Chapter 4 Scarlett
CHAPTER 4
SCARLETT
I t was shortly before sunrise as Scarlett crept along the walls of the manor’s grounds. It wasn’t her first time sneaking in and out of the manor, and it wouldn’t be her last. She had been trained for covertness, secrecy, and death after all. Although Nuri had always been the stealthiest.
Nuri Halloway was a different sort of nobility. She was the adopted daughter of the Assassin Lord. An orphan on the streets like Cassius, the Assassin Lord had found her at the age of four, scooped her up, and taken her to his home. His daughter not by blood, but by choice. She had been trained as an elite killer right alongside Scarlett. They were taught to move among the shadows with such stealth you didn’t see them unless they wanted to be seen. Her gift of stealth, however, was how she came to be called Death’s Shadow. She stalked every one of her father’s targets and even some of the other assassins’ and thieves’ targets at the Fellowship. If Nuri was watching you, it was likely your death was near. She was feared almost more than the assassins themselves because you never knew when death would show up, only that it was indeed coming. The dread became more unbearable than the actual death…unless she was accompanied by her two sisters. When the Wraiths of Death were all dispatched on one target, they begged for death by the end.
Many knew Nuri’s name. Few knew she was Death’s Shadow. It was kept hidden, like many secrets of the Black Syndicate. Scarlett had interacted with the Lord of the Assassins nearly every day, but she’d never once seen his face and knew none of his features. He always wore a hood, but she knew her mother had known him well. While he ran the Fellowship, her mother had run the healer’s compound in the Black Syndicate.
There was the Syndicate, full of thriving merchants and businesses, and then there was the Black Syndicate, full of much darker merchants and businesses. A kingdom in and of itself. The Black Syndicate held everything from crime lords and brothels to thieves and mercenaries. Why her mother had chosen to set up shop in the Black Syndicate District, Scarlett did not know. She was the most-skilled healer in the kingdom, perhaps in all the kingdoms, and people came from neighboring lands just to see her. She was often called away in the middle of the night to the Fellowship to attend someone who had returned from a mission where something had gone wrong. The Fellowship was directly across from the compound, and messengers were constantly going between the two.
At the age of six, Scarlett’s mother had turned her over to the Assassin Lord to learn “how to defend herself,” and another healer’s daughter of the same age had joined her along with Nuri. What had come of that was the creation of a nightmare made flesh. The three girls had bonded during hours of brutal training. The three girls grew to love each other in the darkness. The three girls formed the bond of sisters. They pushed each other harder than anyone else, even their trainers, and they were loyal to each other above all else.
When Scarlett’s mother had been killed, the rumor was spread that she had been killed as well. That had been the plan, according to the assassin she had watched take her mother apart. Cassius, of course, had been the one to find her. She was snuck into the Fellowship where she was kept hidden for seven years. The girls had continued to train just as intensely and were sent out on missions, and because no one knew who the Wraiths of Death were, no one was any the wiser that she was, in fact, alive.
Since coming to live at the Tyndell manor, however, the most she ever seemed to use her stealth training was to sneak out on occasion to exercise with Nuri and to get herself and Tava out to attend various activities. Her favorites were the parties by the Pier that went well into the night, full of dancing and food and wine. Nights when she could forget the mess her life had become and just exist for a few hours without the weight of her world pressing in on her.
She smiled at the thought of the memory of the last party she’d attended at the Pier. It had been the first scorching hot night of the summer. She’d spent more time by the sea than in the actual venue. Although she’d gotten plenty of dancing in too; when Mikale hadn’t been hovering over her incessantly. Drake had finally distracted him long enough for her to slip out into the stifling heat. She had walked among the waves washing up on the shore. A quiet moment of peace among the busyness of…whatever it was she did any more. She used to have a purpose. Even if it was a dark one. Now?
“It’s awfully early to be in the gardens, isn’t it?” came a silky voice from beside her.
“Dammit, Nuri!” Scarlett hissed, her hand going to her heart. She may have trained with Nuri, but the other girl was still more covert and thoroughly enjoyed slipping in and out of the shadows to everyone’s great annoyance.
Nuri laughed quietly, her footsteps as silent as Scarlett’s were along the path. “Where are you going so early?”
