Page 7 of Shadows and Flames
My fingers twisted in my hair, gathering it at the base of my skull and braiding it over my shoulder in the way the golden witch taught me. One of my first nights away from the Well after my punishment ended, I’d tried to plait my hair all the way down my scalp likeshewore it. But it was infuriatingly difficult to do on myself, so I quickly gave up.
Few people were out at this time of night, but I watched a group of adolescents laugh and run down the darkened streets. My lips turned up as I remembered Leandro, Noruh, Tomás, and I behaving similarly when they would visit. When things felt so much easier.
I retrieved a thin strap of leather from my pack and tied off the tight braid. The sofa was comfortable enough, and I pulled on one of the blankets Papá had made for us when we were born. He’d added to it over the years as we grew, and the patched look and feel of it always made it my favorite, even when he gifted us finer blankets and quilts later.
I’d long ago brought it from the Well to live here, in this place that was mine and my twin’s. Perhaps one day I would moveeverything to Papá’s old house by the river, but that was for another time. As I lay my head down on the old pillow I retrieved from the loft, I counted the number of cities I’d searched for her. Where I’d taken contracts to try and revive my older self. Banfas was number five, and though I was dreading the next one, I felt a bit… steadier now.
My mind was clear, and as I closed my eyes, I still saw the lights from the city behind my lids. I rehearsed the words in my mind, what I would say to her when I finally saw her. And after I ran through them over and over, my trailing thoughts ran to the Zonoran lullabies, as they always did.
I would retrieve my payment and get rid of the ghastly rapier. And then I would proceed to the next place to look for her. Across another sea, away from Savya to the land many of my kind called home. To Eryva.
To Nethras.
Chapter Four
Tomás
Thryx, give me the wherewithal to withstand this grumbling, I chanted to myself. Not that They would really care about this particular situation, but I found myself praying to the Godyx every time I had to deal with him and this rubbish.
The closer we got to his female’s apartment, he became more and more of a complete arse. Granted, he was a complete arse a lot of the time. But this past year had been a nightmare to witness. I hated to admit that I was truly afraid there for a moment. The lingering stench of drink and self-loathing had been like a cloud around his body, to the point that the others hadn’t wanted to be around him.
For the entire time I’d known him, my best mate was a quiet and respected member of our little group. Some were wary of him and his Fire, but if I was still walking around and not a smoldering pile of ash yet, they had nothing to fear.
But while he’d been despairing overher, he had scared me.
I shook my head and clearedthosethoughts. Nethras was an all right city—reminded me a bit of where I’d lived before being swept up into The Shadows, actually. The towering brick buildings close together, the mix of races walking past us invarying dress and speaking several languages settled something inside of me.
Those at the Well had been born all over, and though we could mostly dress however we liked there, we’d all been around each other too long. The same corridors with the same people could be so banal. I could never understand why my best mate chose to stay there more often than not. After I’d been sworn in and could buy my own apartment back in Sjatas, I couldn’t pack my things fast enough.
Not that I didn’t like being a Shadow. I glanced over at him, and yeah, he was looking forward and making that face again. The one where he ground his jaw to try and keep the emotions and flames at bay.
Nah, I’d probably have a crude blade buried in my gut and body tossed in an alley a few hundred times over if I hadn’t joined The Shadows. And it was a life that gave me adventure and the ability to do everything I wanted. Well, almost everything. I could go the rest of my immortal life without having to teach the squeaking acolytes. But, it was a small price to pay.
“You sure you want to do this, mate?” I asked quietly as we reached a café that was closed for the evening and rounded the corner.
“Yes.” I huffed at his response. Wasn’t quite sure why he was torturing himself like this. Obviously, the female did not want to be found. At least by him. And she would be incredibly stupid, if shewasin hiding, to return to her own godyx-damned apartment.
But I didn’t say that to him. He’d groused enough when I demanded to come on this contract with him. I’d used the guise of needing to get out of the Well, but we both knew I could leave at any time. That I had stuck around and stayed at my room there to keep an eye on him.
I also knew that he’d been looking for her in each of the cities he visited, but when I asked him where he was off to next, I saw that this place was going to be different. Though, not until we’d walked past the stone city gates and dispatched his mark did he tell me that he wasn’t just going to look for her. He was going to her apartment.
We reached a side door, and he pulled a key from his pocket. “If you can’t smell her now, Nogón, I doubt that she—” my head snapped to the street. There it was again. That prickling feeling on the back of my neck. “We’re being followed,” I hissed at him as he unlocked the door and stepped in.
After re-locking the entrance, he began to ascend the steps and shrugged. “Let them follow.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.Iwas supposed to be the reckless one.
But whoever it was, they weren’t close enough to be a problem. Yet. It was a certainty that I felt in my gut, but I had too much training and had seen too many years to write it off as nothing. Since we’d finished up with his contract and joined the crowds walking in the mild summer evening, I kept getting pangs of this certainty. We weren’t in Shadow clothing anymore, but I knew we had an air about us. Usually it worked to our advantage, but it also made us stick out if you looked too close.
We reached the top floor and stood before one of the four apartments. Elián’s hair was knotted at the back of his head, though, right now, he ran a hand to clear the few strands that always seemed to escape. I watched as he made a point to straighten himself and unlock her door, but I caught the slight tremble in his fingers while he fiddled with a different key that let him open the door.
As soon as the air from inside was released, I knew that she hadn’t been here. It was too stale in there. But I didn’t say anything. If this was what he needed to do, I’d keep my mouth shut.
He seemed to realize it, though, because his shoulders sagged a bit. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. And when I made to follow him, I had a harder time, forcing my way through the old barrier that left a sweet lavender taste in my mouth and felt like fingernails scratching at my skin and the inside of my mind. Bloody magic.
Whoever had made the barrier was strong, but years without reinforcing had left it penetrable to someone determined enough. And once I’d crossed the threshold, the uncomfortable sensations began to clear.
And then we were in her home.
It was… smaller than I thought it would be. Not that I was one to want to live in a palace or anything, but this was not what I envisioned the home of a de facto queen would look like.
