Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Iris
“Ido not like this plan,” Nikolai mumbled into my ear, his arm stiff under mine.
“That’s funny, I distinctly remember you saying that about my last plan, too. That one worked out.”
“That plan ended with your tongue inside the mouth of a man who does not even deserve to look upon you.”
I pressed my lips together, fighting against the urge to smile as I pinched him subtly. “Aw, are you still feeling jealous?”
“And if I am?”
There was no small amount of greedy satisfaction in knowing that he was. Even though I knew I shouldn’t feel excited by that possessive look in his eyes, I couldn’t stop the warmth that covered me every time he admitted to that vicious jealousy.
“Then I will remind you we are friends. Nothing more and nothing less.”
The corner of his lip twitched as his eyes flashed with optimism. “Friends is more than you admitted to yesterday.”
My chest tightened and I swallowed down the unease as I painted on an unbothered smile. “And that’s all there is between us today. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next...”
He sighed, glaring at me out of the corner of his eye before turning back to the sprawling estate ahead of us.
It was massive, with towering spires and stonework that reminded me somewhat of Hyrax Manor.
The hedges surrounding the home were dry from the lingering winter, but still well-trimmed.
Nikolai held me tightly as we walked the stone path of the courtyard, careful not to let me slip on the patches of ice.
It certainly looked like the kind of place that generally awful men came to do generally awful things.
And Lorence was already waiting for me with a hungry smile.
His gaze washed over me, eyes trailing over the low neckline of my violet gown with an approving nod.
He wore a long coat with golden embroidery and double-breasted buttons.
The clothes were obviously expensive, even if they were a bit ill-fitting.
The silk cravat above his white shirt strained against the thickness of his neck.
“He picked his finest outfit for this occasion.” Nikolai didn’t bother hiding the disdain in his voice.
As if he had any right to judge others for embracing a taste for finery.
The jeweled rings adorning Nikolai’s fingers cost a fortune and he never forgot them.
“Play nice,” I warned him in a hushed tone, before I happily extended my hand to Lorence and allowed him to press his dry lips against my knuckles.
“Miralynn, you are a vision,” he cooed.
I gave him my best bashfully flirtatious smile. “I hope I’m not underdressed?”
He chuckled, not even glancing at my ‘brother’ before he wrapped my arm in his and began walking me forward. “You look divine.”
“So, what kind of party is this?” I asked him, as he nodded to the butler at the door, who acknowledged him by name before allowing us to pass.
The butler looked suspiciously at Nikolai but allowed him in after a quick explanation that he was to be my chaperone for the evening.
Lorence stiffened at that, but as I began tracing reassuring circles on his arm, he relaxed into my touch once more.
“Consider this evening to be for both business and enjoyment.”
I peered up at him through my lashes, swallowing down the shudder that threatened to work down my spine as he licked his lips and leaned towards me.
“What do you mean by that?”
He pointed ahead of us, to where the crowds of people were shuffling through tall white doors. “All the fun is right through there.”
Lifting onto my toes, I looked through the doors, spying the rows of plush-lined seats before a stage. The staff at the entryway handed guests paddles and glasses of champagne with bows of their heads and cheerful smiles.
“This party is a—”
“It’s an auction,” Nikolai clarified from behind me.
Lorence ignored him as if he hadn’t even heard him speak. “You said you wanted adventure? Well, every item that gets sold tonight comes with a story. Stories that will amaze you.”
“Now, that is exciting.” I let my eyes light up with a gleeful smile as I twisted my arm out of his. “You go on ahead, though. I’d like to freshen up first.”
His brows lowered unhappily. “Nonsense. You are my guest. You will stay with me.”
I didn’t need to glance at Nikolai to know the way he would have bristled against those words. So, I kept my eyes locked on Lorence as I rested my hands on each of his biceps and lifted to my toes to whisper into his ear, “Don’t you want me to look good for you later?”
He hummed, hands slinking around my waist. “What happens later?”
