CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Davien
WE ARRIVED AT the shoddy looking address Niko had given me just as the sky hovered in that awkward space between late afternoon and dusk, the light thinning into something dull and grey that clung to the edges of the building.
A narrow street, uneven pavement, bins left out too long, the kind of place people passed through quickly without ever really seeing it. The building itself was just as unremarkable; cracked brickwork, peeling paint around the windows, damp covered walls.
Niko always knew how to choose a place.
Hard to find and easy to ignore.
His voice on the phone earlier had been a little on edge, but that wasn’t unusual for Niko. He was careful. Really really careful. It was one of the reasons I trusted him.
I knocked twice—hard and deliberate, just like he’d instructed over the phone.
Behind me, Ailsa shifted her weight. I’d gotten used to her always being around.
Training had changed something between us—whether either of us wanted to admit that or not.
Things were easy now. She listened, and she was improving.
She fought me, yes, but with purpose, and I knew beneath her defiance was at least a little bit of trust.
I trusted her too.
More than I probably should.
She lingered a step behind me, hands tucked into the sleeves of the leather jacket she’d stolen from me a week ago. It was far too big for her, but a small part of me—okay, a huge part of me—liked how she looked in it, so I didn’t fight her on the theft.
The door cracked open just enough for a single eye to peer through.
“Nikolai,” I said.
There was a beat of silence.
“You alone?”
“No.”
Another pause, longer this time. His eyes shifted, trying to see past me. “You were followed?”
“No. She’s with me.”
Silence stretched once more. Then the door opened wider, just enough for him to step into view.
Niko looked much the same as he always had—short blond hair, sharp features half-hidden beneath a carefully neutral expression, clothes that were stylish without standing out.
His gaze flicked between Ailsa and I, then he abruptly stepped aside. “Get in.”
We didn’t hesitate.
The door shut quickly behind us, locks sliding into place one after another.
The flat itself was small, basement level. Low ceilings with the faint smell of damp clinging to the mismatched furniture that had clearly been here a decade too long. Papers were scattered across a small table, maps pinned to one wall with markings that meant nothing to anyone but him.
Temporary.
Niko turned back to me, tension easing from him as recognition settled properly into his features.
“Well,” he said, a crooked smile finally breaking through. “You look like shit.”
“Good to see you too,” I drawled. Why does everyone always say that to me?
He stepped forward, pulling me into a brief clasp of the shoulder before stepping back again, his attention shifting past me.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Sorry, yeah,” I said, glancing back at her. “This is Ailsa.”
She gave a small, slightly awkward lift of her hand.
Niko smiled at her. “Ailsa,” he repeated. “Pleasure.”
Then his gaze slid back to me. “What can I help you with, old friend?”
Old friend wasn’t an exaggeration, I’d known Niko for over six centuries at this point. More than enough time to learn what a man valued. What he feared and what he would—and wouldn’t—risk. He was an interesting character—a turned one, like myself—but he’d somehow always managed to avoid the Ninth.
How he’d managed that I wasn’t sure, but they were his secrets to keep.
And Niko had more than most. He moved between worlds. Smuggled things that shouldn’t exist. Carried knowledge, objects… sometimes people. All thanks to a device gifted to him by his maker long ago.
A dangerous thing.
Rare.
The kind the Ninth would kill for.
Which was precisely why I’d avoided him for so long.
Until now.
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face as I considered how much to say.
If there was anyone I could trust with this, it was him.
“We need to disappear,” I said plainly. “Completely.”
His expression didn’t change, but his eyes focused.
“How far?”
“As far as you can take us.”
A beat.
“And why,” he asked carefully, “do I get the feeling you’ve fucked something up?”
My gaze flicked briefly to Ailsa.
“Can you help or not?”
“I can.”
Niko held my gaze for a moment longer, weighing something unspoken before exhaling through his nose and stepping back, rolling his shoulders as though physically setting the problem aside for later.
“Alright,” he said, voice lighter now, though the tension hadn’t left his eyes entirely. “You both look like you could do with a break, so, sit. Both of you. I’ll see what I can do.”
He gestured vaguely toward the worn sofa and a chair that looked like it might collapse under anything heavier than a strong opinion.
