24. Nora
24
Nora
L ight from the moon and stars rained down upon a sleepy South Harbor, but I kept myself in spaces it did not touch. Earlier I’d strolled along the strip, on my way home from the meeting with the Citadels, the name they’d given their group. Just as Odion had said, all the shops had closed, leaving the lane toward the docks feeling barren when there should have been at least some activity.
Even now, the whistling wind felt hollow.
Singe marks were still apparent in the middle of the path, despite a full day of traffic. I recalled the heat of the flames, how in the dead of night the walls and booths around me were lit in a display of magical, fiery glory.
How I bore no hesitation attacking that kidnapping prick when Sverik and Sharla were in danger.
How Chol appeared as if he’d apparated right beside me when I’d needed him most. How he’d taken on two assailants at once. Show-off.
The way he heeded my command to rescue Sverik instead of treating me like a damsel in need of saving.
As I stared at the spot of victory against the filth that plagued our town, a thought crept its way across my mind. Why was there no increased guard patrol? Surely, the burnt skeletal remains of multiple men would warrant investigation. Though, if I dug a tiny bit deeper than surface level, I could assume they cleaned the crime scene, put in minimal effort, and went about their day.
While I thought it was badass that we’d eliminated some of those bastards, we’d left that interaction with no new leads. If luck wanted to make her debut in South Harbor, she might let that group of four be the last we’d see.
Wind whirled around me, rattling my hood and pebbling my skin, but I remained. I’d been here for over an hour already, simply sitting. Waiting. Watching any movement along the waterfront with predatory eyes. Nothing but tall grasses swayed in the breeze, the smell of salt seasoning the air.
Not one soul had wandered the lower market since I’d arrived. Part of me worried I might have missed all the action tonight, had there been any. I’d waited until the house sat in silence for quite some time before sneaking out. Eucinda had questioned me this morning about why I’d been up and around the night prior, scolding me for ruining her sleep.
Oh, I don’t know, Eucinda. Maybe I was bursting with adrenaline over a successful ambush against the kidnapping ring while simultaneously rescuing my new friends. Sorry if my utter elation and pride made my steps a little heavier than usual.
I sighed, daydreaming about how that conversation would go where she’d realize how incredible I was and that she was nothing but an aging troll.
Still, in order to avoid suspicion regarding my nighttime activities, I’d made sure the house was dead asleep, and was extra cautious during my leave.
Maybe coming out tonight had been pointless, anyway. With Chol and me kicking ass and foiling their attempt, there was a chance their group would lay low for a while.
What would it mean if that were the case? I couldn’t imagine returning to a life where I never donned this outfit, where I stopped doing something that mattered. I’d had my first taste of feeling like my life meant something, like I could make a real difference. With however many days I had left to live, I didn’t want to give this up.
Movement within the shadows pinned my swirling thoughts. I stilled, blending in with the darkness of the stall around me, quieting my breath. Whoever it was followed a similar path I’d taken, making me lose sight of their approach when they took cover from the exposing moon.
I wondered if it was Chol, but wouldn’t dare reveal my position until I confirmed it. My hand fixed over the hilt of my hip-side dagger. The shop we’d tussled in last time bordered Odion’s, where I currently lurked—intentional placement on my part. Repeating the same patterns would surely get me caught at some point.
A minute or two passed, but I steadied my heartbeat, listening intently for signs that someone was near. On my left, the wind spoke with a dull roar over the ocean, but to my right arose the faint shuffling of footsteps. Even through my gloves, the ridges and grooves of the hilt pressed into my soft palms, as familiar as a second skin.
They were close now. Mere steps away. I silently withdrew and anchored the blade above my head, ready to bring it down in one swift strike should this person present a danger.
They passed in front of me in a black blur, completely bypassing my still form in the shadows, and moved until they ducked under a worktable on the edge of this shop that bordered the next stall’s open storefront. They crouched, peering around the few remaining work stations to overlook the docks. With their back to me, I had every advantage. So I stayed quiet, observing.
From the build of his body, and the calculated movements, I knew it was Chol. My heart swelled.
“You shouldn’t be out by yourself without a strong lady to protect you.”