Sliding my hands up his arms, I pulled back just an inch to peer up at him through the overly wide doe-eyes I’d adopted in this form. “Be a good boy and go sit down, and maybe you’ll get to find out.”
“Oh,” he laughed deeply, tongue sliding hungrily over his lower lip as he tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. “This is the kind of game you would like to play?”
“One of them.” I winked, keeping a playful smile on my lips. “The rest come later.”
He looked as if he wanted to protest further, but I kept my chest pushed onto his, allowing him to peer openly down the neckline of my gown. Eventually, he nodded, sent a quick glare at Nikolai, and instructed me to find him in the leftmost box seat when I was ready.
He also whispered some particularly disgusting promises in my ear that weren’t even worth thinking twice about.
We watched him go, waiting until he was fully through the doors before we ducked into the restroom together.
“I think I might vomit after watching that,” Nikolai complained, unbuttoning his jacket and pulling out the jewelry I’d stolen last night from his pockets. He passed them to me with a barely suppressed shudder.
Rushing, I clasped the necklace around my throat and set about securing the bracelets on my wrists. After securing the clips, I gathered the skirt of my gown in my hand and pulled it over my head, twisting it out so that the blue fabric I’d had sewn on the inside was now on display.
“This is not how I imagined getting you out of your clothes when I found you again, bird.”
I glared at him through narrowed eyes as I pulled the gown back over my head, and he helped me tug it down into place. Just like that, I had a whole new ensemble.
Clever, if I did say so myself.
“This may tingle a little,” I warned him, pushing my magic towards him and concentrating on the new vision I wanted to see.
Shorter. With darker hair that had fewer sun-kissed streaks than his own. Brown eyes and a nose with a narrower bridge. When it was done, he looked down at his noticeably paler complexion and frowned.
“I do not like this.”
“You don’t like much,” I said as I mutated my own form into that of an ivory-skinned woman with pale hair and a freckled nose.
“I like you,” he mused, offering me his arm.
Taking his elbow, I pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before ripping him out of the bathroom. “That is an accomplishment far too few people can boast of.”
He grumbled something I couldn’t quite make out as I dragged him back into the main foyer of the house, where men and women alike were still shuffling through the main doors that led to the theatre.
Not far behind the throngs were several men in the finest black tunics, each carrying a stringed instrument of varying size. I turned to Nikolai, brows raised.
“A band?”
He nodded, eyes scanning over the room with calculation. “I’ve come to things like this before. It’s not uncommon for there to be a performance of some sort before the auction begins. It gives people time to drink a little and loosen up.”
I took in the space’s setup as discreetly as possible.
To the left of the theatre doors was a bright hallway, where two women were hurrying to meet the men who waited for them by the center table.
They giggled, arms locked together. Another bathroom must be that way.
Or at least a place for the ladies to freshen up.
On the opposite end lingered a dim hallway, no torches or lamps to provide light. If I had to guess, I’d say this collector, whoever he was, stored all his auction items in one room near the stage so they could be easily carried back and forth. Nikolai followed my line of sight and nodded.
“Think you can cause a distraction?” I whispered through a smile.
He snorted. “Must you always doubt me?”
Within moments, the glass of water in a tall man’s hand suddenly bubbled over.
The man glanced down at it in confusion.
Not even a moment later, the glass shattered in his hands.
Guests stepped over the mess, scoffing as they entered the theatre, while the attendants at the doors immediately bent to pick up the glass shards.
It only took them a few minutes to collect everything and wipe away the water, and that was all we needed to slip behind their turned backs and hurry into the single door at the end of the hall.
Ishut the door with a breathless laugh, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline coursing happily through my veins. Gods, I lived for that sensation—the way it left you breathless while your heart pounded in an intoxicating rush. All that existed was this singular moment in time.
No pain. No grief. No fear.
Only the task at hand and getting it done as quickly as possible.
“Well then,” I shut the door behind us, careful to keep the sound of it clicking shut as soft as possible. “If I were an ancient, magical blade where would I...”