“I’ll need a minute,” he added, already turning away. “Or several. Depends on how complicated you’ve made my life.”
“Story of my existence,” I muttered.
He huffed something that might have been a laugh and disappeared through a narrow doorway at the back of the room, leaving us alone in the dim, cluttered space.
Ailsa hesitated for half a second before dropping onto the sofa, testing it much the same way she tested everything.
I remained standing.
“Sit down, you’re making me nervous,” she said, glancing up at me.
“You’re nervous?” I scoffed.
“Yes,” she said plainly. “You hovering like a brooding statue isn’t helping.”
I ignored her for all of five seconds. Then sat down beside her.
“What exactly does he do? She asked, her voice quieter now.
“Things you don’t need to worry about,” I replied.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
“How do you know him?”
“A long story.”
She rolled her eyes, leaning back into the sofa.
A few minutes passed before Niko reappeared, a small metallic object in his hand, turning it over thoughtfully between his fingers.
“I’ll need time,” he said. “I’ve reached out to one of my contacts, he should get back to me in a couple of hours. Then I’ll know more.”
Niko disappeared again, returning shortly after with a bottle of vodka and three small glasses.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” he said, pouring himself a measure.
Ailsa huffed a small laugh at that, her gaze already wandering the room. Then she stood, curiosity apparently having won.
“What’s all this?” she asked, moving toward the wall cluttered with objects—some recognisable, most not.
Niko followed her gaze. “Ah,” he said, a spark of something almost boyish lighting in his features. “Now, that is a far more interesting question.”
I leaned back slightly, arms folded, watching as he reached past her to pick up a small, intricately carved object. Bone, by the look of it, though I failed to see why that made it interesting.
“Found it just last week,” he said, handing it to her carefully. “Or rather, acquired it. It’s older than it looks. Much older.”
She turned it over in her hands, eyes narrowing in concentration.
“What does it do?”
He smiled. “Depends who’s holding it.”
That earned him a look. “Oh, come on,” she said. “You can’t just say that and not elaborate.”
I didn’t hear what he said in response—I’d stopped paying attention but she laughed at whatever it was he said. Actually laughed, and my chest tightened at the sound.
Niko moved on, pulling out another object and they fell into easy conversation.
Back and forth.
Questions and answers, her curiosity pulling things from him that he wouldn’t have given just anyone, his amusement growing with each one.
She leaned closer when he spoke, eyes bright, completely engaged.
He leaned in too.
I watched the way she smiled at him—unguarded, lighter than I’d ever seen.
And I saw the way he looked at her in return.
Like he was interested.
I exhaled slowly though my nose, dragging a hand down my jaw as I forced myself to look away.
This was good. Normal. She needed this; something that wasn’t training, me pushing her, controlling every move she made.
She was safe here.
She should enjoy this brief moment of normality.
She laughed again, shaking her head at something he’d said, her shoulder brushing lightly against his as she handed the object back.
Pain in my jaw alerted me to the fact that I’d been clenching my teeth unknowingly. I pulled a hand down over my face on an exhale. I really didn’t like watching her flirt so obviously with him.
I stilled.
Was I jealous?
Why? It’s not like she was mine. She was free to fuck whomever she wanted.
But why Niko, for fucks sake?
Okay yeah, he was attractive—obviously—I wasn’t blind.
But I didn’t like the way he looked at her.
I didn’t even know what they were talking about, I was so focused on their body language. Why was she smiling like that, and why the fuck was he touching her arm like that?
More importantly, why did I give a fuck?
I stood abruptly, pulling their attention as though they only just remembered I was here.
“Time to go.”
Ailsa rolled her eyes. “We only just got here. Don’t you need to wait to hear back from his contacts or whatever?”
Shit. That’s right.
I’d literally managed to forget why we were even here.
Still, I wanted to get her away from him. “We can come back later, no point sitting about here.”
“Oh, come on,” she protested. “This is the most fun thing we’ve done in ages.”
I really didn’t see what was ‘fun’ about being here and looking at boring objects.
“Yeah, come on, Davien,” Niko said with a grin that told me I was outnumbered. “How about we head out for some drinks while we wait. I know a nice little place where it’s safe.”
“No, it’s too dangerous.” But not for the reason you think.