Scarlett glanced out of the corner of her eye at her friend. The girl’s hair was braided down her back, her scimitars at her waist as usual, and a bow slung across her back. She was entirely in black, her hood down. She looked tired, as if she’d been up all night. She probably had been. She’d likely been stalking someone for a job.
“I’m meeting Ryker for training.”
Nuri’s eyebrows shot up. “Ryker? Who’s that?”
“He’s a Captain in the king’s armies,” Scarlett said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He trains an elite group of soldiers. I’ve never seen anyone fight like him, Nuri. He knocked me on my ass in less than two minutes. I asked him to train me.”
“Whatever for? You were trained by some of the most lethal men in the kingdom.”
“His fighting style is different. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“So it makes his training better?” Nuri asked curiously.
“No,” Scarlett said, contemplating. “I said his fighting style was different, not necessarily superior. We can always grow. We can always learn.”
“Because when we stop growing and learning, we start dying. Yes, I know,” Nuri said, finishing what Scarlett was saying. It was something her mother had said to them both and often.
“Besides, maybe I’ll learn other things from him,” Scarlett said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Oh, I’m gleaning there is plenty you’d like to learn from him,” Nuri said with a taunting smirk.
“Stop it,” Scarlett groaned, shoving her sister slightly with her shoulder. Nuri only laughed under her breath again. “You know what I mean. Since I can’t speak with Callan anymore, we need another way to get information.”
“That could work,” Nuri mused. Then she said innocently, “Or we could just dispatch Mikale and his wonderful sister in their sleep, and you could resume your dealings with Callan.”
“Speaking of dispatching, he finally sent over my assignment,” Scarlett replied, changing the subject.
A look passed over Nuri’s face that Scarlett couldn’t quite read, but was gone in the next moment. “Is that where the sudden renewed interest in training has come from?”
“Yes and no,” Scarlett answered. “I haven’t trained in over a year. I figured I should probably brush up on my skills a little bit before I figure out who the hell this guy is that I’m tracking down. I probably would have asked him to train me anyway though.”
“Is your target Fae?” Nuri asked, looking straight ahead as they made their way down the path.
Few knew how to fight and best the Fae. In fact, the majority of their assignments were Fae and for good reason. The Fae occupied the lands on the northern side and southern side of the continent. They were divided into four Courts ruled by two sister queens. One ruled the western courts of Fire and Water, and one ruled the eastern courts of Wind and Earth. And it was the Fae Queens who had sided with Avonleya in the Great War in exchange for help enslaving the mortals. For the love of their people, King Deimas and Queen Esmeray sacrificed themselves to cast two powerful spells that took their lives: one to lock the Avonleyans away to their own continent and one to make magic inaccessible in the mortal lands. Thus, the Fae were made far easier to kill should they cross into the human territories. They were still faster and stronger and had primal senses, but without access to their magic, they could be killed if you had the right weapons — blades of shirastone or black ashwood arrows. Both extremely hard to come by, and both extremely expensive. The kingdom was divided into the three mortal kingdoms it was now.
“I don’t know if he is Fae or not. I’ve never heard the name before. He also didn’t tell me why he wants him dispatched. He’s always told us why, and he didn’t this time.” When Nuri remained silent, Scarlett asked, “You don’t know anything?”
“About your target? No,” Nuri answered, reaching to pull up her hood.
“That makes it sound like you know of something else,” Scarlett replied, turning to face her friend, but she was gone. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled to find Ryker making his way up the narrow path. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
“You’re late,” she said by way of greeting.
He stopped a few feet away from her, his nostrils flaring. “Who else is here?”
He couldn’t possibly know Nuri had been here. Scarlett turned in a slow circle, making an exaggerated show of looking for someone. “Clearly we’re alone,” she finally answered with a raised brow.
“Let’s go,” was all he said in response, striding by her and making his way to a clearing. Once there, he found a path and started into an easy jog to warm up before they would begin to run.
“You’re the one who set this awful time before the sun rises. Don’t be cranky with me,” she snapped, falling into step beside him. Ryker didn’t say a word. He just picked up his pace with a snarl.
They ran and ran and ran— hard. She hadn’t run like this in ages. So much for the maintenance she’d tried to keep. Ryker, it appeared, was working off a temper. Her lungs burned, but she couldn’t deny that the aching in her legs felt good. Finally, Scarlett had to stop…and vomit. Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, she leaned against a tree along the path.