My voice trailed off when I turned, tripping as I barely stopped myself from slamming into Nikolai’s back. He stood at attention, glowering at the two guards before us.
“Who are you?” the one on the left demanded, effortlessly pulling the sword out of the scabbard on his hip and pointing it towards the center of Nikolai’s chest.
Shifting, I pushed from behind Nikolai, taking the position at his left instead and examining the two men that stood between us and those blades.
For a moment, I was oddly taken aback by the fact that they appeared nearly identical. Same slight hitch of the nose, same mop of curling orangish-red hair, same dull brown eyes. Twins.
There were identical twin men overseeing the auction items.
I almost laughed at the absurdity of it.
But then they launched toward us.
A moment of silent understanding passed between Nikolai and me as he darted to the right and I shuffled further to the left.
With one hand, I tugged up my skirt while my other instinctively wrapped around the blade secured to my thigh.
I latched onto it with just enough time to throw my weight sideways as one of the twins brought his sword down in a sweeping horizontal slash.
Ducking under his arm, I sliced the side of my blade along his ribs, feeling the characteristic sensation of skin splitting under my steel.
He hissed through his teeth, jerking toward me wildly with a vicious elbow aimed at my head.
For a moment, it felt as if the world was falling out from under me as I relaxed my legs, ducking rapidly to avoid the blow.
If he was surprised by my maneuver, he didn't show it.
He righted himself to stand in front of me before jabbing that sword at me once again.
Our dance continued that way for some time. He would swing, using either his sword or his fist, and I would weave, duck, and dodge, delivering purposeful slices whenever I could while I waited for that perfect opportunity to strike just the right place between his ribs to deliver a killing blow.
Admittedly, I dragged out the fight longer than I needed to.
This man was large and his attacks had plenty of brute strength behind them, but his technique lacked any real beauty.
He wasn’t particularly skilled or inventive, but it had been a few weeks since I’d had a proper fight and, well—as much as I loathed to admit it—I had a lot of pent-up energy from constantly maintaining this increasingly flirtatious game with Nikolai.
Almost unintentionally, I glanced over at him.
Every so often, he released small grunts and growls that drew my eye.
I shouldn't have allowed him to distract me, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself from running quick assessments about if he needed help.
If I were still training with the Order, I would have been punished mercilessly for allowing myself to be distracted.
But Nikolai was the biggest distraction I’d ever encountered.
And when I heard him inhale a quick, almost surprised gasp, it wasn’t my training or my strategic mind that drew my gaze towards him. It was the tightening of my damn heart.
That was a mistake.
While Nikolai had simply been baiting his attacker, allowing the man to think he’d nicked him, I’d sacrificed a vital moment of attention.
A large hand wrapped around my head, shoving me easily to the side with such unnatural strength that I went flying.
My head rebounded off the wall, my vision dimming for a quick moment before stars danced across my eyesight.
Fucking Brawn.
The blow to my head stunned me, and I sent a silent word of thanks to my Godly ancestor when I focused back in at the exact moment his sword came slicing towards my head.
I dropped to the ground, shooting out my legs to kick out his ankle.
He fell heavily, and I lurched towards him, my shoes splashing in the puddle as I rushed towards—
Puddle?
Water.
He was coughing up water.
My head jerked up, seeking Nikolai.
When I took him in, I couldn’t stop my eyes from widening even as my jaw fell slack.
Because even though he wore another man’s appearance, it was as if I saw him—hands tucked in his pockets, expression grim, eyes unfeeling as he used his powers to kill the man at my feet with nothing more than a thought.
The other twin already lay dead behind Nikolai.
After it was done, he extended a hand down to me, helping me to my feet.
“I was only planning to knock him out,” I mused.
Nikolai stared at that man for a long time before his eyes sought out mine. I wasn’t sure if the heat that sparked in me from that look was from concern or longing.
He straightened the necklace against my throat, fingers lingering on my skin for a moment.
“No one harms you like that and lives, bird.”