Chapter 27
In the morning, we ate breakfast with everyone in the courtyard.
The sun warmed my face and the birds sang in the trees.
I sat with my friends but kept an eye on Beast for any signs he remembered what had happened a couple nights ago.
It was ridiculous to even worry. If he did, he would have already gone to the Commanders and Vander wouldn’t be here.
Still, paranoia that someone would find out Vander’s secret ate away at me.
What if we had an encounter with the Nocturnus vampires when other assassins were around and they outed him?
If Belladonna was tired of waiting for him to join their side, they might start pushing to expose him.
Even one of them calling him “brother” again would make assassins suspicious.
I wanted her dead. I thought back to Celine saying us women would have to do it.
I wanted it to be me. Belladonna thinking she had some kind of claim on Vander awakened a darkness inside me I hadn’t realized was there.
“Did you hear that Commander Ace said we’re going to take out Dravyn Knox tomorrow night?
She and Commander Locke are going to come out and brief us on the details before dinner is over.
” Celine nudged my side. “But better news, we get the night off tonight! I heard some of the others talking about going into the city, just us apprentices. Are you in?”
“Uh, yeah sure.” Vander had already told me about the mission. I picked at my food. I didn’t feel like eating. Even though the ham and potatoes and fruit smelled delicious.
“What’s wrong with you?” Taewyn squinted at me as if he could read my mind by doing so.
“Nothing.”
“You seem off. You’ve been waiting for this mission. Aren’t you excited?”
Shadowhawk leaned forward from Celine’s other side as if waiting for my answer. He didn’t say much to me or Taewyn usually. It was clear he sat at our table for Celine.
I nodded and forced myself to smile. “I can’t wait to take the bastard out.”
“That’s more like it.” Celine picked up her mug of steaming tea. “So, tonight I’m thinking The Nightcap for drinks and dancing. We don’t have to go with the other apprentices. How about the four of us meet here at dusk?”
I sighed. Ordinarily I’d be thrilled to go out into the city for fun.
“You realize the Commander is giving us a night off because some of us will die tomorrow.” Vander warned me I could watch my friends fall, and I hadn’t gotten it out of my head.
That and him threatening to leave after Dravyn was killed.
Taewyn, Celine, and even Shadowhawk stared at me. Celine finally cracked a smile. “Well, you’re just a little black rain cloud today, aren’t you?”
“Did something happen with you and Viper?” Taewyn asked. He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “He’s watching you right now.”
I swallowed hard and didn’t look up. “No. Just the usual training.”
“So you haven’t tried laying naked in bed yet? I’ve been waiting for the day you give me some good gossip,” Celine teased.
“Ugh.” Taewyn shook his head. “I did not just hear that. I’m not going to be complicit in plans to break rules.”
Shadowhawk let out a quiet snicker. I didn’t tease them about their relationship, I didn’t know why Celine had to be up my ass about mine.
Although she did willingly spill all the details of her relationship without me asking when we were training.
I knew much more about Shadowhawk than I ever wanted to.
I truly didn’t need to know the size of his manhood and where he put it.
“Like I said, nothing is happening.” I couldn’t humiliate myself further by acting desperate. It would truly crush me if he turned me down again after I bared myself to him.
“My god, he didn’t reject you, did he?” Celine’s eyes widened.
“Smoke,” Shadowhawk said as a chastisement. “Not here.” At least the quiet one had my back. Taewyn ate his food like he hadn’t heard anything.
I shushed her and scowled. There were other people at this table beside us and the last thing I needed was someone to go tattle to the Commanders that something was going on between Viper and me, when there wasn’t. “Will you shut up about it?”
Celine held up her hands in surrender. “Fine. So, are we going to The Nightcap or what?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you here at dusk like you said.”
“Good. And leave the black rain cloud behind. I want to have fun, especially if I might die tomorrow.”
The sunset painted the sky with stunning shades of pink and salmon.
Stars winked as night began to settle around us on the streets of the city.
I wore a set of my new clothes from Murial’s shop.
The top was fitted on my torso, with a square neckline and long puffed sleeves that tightened at the wrist. It was short enough that it showed a sliver of skin around my belly.
The azure blue went well with my skin and brought out the copper in my light hair.
