Page 64 of Shadows and Flames
But I’d withheld it for so long, and I… I wouldn’t do that to him here. I needed to find a time, when it was just us and after this contract was finished and we could?—
Someone tugged at my arm, and I turned to find my cousin, darting accusing glances at El and pulling me toward her. “They’re grabbing himtonight. We need to move in before they do, Leen. This is ourchance.”
Those insufferable—I glared back at Elián, and the male somehow kept his face flat and mocking at the same time. It was the light orange and yellow in his eyes that gave it away, that he and his brother indeed had everything together to pull the contract right out from under us.
He didn’t reach for me, didn’t demand we continue our dance. But these competing contracts were just another dance, weren’t they? It was certainly the reason he dropped his arms around me while standing tall, unfazed.
I ran my hand across his chest one last time, down the center that was bare. My gloved fingers spread across tattooed lines. “You’re an asshole.”
And my cousin and I went off to take Von Herron.
Chapter Twenty-Five
TANA
Iwalked as casually as I could, right in back of Von Herron’s apartment building. Cursing myself for leaving the sleeping powder in our room, I resorted to the next best thing.
The aether I called forth left my hands glowing, something that certainly drew the guards’ notice as I drew closer, but I moved past them too quickly for them to react. My palm waving in front of their faces was enough to leave them unconscious, but without the blend of jasmine, valerian, and other herbs, the spell would only last for so long.
Hopefully enough time for us to grab Von Herron and be on our way.
Like we’d planned, they slumped at their post. We didn’t want to kill where we didn’t need to, and, like in many cities, no Vharans came to their aid. If we could slip past the ones inside without brute force, that would be preferable.
Something told me we wouldn’t be so lucky.
I pulled the guards behind the stone fencing bordering the apartment building. It wasn’t finessed, nor the most discreet, but we hadn’t the time! At least their sprawled forms were partially obscured, and if one was keeping their head down or concentrated on their destination, they’d be none the wiser.
Meline emerged from the shadows of the alleyway, approach smooth and pointed, but my senses noticed another figure, a familiar note of vetiver, coming from behind me.
He approached at the same time as my cousin, but instead of passing by like the rest of the Vharan people were likely to do, he stopped beside me, hands in his pockets.
“Um. I’d like to talk to you if that’s all…” he trailed off, and I followed his gaze to the sleeping guards.
Fuck. “Uh, Fenix! That’s really not—another time, yeah?”
Meline was already grabbing my arm, pulling us to the door, but he bloodyfollowed. “I just, I never properly… apologized. For my behavior on the ship.” It sounded like it pained him, admitting that he should’ve accepted our help. But now was definitely not the time or place!
Meline shoved us through the door, our cover of stealth all but obliterated, and the three of us stumbled inside. There were two sentries stationed on this level, but the bulk would be upstairs. Even from here, I could sense them.
The expert stealth with which we’d entered that duke’s home and taken out every one of his guards, him, and left without a soul’s detection, waslonggone.
I wrestled my arm out of Meline’s grasp and pivoted around to Fenix. I roughly shoved at his chest, trying to push him back out the door. “Apology accepted, so glad you’re alive, almighty thanks be to Rhaea, goodbye.”
But he didn’t relent, and the guards who’d been standing by the bottom of the stairs began walking over to us. Unfortunately, these two seemed intent on doing their jobs.
“For goddess’s sake.” Meline stalked toward them, shoulders back, and her daggers materialized, straight out of nothing but pure power.
Before the guards dressed in light armor could call for reinforcements or properly draw their weapons, my cousin’s daggers were in their hearts.
Meline didn’t bother pulling the weapons out of their chests. She just dropped her hands, and they evaporated, damage already done. The guards fell to the carpet on the floor, and I felt Fenix flinch beside me.
Why was he stillhere?
Meline rounded on us—him—and with a flick of her wrist, a flash of night darted at Fenix. I didn’t open my mouth to object, nor did I block the attack.
Instead of killing him, though, Meline secured Fenix to the wall and silenced him with a band of darkness around his mouth.
“You betterpraythat I remember to release you before your life is drained.” She didn’t bother keeping her voice down, now that the rest of the guards were marching toward us.
