Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Raziel watched the metropolis from the window of his study, a glass of bloodwine untouched in his hand. The meeting with his family had gone as well as could be expected—false pleasantries masking deadly politics and loathing. A Nostrom family tradition.
Night had fallen, the two moons hanging in the sky like mismatched eyes watching the world below. The Father moon, full and bright; the Mother moon, a thin black crescent cutting through the darkness, only visible in its darker emptiness.
Behind him, the door opened. Without turning, he knew it was Nadi. He’d recognize her sound and scent anywhere now—the pattern of her steps, and that faint hint of sea salt and something else, something fae, that lingered beneath whatever perfume she wore as Monica.
“You’ve been quiet since we returned.” Her footsteps were barely audible against the hardwood floor when she was herself. He wondered if that was because she was fae, or if that was because she was a practiced assassin.
Raziel turned, taking in the sight of her. She’d abandoned Monica’s appearance within the privacy of his home, and her pale green-blue skin was nearly luminescent in the low light. He preferred her this way—real, unfettered by the lies they wore like armor everywhere else.
“I’ve been thinking,” he replied, setting down his untouched glass. “About my siblings. About what they might have offered you. I know you’re considering taking their offers and turning on me, even now.”
Her expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
Most wouldn’t have noticed, but Raziel had spent centuries reading the tiny signs in the expressions of his enemies.
And despite everything, despite whatever was growing between them, Nadi remained a potential threat.
Perhaps the most dangerous he’d ever encountered.
Not undoubtably so.
“You’ve known all along.” It wasn’t a question.
“I suspected.” He moved away from the window, circling his desk to stand before her. “Mael has always been transparent in his desires. And Lana…” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Lana has never seen a weapon she didn’t want to wield herself.”
Nadi held his gaze, unflinching. He could see the calculation behind those opalescent eyes—weighing what to tell him, what to conceal. Finally, the words hanging in the air like the daggers she loved to wield, she spoke. “They want me to kill you.”
Despite having anticipated this, hearing it spoken aloud sent a cold sensation rippling through him. Not fear—he’d long since had that beaten out of him—but something else. Something almost like disappointment.
No. Worse than that.
Rejection.
“Both of them? Separately?” He kept his tone and his face neutral.
“Yes and no. I think they’re working separately most of the time, but together for a single goal at the moment.
” She moved past him to pour herself a glass of alcohol, her movements fluid and precise.
“Mael approached me first. He claims he wants to protect me from the monster he believes you to be.” She turned back to face him, a sardonic smile playing at her lips. “Ironic, considering what I am.”
“And Lana?”
“Lana is more direct. She offered me your seat at the table once you’re gone.” Nadi sipped her drink, watching him over the rim of the glass. “She thinks I’m a spy, though she doesn’t know what kind. She finds it ‘fantastic,’ to use her word. I don’t think she’s told Mael her suspicions.”
Raziel laughed, the sound echoing in the quiet room. “Of course she does. My sister has always appreciated audacity.” He studied Nadi’s face, searching for any sign of deception. “And how did you respond to these generous offers?”
“I played along.” She set her glass down with a clink. “I let them believe I’m considering their proposals. That I’m afraid of you, that I might be willing to betray you if given enough incentive.”
“And are you?” He asked the question before he could stop himself.
Something shifted in her expression—a flicker of surprise, perhaps even hurt. “If I were, would I be telling you about their offers now?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Slowly, he took a step closer to her. “If you thought it would gain my trust. Make me lower my guard. If it served a purpose for you.”
She didn’t back away. “Then why ask? If you’ll only doubt my answer?”
It was a fair question. Why indeed? He’d spent centuries trusting no one, questioning every motive, seeing manipulation in every kindness. It had kept him alive. Why change that pattern now, for this fae assassin who had infiltrated his life with the express purpose of destroying him?
“Because I find myself wanting to believe you.”
Nadi’s eyes widened slightly, the only visible reaction to his admission. “Bullshit. You wouldn’t be so reckless.”
“It is reckless.” He reached out, tracing the line of her jaw with his fingertips. “Nearly as reckless as sparing my life was for you.”
She didn’t flinch from his touch. “Yet here we are.”