He whirled around, on his feet within an instant, in a fighter’s stance. The precision with which he moved identified years of disciplined training in a way I’d seen Odion move. As if battle were a song, and they played the notes effortlessly. I could tell the moment he realized it was me. His muscles lost their tension before he closed the distance between us. He crammed himself into the alcove that was barely big enough to fit us both, pressing himself flat against the wall, essentially fusing his side to mine.
“You took off last night. Are you okay? Were you hurt?” His deep whisper sent a trail of goosebumps peppering my skin.
And his concern struck a tender part of my heart. I didn’t like how bare I felt, despite being cloaked head-to-toe. “I obviously don’t come out at night wearing this because I want people to notice me. After they were safe, I didn’t want any questions.” He didn’t need to know it was because they might have recognized me.
“Don’t do that to me next time. I was worried you’d been burned or injured.”
All enjoyment I had from his body close to mine, from his familiar presence, melted away under the heat of my rising anger. “What? You think I can’t take care of myself? Is that why you swooped in last night?”
“No, I...it wasn’t. I just—”
I adjusted to face him head on. “I told you I don’t need you, yet you came barging in as if I couldn’t handle myself.” Keeping my voice to a whisper grew more difficult. “If that’s how you view my abilities, then maybe this partnership—”
“I’m sorry, Ella,” he snapped. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you to hold your own. I’ve seen your skills. I know you’re capable. But that fight was sprung on us, and we were outnumbered. And yes, I couldn’t stand the idea of you getting hurt, okay?” He sighed, and when he spoke again, his frustration had waned. “You’re the only person I have in this.”
The vulnerability in his voice doused my fire. If I pushed aside the irritation it caused, feeling like he thought I was weak, and was left to confront the truth that he didn’t hesitate to put himself in harm’s way for me, I feared what parts of me would be affected. I swallowed and placed my back against the wall again. “As long as we’re clear that I can handle myself.”
“From the moment you punched me in the jaw, I’ve been well aware.” He dropped his tone into something playful.
I couldn’t fight my breaking smile. Luckily, he couldn’t see it. A moment passed, the tension in the air passing with it.
“Do you think we sent them running with their tails between their legs?” I couldn’t help adding a cocky flair to my statement.
“There was a kidnapping yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to tell you about it last night,” he said.
“What?!” I hissed in a whisper, astonished that the kidnappers were being so active lately. “Where? Who?”
“Clemmons Braht, a local leather shop assistant. His mother and father reported it to the royal guard. I’ve yet to hear of a kidnapping reported during the day. It doesn’t fall in line with the others.”
“But they still attempted to steal that couple last night. Why would they risk doing it in daylight hours if they were still doing it in their usual evening fashion? How do you know it was during the day?”
“Report said he left his shift like normal, but his parents claimed he never made it home. The boy is only sixteen.”
If I hadn’t heard it in his voice, I would have felt the anger coming off him in waves.
“Did you speak to his parents?” I asked.
“No, I was…busy. Couldn’t manage to get away until now.”
Busy. Get away. The words were reminders that I didn’t know the man beside me. He lived a regular life outside of night stalking, just as I did. What were the kind of things he did with his time? Who was he beyond the mask and mission for avenging? Beyond his willingness to rush to my side. Did he work a normal job? Was he someone I’d interacted with before? My stomach tightened with curiosity, and I tried stomping out my interest. That wasn’t important right now.
“Where did you hear this from?” Odion had today off, which explained why he wouldn’t have heard the gossip yet. But who were Chol’s sources?
“I have connections to the castle guards,” he said.
My stomach dropped. “What’s your connection? Was it obvious you were digging for information when you asked?” Worry bubbled up with my question.
“I—” he paused, taking a moment to choose his words carefully, which only made me more uneasy. The secrecy annoyed me. It would be so much easier to have all the information so I could accurately assess the situation. Hypocritical of me, seeing as I wouldn’t dare give him that same info.
“You don’t need to worry about that.” He sounded so confident, but inappropriately placed confidence could screw everything up.
I wrestled with concern, debating whether I should reveal what I’d learned from Odion, and my personal theory that the guards were intentionally not getting involved, or at least, making it appear that way. Who better to get away with crimes than those in charge of investigating them?
But Chol certainly didn’t reveal all his cards to me, and withholding intel would be a smart choice, considering I didn’t truly know the man wedged beside me. Where his loyalties lied at the end of the day.