“Are you done?” Ryker snapped from a few feet away, his accent almost thicker this morning. His arms were crossed against his broad chest, and his face was lined with aggravation.
“Excuse you?” Scarlett demanded, the taste of vomit coating her mouth and tongue as she spit onto the ground.
“I asked if you were done hurling your guts up so we can get going,” Ryker repeated.
“Quit being such a prick,” Scarlett snapped back.
“You asked me to train you. If you cannot handle it, then let’s just quit now,” Ryker snarled, turning to walk back down the path.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Scarlett said, grabbing his muscled arm. Ryker whirled back, gripping her wrist tightly.
He glared at her, baring his teeth, and she glared right back. “I am well aware that training with you will be grueling, and I am prepared for that, but you do not get to take your pissy mood out on me.”
“I am not Cassius,” he retorted, his voice low. “You yelling at me does not make me feel bad for you and give you what you want.”
Without warning, she brought her other hand up, fisted to punch him. He caught that wrist, too. She brought her knee up to inflict damage in a particularly sensitive area. Ryker twisted just in time so that her knee connected with his thigh.
“You will not win a fight with me,” he hissed at her.
“Maybe not, but I’ll be a challenge,” she retorted, leaning in close. Then she looped her foot around his ankle and jerked. He let go of one wrist and that was all she needed. Her elbow came down on the other, breaking his hold. She intended to flip back out of his reach, but he was so damn fast. He gripped her around the waist. She attempted to kick out at his shin, but he was still stronger than she was. In a heartbeat, he had her thrown to the ground. The impact knocked the breath from her. Then he was on top of her, straddling her with her wrists pinned above her head.
Rage roiled in her gut. “You are an ass,” she hissed, her voice lethal.
A half grin kicked up on his mouth. “Most would agree with you, Lady, but the fact remains that you throwing a fit does not get you what you want. I am not Cassius.”
“Do not make assumptions about things you know nothing about.”
Ryker smirked at her. “I do not need to assume anything. It is clear how every man in your life feels about you. It was evident the day I watched them with you in the training barracks. Drake sees you as a little sister to protect. Mikale sees you as a pet to be tamed and prized. And Cassius—”
There was a deafening boom. Birds flocked to the sky as branches from the surrounding trees crashed to the ground and shattered into thousands of pieces. Ryker pressed himself flat onto Scarlett, pressing her into the ground. She could feel his heart racing as fast as her own, and she could feel every part of him against her, something inside her seeming to flicker in response.
In the silence that followed, Ryker slowly sat up, rolling off her and sitting back on his heels. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and surveyed the clearing around her. Shards of black littered the surrounding area. She pushed herself higher into a sitting position.
“Are you all right?” Ryker asked.
She didn’t look at him as she reached out a hand to touch one of the shards. They were branches, but they were black as night. They had been frozen and then shattered when they fell to the ground. She looked at the trees. All were perfectly normal, their bark brown and leaves green, just as a tree should be in midsummer. There was no ice anywhere else.
“Scarlett,” he said quietly. She turned to Ryker to find him staring at her. “Where is your ring?”
“My ring?” she asked, looking down at her hands.
“Yes. The ring you said your mother gave you.”
“I didn’t put it on this morning. I didn’t even think of it as I rushed out to meet you. What does it matter anyway? Branches just… exploded everywhere. How the hell does that happen?”
Ryker didn’t say a word, finally tearing his gaze from her and looking around. He took the shard Scarlett was holding and turned it over in his own hands. After a moment, he stood and held out a hand to help her up. Her legs were shaking as she took it, and he yanked her to her feet. She stumbled forward, Ryker catching her in his arms. And as they stood there, Ryker steadying her, she again felt as if she knew him. It was the same feeling she’d had when she’d watched him leaning against the wall in the training barracks.
“Have we met before?” she asked, working to keep her voice from trembling at what had just happened.
“What?”
“I swear we’ve met before. I feel like I recognize you in some weird way…” she trailed off. Ryker seemed to consider something, but then he was quickly lowering his arms.
“I am pretty sure I would remember if I had met such a skilled, albeit incredibly spoiled Lady, in these lands,” he said, starting back down the path. “Come on. I am going to show you how you could have broken my hold and been an actual challenge in that little fight we just had.”
Scarlett stuck her tongue out to his back and started to trail after him, shards of shattered, frozen branches crunching under her boots.