Pyke Islands, Pyke Castle.
Ancient Pyke was originally built on a cliff that jutted into the sea, but over time, the cliff eroded, leaving the towers and castles on three barren islands and a dozen small stacks, surrounded by water. The castle did not look majestic but frightening, especially at night, when the torchlight made the entire structure look like a terrifying face.
Cadmus and Ciri appeared in the castle with a loud, clear cracking sound. The court mage was calm, while Ciri seemed apprehensive. The poor child had experienced many things in these few hours; it was perfectly normal to be apprehensive at that moment.
"Teacher... are we going to attack an entire castle?" Ciri asked in a low tone, afraid her voice would be heard by someone. She herself had forgotten that she had just witnessed the death of the entire Iron Fleet—tens of thousands dead.
"Ciri, it seems I forgot the most basic foundation of magic." Cadmus looked at Ciri and spoke with a smile, but there was a touch of reprimand in his voice. "Magic is essentially your will and determination to change the world. If you don't believe you can do something, magic won't do it either."
"Remember, dream big, dream of becoming the most unlikely thing, never stop dreaming and believing that you can do it." Stroking the girl's soft hair, Cadmus said in a whisper, his voice tinged with pure confidence in Ciri.
He knew Ciri had the problem of every orphan—low self-esteem—and often felt lacking in confidence to do anything, already imagining she would fail. Ciri was different from the version of her from another universe, where she grew up alongside a great warrior queen.
The Ciri of this world was the daughter of a prostitute from Lys and some random man; she had never truly felt safe or had confidence in this life. That was exactly why Cadmus missed no opportunity to praise Ciri. Only when the girl realized what confidence is would he stop praising and start truly criticizing what she got wrong.
Feeling the warm hand on her hair, Ciri narrowed her eyes and looked like a kitten enjoying being petted. She nodded and showed a determined look. She understood what her teacher meant by those words.
'Dream big, dream as high as possible, and believe you will succeed.'
For some reason, faced with those words, Ciri felt she had more control over her own powers. The reason for this was that she now felt she could teleport smoothly. It was hard to explain in words; it felt more like a basic instinct of her body, like breathing.
Seeing the emerald glow in Ciri's green eyes, a smile appeared on Cadmus's lips. Ciri was truly special. How many people could change their own mindset with just a few sentences? It was the same as changing someone's logic.
"Come, we have to kill a king," Cadmus said, walking through the dark corridor of the castle, lit by torches. Surprisingly, despite tens of thousands having gone to war, the castle was still full of guards.
Every time Cadmus saw the guards, he used *Sectumsempra* to take their lives silently. After death, the body was thrown into the sea and disappeared forever.
Surprisingly, Ciri asked to handle some guards, which Cadmus agreed to after thinking for a moment. In this world, death was a common thing. Not to mention it wasn't the first time Ciri had killed someone.
Under Cadmus's calm eyes, the girl transformed into a green light and appeared behind the guards; then she used two daggers to slit the enemies' throats. Fast, precise, and without any hesitation. This truly showed that Ciri was somewhat accustomed to killing.
Cadmus still had to ask what her life as a fugitive with Yennefer was like.
Suddenly, a bell began to ring, and the castle came to life in an instant.
"Teacher, how did they discover us?" Ciri, who had just killed another man, asked with a confused expression. A few drops of blood stained her face, making the apparently innocent girl look somewhat frightening. The other guard didn't even have a chance to say anything before an invisible cut severed his head.
"They didn't exactly discover us; they just noticed the absence of the men we killed," Cadmus said in a calm tone, without any surprise. He and Ciri had killed about fifteen men; that was already a considerable number, and since these people didn't return to their positions after a round, suspicion and fear naturally arose.
"It doesn't matter, we've arrived," Cadmus said, looking at the door before him. He and Ciri had just killed the guards protecting the door.
There was no other person in the castle who deserved such a thing besides Balon himself.
Pushing the door open, Cadmus saw a dark but somewhat cozy room. Torches made the environment bright and clear.
The man holding a sword was standing in front of a table. He was none other than King Balon IX Greyjoy, the Twice-Crowned.
Balon had always been known for being thin; however, at this moment, he was skeletal, with a hard face. Piercing black eyes and long gray hair peppered with white that fell below his waist. He had hunched shoulders. Balon was not as tall or as strong as his father, Quellon, had been, but he was as fast and skilled with weapons as he was.
"King Balon, my king has asked for your head, as well as the heads of everyone in your noble house." Cadmus treated Balon with the dignity of a king. And despite being a piece of shit rapist, he was still a king, even if self-proclaimed.
"I can give you twice what Rhaegar gave you," Balon spoke in a cold, calm tone, his black eyes staring at Cadmus as if he were seeing his soul.
"He gave me the most beautiful princess in the world, the largest castle in Westeros, and even all of the Riverlands. I don't think you have enough to double such a thing," Cadmus said with a laugh, totally ignoring the heavy and oppressive atmosphere around.
Ciri heard everything and rolled her eyes; she discovered her teacher was quite playful, even in tense moments. At the same time, she was curious about her teacher's wife. From his tone, she realized her teacher truly cared for his wife.
She wondered what kind of woman could actually capture the heart of a mage as powerful as a god.
Balon remained silent for a moment and let out a sigh heavy with emotion. He said nothing more. Just as Cadmus had said, he truly had no way to double what Rhaegar offered the mage before him.
This made him realize how crazy Rhaegar was to offer so many things to the mage. Having House Tully controlling the Riverlands was one thing; having such a powerful mage controlling the Riverlands was completely different. Did Rhaegar not fear the independence of the Riverlands?
Obviously, Balon had no information about Cadmus's personality, or he wouldn't have thought of those things.
"If you want my head, you'll have to fight for it," Balon spoke in a cold, chilling tone. The King surged toward Cadmus with a quick thrust. Despite his age, the man was surprisingly fast. His sword crossed the air with a silver flash and went toward Ciri's neck!!!
Cadmus frowned and used *Expelliarmus* on the sword, sending it flying into the air. However, Balon was not surprised by the scene and, with a quick movement, drew a dagger and placed it at Ciri's neck.
"I can see the girl is important to you," Balon said coldly. "Step back, or I'll slit her throat at any suspicious movement from you."
Cadmus looked at the scene before him and, for a moment, took a step back and opened the way.
A joyful gleam appeared on Balon's face. Just as he was about to force the girl to walk, he saw only a green light pass by him and looked down. Balon was shocked to discover the girl was no longer before him!
Suddenly, a pair of daggers pierced his throat in a quick, precise movement. Balon touched the hot blood pouring in heaps from his neck and widened his eyes. He tried to staunch the bleeding, but Ciri was quite cruel, making a clean, deep cut in his neck.
Looking back with a shocked expression, he tried to say something, but fell to his knees and his body toppled over. Blood gradually formed a pool, while the light in Balon's eyes was like a flame slowly going out.
Seconds later, King Balon IX of House Greyjoy would die at the hands of a child just over thirteen years old. Worse still, he would die in his own castle, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers.
"Should I call you Kingslayer?" Cadmus asked with a teasing, smiling tone.
Sheathing her daggers, Ciri rolled her eyes and spoke in a slightly emotional tone. "The blood of kings is red."
Cadmus just laughed at the childish nature of Ciri's words and, with a quick flick of his wrist, Balon's head detached from his body.
"There are still members of House Greyjoy alive in this castle; let's kill them all, even the bastards." Cadmus stroked Ciri's hair and spoke with a smile.
The girl did not refuse and followed her teacher with a cold expression.
This was her world: kill or be killed.
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Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King's Court Wizard