“It’s always dangerous,” Ailsa chastised as she took two steps toward me, wagging a finger. “I think you’ve just forgotten how to not be so bloody moody all the time. Remember that time you taught me how to compel? We had fun then, didn’t we? I know you know how to laugh.”
“It’s a quiet little spot. Just a few drinks,” Niko offered.
I didn’t like this. Any of it. The idea of being out in the open. Didn’t like the way she was looking at him. Didn’t like that I suddenly felt the need to prove something.
I’m not always fucking moody.
I clenched my jaw. “Fine.”
And damn me, the way her eyes lit up did something to me I didn’t have the guts to admit.
Niko led us though back streets that grew progressively narrower and less welcoming, until we reached the mouth of a dimly lit alley that looked like it hadn’t seen sunlight—or law enforcement—in years.
At the very end of it sat a bar.
A flickering neon sign buzzed overhead, half the letters missing, the doors scuffed and worn from years of use. Inside, the air was thick with stale smoke and the scent of cheap alcohol.
Only the odd head lifted up when we entered.
The place was quiet, but nice enough if you liked old man bars.
Niko didn’t hesitate and moved straight through the room like he owned it, and commandeered us some seats by the bar. He’d clearly been here before. The man did like a drink, so it made sense.
I’d just about managed to get myself comfortable as Ailsa looked around the bar with disappointment.
“Urgh,” she complained as she shrugged her—my—leather jacket off her shoulders, revealing a tight fitting dress that hugged her curves perfectly.
She wore a sheer long sleeved top of some kind beneath it and had completed the outfit with her usual steel toe leather boots.
She’d made complaints about the clothing I had picked for her and insisted on letting me get her own, and for some reason, I let her.
Though right now, I wished I hadn’t because she looked far too confident, and that only made her all the more tempting.
“This place is just as boring as Davien,” she continued, earning a laugh from Niko who’d already haggled for a bottle of the finest whiskey the place had to offer.
“We just got here,” he said, eyeing her in a way I really didn’t fucking appreciate. “Though I wouldn’t say no to taking you home.”
I almost spat out my drink as I threw dagger eyes at him. “Like fuck you will.”
“Calm down, Davien,” Ailsa interjected, laughing off the situation like she knew Niko was just trying to rile me up and get under my skin. But I didn’t miss the way her cheeks had flushed.
“Relax,” he said jokingly. “I’m just messing with you, but I do have an idea on some fun we could have.”
Before I could respond and tell him his jokes weren’t funny, he whirled around the room in a blur before settling back into the seat beside us.
“Attention, everyone,” he said looking at the punters, and his words settled over them like a blanket. That’s when I realised he’d compelled them all.
“Let’s have a bit of honesty, shall we?”
Ailsa went still beside me, bar the way she toyed with her medusa piercing, her attention on him now in a way I didn’t want to analyse too closely.
“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” Niko asked lightly, as though he were making idle conversation.
At first there was nothing but silence, but soon enough, one by one, they started talking. Quietly confessing, each more uncomfortable than the last. Petty things at first—little lies and betrayals—but then deeper darker truths began to surface.
Niko listened, patiently and amused. Until he chose a man who was in his mid-forties by the look of him, rough hands, shoulders slumped under the weight of his confession. Niko stepped toward him slowly. “You.”
The man’s head lifted, his expression blank as he waited for Niko’s instruction.
“Tell me again,” Niko prompted softly.
And the man did.
Niko nodded, satisfied. Then without breaking eye contact, “Take this glass. Fill it with your blood.”
Ailsa’s breath hitched beside me and Niko’s gaze flicked briefly to me before handing the man a knife and glass.
Niko turned away before it was done, as though it bored him already, returning to us with that same easy, composed expression.
“Waste not,” he said lightly, reaching for the glass and offering it out to us.
Ailsa stared at it, then him.
Then, unexpectedly, she huffed a quiet disbelieving laugh as she shook her head.
“God,” she muttered. “You’re all completely unhinged.”
Niko grinned.
“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” she said, taking the glass from him.
“Impossible,” he replied easily.
Their hands brushed.
Brief but intentional.
My jaw clenched.
So I did the only thing I could think to do and grabbed a glass from her hand. Maybe some fresh blood would distract me.