My black pants fitted snugly, not quite as tight as my assassin uniform, but close.
The boots Murial had snuck in were a charcoal-gray, heeled and hit just below my knee.
My stomach was in knots when I left Vander in the room.
He insisted I go out even though he wouldn’t be joining us and his excuse was simple.
“Just like I don’t eat at the apprentice table, I don’t drink with them either.
The other trainers aren’t going.” But ever since our encounter with the vampires a few days before, he’d been quiet, unsettled.
It felt like he was pulling away from me, already halfway gone in his mind despite promising to fight harder.
I was terrified I’d come back home tonight and he’d be gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I couldn’t imagine him fighting for them, but if he turned himself over to Belladonna, what would that mean? They would torture him until he complied? Lock him in a cell? Even if he went to them like Belladonna wanted, they could still target me to get him to comply, and I’d told him that.
The only reason I could bear to leave him alone was because our mission to assassinate Dravyn Knox was tomorrow and he wouldn’t miss that. And since there was a chance this was my last night alive, I promised Celine and myself I would go and have fun.
The main street was crowded. Once we arrived at The Nightcap, we were met with a line to get in.
Thankfully it didn’t take long. Tonight Celine had lined her eyes with dark kohl and wore her hair in braids and twists, much like the first day I’d met her.
Her ivory top hung off her shoulder on one side and was low-cut in the back, showing off her muscles, but her LOA tattoo was covered.
It took a few fluttering eyelashes, compliments, and giggles from her for the doorman to move us in quickly, and we pulled Taewyn and Shadowhawk in with us.
The music thumped, people stamped their feet to the beat. A cloud of harsh cigar smoke hung in the air. The rudimentary circle chandeliers dripped an occasional drop of candle wax.
Celine had a cigarette in her mouth as soon as we crossed the threshold. “Falcon isn’t here to tell me no tonight.” She giggled and let out a puff.
Shadowhawk borrowed it from her and took a pull himself.
I didn’t know him well, but I was grateful she’d moved on from Beast. He was the opposite of Beast in many ways, darker hair, olive skin, broader, quiet, not an asshole.
I found it interesting that she could be attracted to two completely different types of men.
We hung our swords on the hooks on the weapons wall beside several mage staffs, warrior broadswords, a couple axes, and one bow with a quiver of arrows.
Celine said there were enchantments on the wall to prevent thieves from taking a weapon or staff that didn’t belong to them.
I didn’t know how the magic knew, but I trusted it.
Taewyn took my hand, and I held Celine’s while he led us through the crowd to the bar top.
The smell of stale ale hit me. There was a mix of ages, from other young people to older folks with white hair and gray beards.
Most of the old men and women sat at the gambling tables rolling dice and pushing coins.
While the younger crowd spun and danced in front of the band.
It reminded me of the longhouse back home.
The barmaid stopped before us. Large gold hoops dangled from her ears and half her bosom hung out of her tight dress. “What can I get for you, darlings?”
“I’ll take a pint of ale,” Taewyn answered.
“Two shots of whisky for me,” Celine said.
“Ale,” Shadowhawk added.
I didn’t truly care for either of those drinks and glanced at the menu on the wall behind her. Ale, whisky, or mead. Not much of a variety. “None of these drinks are enchanted, are they?”
Taewyn snickered. “Not here. No worries, Aesira. You won’t need Vander to carry you out this time.”
I rolled my eyes at him but smiled. “In that case, can I get a half pint of honey mead, please?” It was sweeter than ale at least.
“Coming right up.”
With our drinks in hand, we found an empty table.
It was only a few minutes later that Taewyn pulled me onto the dance floor after Celine and Shadowhawk.
I giggled as he spun me around. With only friendship between us, it made it easy to relax and move to the music.
I wasn’t thinking about where his hands were or what was on his mind.
We hooked elbows to the upbeat tune and skipped in a circle, laughing the entire time.
I tried not to think about Kace, but our last meeting bothered me. I left upset with him. Why did he have to tear the knot from Vander’s neck? After losing my mother, I didn’t want to be on bad terms with anyone I cared for. I shouldn’t have left without speaking to him properly again.
Vander weighed heavily on my mind too, but I’d already begged him to stay. What else could I do?