Chapter 2 #2
At the mention of Darik Farrow—the captain of the Nox Custodia—Viri relaxed.
The city guards and hunters worked closely when it came to protecting the city, but they were still separate entities, with the Nox overseeing general law enforcement, and hunters specializing in reapers.
The only news that might have caused Viri to sprint straight to Nox headquarters would have had to come from—
“Meera was too busy doing damage control to report in herself,” Wynter went on, making Viri’s thoughts stutter to a halt. “No need to let word spread and cause a panic—or so Darik told Mom.”
Viri’s blood turned to ice, then fire, as both dread and anticipation coursed through her. “Who was captured, Wyn?”
Wynter shook her head. “I didn’t hear a name. All I know is that it’s a high-ranking reaper. Someone in the Priest’s inner circle.”
The air left Viri in a whoosh.
Finally, after so many years of searching, this could be the break they needed in gaining access to the Reaper Priest.
“I need to go,” Viri said, rushing to her bedroom door, only for Wynter to grab her arm.
“Clothes, V.” Wynter indicated the bundle in Viri’s hands, spinning her toward her private bathroom. “As much as I love the image of you interrogating a deadly reaper in your pajamas, you should probably stick with your usual badass hunter vibe.”
Viri glanced down at her pastel-pink nightshirt and cursed before racing off and dressing in record time, finishing by coiling her fillium around her forearm.
“Go get ’em, hunter,” Wynter said as Viri hurried back into the bedroom. “I want a full debrief later.”
Viri was already sprinting out the door and down the long hallway of their apartment, Wynter’s words fading behind her.
She could hear Sarielle in the kitchen—a rarity, given how busy her job kept her—and for a second, Viri considered heading in that direction.
But her guardian kept a strict boundary between work and home, so she would be tight-lipped about anything Darik had shared.
Better for Viri to go straight to the source.
Dashing out the front door, Viri bolted through the inner-mountain tunnels, inhaling the earthy, filtered air as she careened around corners at breakneck speed, her path lit by flameless everbeacons affixed to the black rock.
Not for the first time, she was grateful that living with the Magistratus meant a prime cliffside location with few neighbors, limiting the foot traffic to the nearest wayportal.
She was even more grateful that her late start kept her from colliding with the early-morning commuters she normally passed on her way to training.
Instead, she was able to run straight for the shimmering magestone arch and leap through it without delay, mentally guiding it to the portal nearest to her destination.
The headquarters of the Nox Custodia were located deep within Mount Verta, the southernmost peak of the Tridus Mountains.
While Mount Tembris had apartments like Viri’s built all the way through it up to the summit, Mount Verta was mostly hollow in the middle, its thick rock walls carved by the ancient mages into upward-spiraling levels that housed the various guilds, city services, and market districts—giving citizens plenty of space inside the mountain to work, study, and socialize.
Since the Nox needed easy access to the Underlock, their headquarters sat at the base of the inner-mountain—a place Viri reached in mere seconds through the connected wayportal, exiting the shining arch straight into the white-marbled reception area of Nox HQ.
Two uniformed guards manned the public entrance, like always, and Viri gave them a quick nod as she marched past the front desk and into the elevator.
As soon as the doors closed, she jammed her finger on the down button, rolling her neck against the skin-crawling feeling of magic as the ellixen-powered lift began its descent.
It was only a short ride down to the Nox’s main administration level, where the city guards worked when they weren’t on patrol.
Usually, the cubicled space was quiet and calm.
Today, however, Viri was met by chaos when she stepped out of the elevator, finding black-uniformed guards bustling about in apparent disarray and even a few red-cloaked hunters interspersed among them, clearly waiting for news.
Viri knew she should join her colleagues, but she didn’t have the patience, not when she needed answers now.
Striding between the workspaces and past open office doors, Viri headed straight to the farthest end of the floor, stopping when she reached a wooden door hewn into the mountainside, the golden plaque saying Captain darik farrow. She was just about to knock when a voice halted her.
“It’s about time you showed up. I was close to sending out a search party.”
Viri whirled around to find her other best friend, Soren Archer, standing with his arms crossed over his Nox uniform, the silver buttons and buckles of his black trench coat all polished to perfection.
With sandy-blond hair and warm brown eyes, he was the poster child of the Nox Custodia, not just because of his boyish good looks but also because he was a stickler for the rules, already rising through the leadership ranks.
To Viri, however, he would always be the scrawny kid she’d met on her first day of training—her as a hunter, him as a city guard—the two of them paired in a joint sparring exercise to test their raw skills.
They’d forged a bond in blood and bruises and been inseparable ever since.