“Here we are,” he agreed. “Both of us making choices that go very much against our… better natures.”
Her hand caught his. She held it against her cheek for a moment before lowering it. “I’m not betraying you to your siblings, Raziel. Not now. We have a deal—your family falls, and then we settle our score.”
It wasn’t quite the declaration of loyalty he might have wanted, but it was honest. And honesty, he was beginning to realize, was a rare and precious thing in his world.
“Then, we’re still allies.” He stepped back to give her space.
“We’re something.” Her voice was softer than he was accustomed to hearing from her. “I’m not sure ‘allies’ fully captures it anymore.”
The admission hung between them, neither of them willing to define that “something” more precisely. To name it would be to acknowledge it, and acknowledgment would make it real. Dangerous. Potentially fatal for them both.
“Tell me more about your conversation with my siblings.” He proverbially retreated to safer ground. “What exactly does Mael claim he can offer you?”
Nadi followed his lead, her posture relaxing slightly. “Protection. If you do have to live, a place in the family hierarchy, positioned as the bridge between you and him. He seems to genuinely believe that keeping you alive but controlled is preferable to killing you.”
“How magnanimous of him.” Raziel’s lip curled. “And what does my dear brother think would control me?”
“Me, of course.” She huffed a laugh. “He thinks I’m your weakness.”
The statement should have angered him. Throughout his long life, he’d systematically eliminated anything that could be used against him, any vulnerability that might be exploited. Weapons had no hearts to break.
Wincing, he turned his back to her to look out the window. He struggled to find the strength to deny the accusation. “He’ll see that I’ve gone to considerable lengths to keep you alive now.”
Silence stretched between them for a long minute, as a question burned through him like acid. “Do you trust me, Nadi?”
Her long pause before she answered was more of an answer than her response. “I’m not sure.”
“Trust is a luxury neither of us can afford. Certainly something we haven’t been able to enjoy in the past. But perhaps we can manage something adjacent to it. A mutual understanding.”
“Based on what?”
“On the fact that we’ve both had opportunities to destroy each other and chosen not to take them.” He moved to the sideboard, pouring himself a fresh glass of bloodwine. “On the fact that, despite everything, we keep choosing each other over alternatives that would objectively benefit us more.”
She was studying him, half curious, half dubious. “That’s not trust. That’s… mutual insanity.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Is there a difference in our case?”
“Fair point.” She almost smiled back. “So, what now? We continue our charade? Let your siblings believe they’re turning me against you?”
“Yes.” He sipped his drink, the rich flavor of blood barely registering. It was a distraction. And a poor substitute for what he really wanted—hers. “We use their arrogance against them. Let them think they’ve found your price, that you’re malleable, falling under their influence.”
“While we plan their deaths.”
“Precisely. Starting with Mael at the wedding.”
Nadi nodded, her expression turning thoughtful. “Mael mentioned the ledger from Braen’s club. I can use it as bait.”
“It shouldn’t matter to him. We need to find out why he needs it.”
“There are only three reasons I can think of. Either he was involved, he plans to blackmail someone who was, or he plans to use it as a bargaining chip.”
“Or some combination of the three.” Raziel’s mind raced with the implications. Her quick assessment of the situation was correct, but which of the options remained the question. “The ledger could be valuable leverage against more than just the Rosovs. If certain names appear in those records…”
“It could topple more than one powerful family,” Nadi agreed. “Where is it?”
Raziel hesitated. This was the moment—to trust or not to trust. The ledger was one of the few pieces of concrete evidence they had, a potential weapon against multiple enemies. Sharing its location would be a significant risk.
“It’s in a safe deposit box at the Mercantile Exchange Bank,” he said finally. “Box number 227. Ivan has the key, but the security override code is 57-82-97. Even without the key, that will get you in.”
The look of surprise on her face was genuine. “You’re actually telling me?”
“If I were to die, you would need access to it.” He finished his wine, setting the glass aside. “Consider it… a long overdue wedding gift.”
She studied him, as if trying to decode some hidden meaning in his words. “This mutual understanding we’re building really is insanity. I don’t know if I like it.”
“Imagine how I feel.” He chuckled.