Vow of Spies

VOW OF SPIES PROPHECY OF THE MAGE QUEEN BOOK TWO A. LONERGAN Copyright © 2023 by A. Lonergan All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For the ones still fighting for their future selves. To the person you will become. CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Chapter 50 Chapter 51 Chapter 52 Also by A. Lonergan About the Author CHAPTER ONE JUNIPER The cold blade pressed to my neck in an ominous warning. My friends, the only friends I had in the castle, came back. But I had a feeling they weren’t here for friendship any longer and I doubted they were here for a rescue mission. I wanted to fight but my body was still too sore to do anything about the threats at our backs. The moisture in Livia’s eyes made them appear glassy as she lifted her chin in defiance. Livia was the first friend I made here in the underground Rebel’s Keep. She talked animatedly and when she came around, I enjoyed her company. She always made sure I had more food than I needed. In a way, she became my family here. She was a constant in my life. A grin split across Ash’s face. She dropped the knife to the floor and took a step back with her hands up. “This is your bodyguard?” Her question was mocking and full of disbelief. The steel at my neck disappeared and I whipped around to find Reva standing there but there was no amusement on her face, like there was on Ash’s. A thick, jagged cut sliced through her red brow and then disappeared into her hairline. Her brown eyes were tired and her body looked like it was going to collapse at any moment. Just like Ash, she was covered in dry blood, sand, and what looked to be smudges of dirt. Her eyes stayed on Livia. “Who’s that and why is she here?” Her chin jutted in Livia’s direction.Livia was now standing with her arms wrapped around herself and was cowering against the wall, but she hadn’t taken her eyes off of the other friend of mine. Grove leaned against the wall and picked under her nails with a short throwing knife as she watched all of us. Her face wasn’t any friendlier than the other two. Her black hair was loose around her shoulders and her dark skin was ashen from all the sand they had traveled through. Her cheeks were gaunt and her eyes had dark circles under them. I crossed my arms over my chest and wished I brought Ryven’s knife with me into the bathing chamber. “This is Livia, she is partly my guard. She brings me food.” Grove kicked off of the wall and pointed her shining knife at my friend. “She’s your guard?” Her words were filled with disgust as she shook her head. “Why would they assign her to you?” Reva cocked her head to the side. “She doesn’t look like a guard and her reflexes suck.” “Are you here to kill me?” I might as well get all my thoughts and doubts out in the open. The three women that had become my best friends in the Ender castle looked to be enemies now. They pressed blades to our skin. What else could they be? They were here to bring me back to the castle, dead or alive. I just knew it. Grove snarled. “Why would we do such a thing?” Both of my brows lifted on my forehead. “Is that really a question?” I pointed to Reva. “She was holding a knife to my neck.” Then I pointed to Ash. “She had a knife to my friend’s neck. Why wouldn’t I ask that?” Reva let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. “We aren’t here to hurt you. Our plan was to see how much training you received and if your guard was actually worth a damn or if Alric was truly protecting you— it completely backfired on our intentions.” Her eyes rolled to the ceiling as she sank against the wall. “If we were actually a threat, like a real enemy, you both would be dead. We thought you would be better prepared for battle, fighting, protecting yourself. I don’t know. We expected a lot more than this.” Livia’s chin trembled as she listened to Reva’s harsh words. But it wasn’t Livia’s fault. She had entirely too much on her plate. I was sure Ryven thought he was giving me a fair guard that cared for me and had good enough experience. It wasn’t her fault that she was having to raise her siblings. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t work tirelessly to be a guard like I knew she wanted. She had other responsibilities. As for me… My shoulders straightened. “We are doing the best we can here. It is none of your business why Livia’s training isn’t where you think it needs to be. She showed Ryven that she knows how to handle a sword and a bow. She is the one that wants to be here. It would only put me in more danger to have someone stationed here that didn’t want to be here and trust me, there