But my thoughts circled back. He walked around, unmasked during the day, living his life as exposed as I did. If I kept my mouth shut, and he didn’t know to be careful with his sources, it could put him in danger. I may not know him well, but I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if he got into trouble. After all, he was the only other soul I’d met who seemed to give a damn enough about South Harbor’s people to actually do something about it.
“I’ve learned something, too. These shops have been commanded by the royal guard to close early. Now, I don’t know about you, but that would be a pretty perfect operation if this was all orchestrated by the castle. It would explain why that son of a bitch prince has stayed his hand time and time again when we’ve begged for help. Why the strip isn’t currently sealed off for investigation regarding four burned bodies.
“And if that’s the case, you better be damn careful when probing your sources for information. I don’t know who you are in the day, what roles you’ve taken, but if you’re not careful, it could be you next among the missing if you sniff around and ask the wrong people the right questions.”
He stilled. I couldn’t even feel the sway of his breathing anymore. The silence swallowed us as wholly as the shadows. He probably realized, just as I had, that if the castle was involved and responsible for the kidnappings, that he and I were severely outmatched.
“How do you know the shops are closing early?” he finally asked.
“I have sources, too.”
We communicated in a language of words that said very little. Necessary for survival in circumstances like this, to keep ourselves safe, protected.
“I think you’re the only one I can trust, Ella.” A sadness carried his quiet words, then he laughed a laugh that held no warmth or real amusement. “And that’s pretty pathetic, considering.”
Trust. I didn’t even know how to hold that word anymore. It’d become such a foreign, slippery thing. After losing my father, even trust became too expensive a currency. I couldn’t trust Eucinda to love and care for me, couldn’t trust being shown kindness from those we knew in the midst of poverty. Couldn’t trust that I’d have a full belly despite back-breaking shifts at the tavern. Couldn’t trust the Crown to aid its people when it was their only lifeline.
Chol was a fool for such a notion, given that he knew nothing about me. But from the way he expressed it, I could hear the defeat that plagued his soul.
I knew he held burdens. I could tell because I did, too. But to have someone think that highly of me in such a precarious circumstance warmed me in a way I didn’t expect. Chol saw a side of me that no one else did. One that was willing to take action against circumstances that continually beat me down. One that added a splash of color on the otherwise bleak canvas that was my life. One I couldn’t share with those closest to me.
Maybe he saw the truest version of myself, out here, actually trying to make a difference without the restraints of the world bounding me in chains. I didn’t have to cower, to be submissive, to let others control me. Yet, technically, he was the one I hid the most from.
Even the use of ‘Ella’ made the knife of guilt twist a little in my gut. How could he trust someone he didn’t even know? He had no idea who I was, what my life was like, what I’d been through. And yet, coming together in this common goal mattered more about who I was than any of those other things.
The parts of me he saw were the purest, and his acceptance of it resounded with the chorus of a tune I’d long forgotten. Perhaps no one could ever know all of me, and I’d forever remain only a fraction of myself to those I held dear. But if even one person knew me at my core, it acted as a healing balm to my cracked, battered heart.
“You are pretty lucky to have me,” I said, fixing a mask of casual indifference to hide the fever of emotions his simple comment brought about. “And you finally admitted that I’m a lady.”
“When?”
“Last night, when you so bravely stood up for this fair maiden.” I couldn’t help but tease.
He nudged me with his elbow and released a breathy laugh. Cinders in my soul sparked to life, and despite my best efforts, the joy spread across my face. Because of the mask, I didn’t have to hide it. Indulging in that sliver of happiness loosened something bound tight within.
“This should be our regular meet up spot,” he said, “to exchange anything new we learn. I can’t make it out every night, but I can try for every other.”
“Make it out from where?” I wanted to see if he’d slipup, reveal something about himself. That pestering desire to know more about him became harder to tame.
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” I could hear the smile upturning his lips.
I shuddered a laugh. “You could try, but I think we both know who’d win that fight.”
This time, his laugh was deep. Perhaps it was the calming rhythmic music of the ocean, or the heat from his body tucked against mine. Whatever it was gave me an idea. I couldn’t decide whether the thought was born of logic, or something deeper, but I said, “I’d rather meet somewhere else, in case this place becomes too compromised. Can I show you?”
He glanced down at me, face completely hindered by darkness. “Lead the way.”