Aside from Wynter, no one knew Viri as well as Soren, so it was unsurprising that he’d expected her to arrive as soon as she heard about the captured reaper. The teasing grin on his lips said as much, but that grin transformed into a frown when he took her in fully.
“What the hell happened to your face?”
“It’s nothing.” Viri waved off his concern. “Much better than earlier. I can barely feel it now.”
Soren’s features tightened as he realized what that meant. Like Viri, he didn’t approve of Wynter’s obsession with alchemy, but that was more because she was breaking the law and less because of how dangerous it was.
“Don’t start,” Viri said when his mouth opened. “Yell at Wyn later, not at me.” She turned toward the door. “Right now, I need to see Darik and find out what’s—”
“He’s not here.”
Viri whipped back around. “Where is he?”
“With Meera. They’re talking to witnesses from last night.”
“Witnesses?” Viri’s brow furrowed. “What for?”
Soren ran a hand through his hair, mussing the pale strands, only for them to bounce straight back into a near-perfect coif. “The reaper—it’s like he just…appeared here.”
He.
The reaper was male.
Viri’s skin tingled, her desperation to know more rising with every passing second.
“No one has claimed credit for his capture,” Soren went on. “Captain Farrow thinks they’re afraid of retribution from the Priest and keeping quiet to protect their family. But whatever their reason, we have a high-ranking reaper in custody and nothing but unanswered questions.”
“Has he been interrogated?” Viri asked.
“Of course,” Soren said. “But he’s refusing to speak. Says there’s only one person he’ll talk to.”
“Who?”
“The captain didn’t say. He and Meera are staying quiet until they have more details.”
Frustrated, Viri spun on her heel and began walking back toward the elevator.
“You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking,” Soren warned, keeping in step with her.
“I want to see him,” Viri said.
“Absolutely not.”
She ignored the unyielding words. “I don’t need your permission. I—”
“Actually, you do. He’s in a high-security cell so deep in the Underlock that only Nox with valid clearance have access.”
At the odd note in her friend’s voice, Viri halted on the marble walkway between two empty cubicles and squinted at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Soren seemed to debate within himself. “The reaper isn’t just someone in the Priest’s inner circle. He’s…more than that.”
Viri’s heart stuttered, a strange premonition coming over her, sharp with dread. “Who is he, Soren?”
There was a long pause, as if he regretted saying anything, but then Soren met her gaze and declared, “It’s Reeve Ashton—the Reaper Priest’s most loyal servant and right-hand man.”
Reeve.
Ashton.
For a moment, Viri heard nothing outside the ringing in her ears, her mind besieged with images of a young boy with tousled black hair and silver eyes that shone like stars. Other memories began to take form, but she shoved them away before she could see anything—or anyone—else.
Swaying on her feet, Viri was vaguely aware of Soren going on to say something she already knew: that Reeve was infamous among Nox and hunters, considered a high-level target after whispers of his name and position had started circulating years earlier.
The Priest was another matter—his identity was a carefully guarded secret, known only to those close to him.
Reeve Ashton was close to him. Perhaps closer than anyone.
Viri swayed again, prompting Soren to call her name worriedly. She snapped back to herself, her throat hoarse as she repeated, “I want to see him.” Her features hardened with resolve. “You can help me, or you can report me. But either way, I’m going.”
Seeing her determination, Soren swore under his breath, before saying, “He won’t talk to you.”
“Maybe not. But I still need to try.” Her voice broke on the final word, the only evidence of the emotion she was struggling to hold back.
Soren’s face softened. He’d met Viri mere months after her parents had died, so he was acutely aware of everything she was feeling right now, and how much this arrest meant to her. But at the same time, there were so many things he didn’t know. Things he would never—could never—know.
Like the fact that she knew Reeve personally.
And just how much he had once meant to her.
“Viri…” Soren held her eyes, no doubt seeing the torment in them, then sighed loudly. “Fine, I’ll take you to him. But if we get caught, you’d better call in all your favors with the Magistratus to keep us both from getting thrown in the Underlock beside Ashton. Agreed?”
Viri nodded quickly, which only made Soren sigh again and mumble about exasperating best friends as he nudged her in the direction of the elevator once more.
The workspace around them was still buzzing with chaotic energy, but she barely noticed this time, focused only on summoning the courage she would need to face a ghost she’d thought long buried in her past.
It had been seven years since Viri had seen Reeve Ashton.
Seven years since her parents had been murdered by the Reaper Priest.
And seven years since Reeve had pledged loyalty to their killer, the two of them vanishing without a trace.
Until now.