the ground. "We should have been there. I could have done something."

Fiona could see the pain in his face, the despair over his lost comrades. She shuddered to imagine the fate of those poor men.

"He escaped and we failed Fiona," Alex said, meeting her gaze again. "We had our chance to take that bastard King down!"

Fiona shook her head, refusing to let his despair infect her too. "We are still alive. That's what matters," she said, trying to convince herself as much as Alex. The same mantra she had repeated to keep her spirits ever since their failed assassination attempt. "We will keep fighting!"

"Fiona, what if you were wrong too? What if Henry did recognize you that night? You raised a gun to him." Alex put a hand to his head as he paced in a tight circle. "How long till he realizes that you had access to the details of the assembly?" he asked. "That meeting was not widely publicized. There were few who knew the King would be there that night." He stopped for a moment, as if he could not say any more.