28 Maerryl
MAERRYL
At Dove’s cry, Petra’s blade retreated. Her gaze darted between Dove and the slitling. Using the moment of distraction, I grabbed Dove and pulled her around to my side, stepping us back against the sofa. With careful fingers, I tugged away the hand she held to her neck.
Sighing in relief, I said, “It’s okay. You’re okay, love. It’s not deep.” Tearing off part of my sleeve with a dagger, I pressed the linen against the wound, trying to ignore the terror at seeing red seep into the light fabric.
It’s shallow, practically a scratch. She’s fine.
Petra, however… Knowing that Dove was alright, I turned to the thief and slid two daggers into my hands.
She hardly paid us any mind though.
“This is from her,” she said, so desperately excited that I almost felt for her. Almost. How long had it been since Zephyra contacted her? Had she just been planted here months ago and left to rot? “She’s finally written.”
“Finally?” Stiv piped up, brow furrowed. “But Z sent us on this mission tonight. She must have coordinated with you… hang on—was that messenger owl I got tonight from Z actually from you?”
She ignored him, stepping toward the slitling. It watched her coldly, feathers rising.
“You impersonated Z to make this happen, to initiate the mission early? Are you mad?” Stiv near-whispered. “She’ll never let this go. Why couldn’t you just wait out your punishment here like she wanted?”
Eyes locked on the slitling, Petra said, “I refuse to spend one more week trapped in this place. I need out. And Z will forgive everything when I bring her what she wants. She will.”
Petra reached for the slitling’s leg pouch with frantic fingers, eyes gleaming. The bird let out a metallic squawk, making us all wince, as it slashed one great wing out swiftly. She stumbled back with a howl, clutching her cheek.
“Fuck! Fuck! That monster nearly blinded me,” she said, shocked tears racing down to mingle with her blood.
Finding a cloth on a nearby table—that looked suspiciously like one of Dove’s silky robes—she pressed it on her face and moved as far away from the slitling as she could, swearing quietly against the wall.
My heart pounded, but I said as snidely as I could, “You’re lucky it wasn’t your throat.”
The slitling’s steely gaze swung to me, then Dove, making my breath stop for a long moment.
But it merely assessed us and moved on to Stiv, flying the short distance to perch on top of an armchair near him.
Sticking its leg out, the bird waited. After a nervous beat, the orc slowly took a piece of parchment from the pouch and stepped away.
With a final piercing squawk, the slitling flew up and dove out of the window, back into the night.
“Horrible, horrible beast,” Dove said.
“What does it say?” I asked Stiv, trying to ignore Petra where she was now crouched by the wall in pain, trying to wrap the fabric around her face to cover the wound.
The orc rubbed a large hand over his head, sheathing his axe with a deep sigh.
“Rogue mission. Leave and return to guild for debrief. Immediately.”
His words fell into the thick air of the room. For a moment, the four of us stood still, the only sound from the mantel clock’s gentle ticking.
“I’m not leaving here without her,” Petra hissed to Stiv. “Let’s end this.”
Their attention swung to Dove. She glanced at me, fury at my betrayal written over every inch of her. I tried stepping toward her—she backed away, closer to the window. Even in danger, she wanted nothing to do with me now. Icy cold crept over my body.
“There’s no point in kidnapping me for ransom,” she said to Petra, her voice hollow. “My parents won’t have anything to pay it.”
Petra smiled chillingly. “Oh, we’re not ransoming you, Dovey dear.
I know your precious secret. The jewels.
Tonight—I could hear through the open bedroom window.
I heard you telling the dwarf everything.
” The thief’s chin jutted out at me. “Easy to get around this place without detection, if you know where to climb. She’s really not much of a good fake bodyguard, is she? ”
My heart stopped.
No. No, no, no.
“Bringing you in should be enough to appease our guildmaster’s displeasure with me. More than enough. So don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
Dove, her eyes huge and pained, continued backing away from all of us. Petra and Stiv advanced.
She glanced behind herself at the open window, then at me, and I saw the moment she shuttered her heart against me and made a decision. Turning, she raced to the windowsill and jumped onto it.
Petra shrieked and darted after Dove, quick as a blink. I desperately lunged forward to cut her off, blades outstretched, but something yanked me back, hard.
Suddenly, Stiv’s thick arm gripped me. A sharp thud struck the back of my head, and everything darkened.
The last thing I saw before my vision faded to black was Petra yanking my love down from the window by her hair, shouts filling the air. Dove’s tear-streaked face.
Then nothing.