4 SCION
THE CUTTHROAT DISTRICT, INBETWIXT
“Alright, mate?”
I looked up at the sound of Cross’s voice and blanched. The room was nearly empty. The meeting must have ended some time ago, and I hadn’t bothered to notice.
I shook my head, struggling to think of a truthful answer that would appease him. “I’m…tired.”
That was true enough. I’d hardly ever slept worse than I had this week, for a number of reasons, not least of which was the constant noise of the thieves’ den.
Cross seemed to read some of this in my expression, because his grin widened behind his copper beard. “The barracks not what you expected?”
I gave a stiff jerk of my head, that could have meant anything, being neither a nod nor a shake. I didn’t have the energy to come up with a satisfactory misdirection, nor did I want to openly insult my only friend outside my own bloodline by telling him that, if not for our long friendship, I would have slaughtered every single one of his children for just one hour of peaceful sleep.
“You could always sleep up in the house. No one is forcing you into this exile, Sci.”
“No.”
I grunted. I’d heard enough this morning to confirm my decision not to set foot anywhere near the townhouse bedrooms. I’d rather take my chances fending off Cross’s many daughters.
I pushed my chair back from the table, and the sound of wood scraping against stone sent a new throbbing through the back of my skull.
“Did you want something?”
I asked, realizing Cross still hadn’t moved from where he stood beside my chair.
“Not especially, just curious to know your plans.”
I raised a sore eyebrow and pressed my lips together in a flat line. It was clear he really wanted to ask if I was planning to go with Lonnie, or if I’d be traveling to Overcast with the rest of my family. If only I knew the answer to that myself, I’d gladly tell him.
Unfortunately, whenever I considered Aftermath, my mind was stuck on the same scenes, replaying them over and over. The thick, black smoke clouding the air and suffocating me. The unrelenting flames devoured everything in their path, reducing buildings to rubble. The desperate cries of villagers, a mix of Fae and humans, as they fled for their lives.
I had absolutely no desire to set foot in that hell ever again, but still, I was considering it, and I wished desperately that I could convince myself there was any reason other than the obvious; where that infuriating, stubborn, beautiful woman went, I felt compelled to follow…even if it was the worst decision I could ever possibly make.
“Just say what you came to say, Cross, or I’m going to go try to sleep.”
“I just thought I’d let you know we’ll be leaving tonight instead,”
he replied.
“Why the change?”
“Siobhan’s idea.”
He jabbed a thumb behind him, indicating one of his crew I knew he was especially fond of. “It’s good, yeah? Always best to leave a false trail when dealing with your brother, so he might see the meeting, but get the details wrong.”
I grunted in lackluster acknowledgement. His efforts were undoubtedly good, but ultimately pointless. The truth was that if Ambrose had seen Lonnie leaving the city and wanted to go after her, no amount of planning could stop him. It was impossible to out maneuver a seer as talented as my brother. I’d learned that lesson time and time again, but the destruction of our home had finally made it stick.
When I met my brother in battle, it would be no surprise, but a test of pure strength, and I took some satisfaction in the knowledge that he’d know I was about to kill him.
It was barely mid-day, and I already knew that no amount of exhaustion could force me to sleep at this hour. Still, anything was preferable to lingering out in the den. I’d found Lonnie’s constant presence impossible to ignore when we inhabited the same enormous fortress. Now, I would have traded anything for my most pressing problem to be the woman haunting my tower.
I stepped into the barracks and was reminded of telling Lonnie that I’d die before letting her sleep here. The sentiment hadn’t been nearly strong enough.
The room was nearly as long as the den itself, with two-dozen beds placed end to end along each wall. At a glance, nearly every bed was occupied. Some people were sleeping, others talking, while still more engaged in far livelier activities until the sounds of heavy breathing, snoring, whispers, and sex filled my ears.
I strode toward the nearest bed, and kicked it. “Move.”
The occupant, a young-looking Demi-Fae male, rolled over and blinked sleepy eyes up at me. “What’s wrong? Is father calling?”
I glowered. I would never get used to anyone calling Cross “father.”
Not when I’d known him since he was barely older than the idiot in this bed. “Get up.”
Seeming to realize whom he was speaking to, the boy rubbed his eyes and blanched. “But…I was working all night.”
“What gives you the impression that I am a sympathetic sort? Get the fuck out.”
He scrambled to his feet, leaving the bed unoccupied. I sat on the edge to unlace my boots and sighed before lying flat on my back. I stared at the cobwebbed ceiling and ground my teeth, listening to the raised voices from the next bed over.
There was nowhere to hide in the thieves’ den. Nowhere to go for a moment’s solitude, where my entire cursed family could not find me, or sixty-odd thieves were sleeping or fighting or fucking at any given moment. Nowhere to go where she wasn’t.
The end of my mattress dipped, and I glanced up, startled. My eyes widened slightly. A curvy, lavender haired female dressed in the same training leathers as the rest of Cross’s crew sat at the foot of the mattress. I raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.
“Hi,”
the thief said. “I’m Maeve.”
I stared at her, unaffected. This was becoming a daily occurrence, as if those I’d already rejected had spoken to friends, and now they’d made a game over it. Normally, I’d enjoy the attention, but not now. Now, I wanted nothing more than to be left alone.
My continued silence seemed to rattle the thief, because she shook herself before continuing again. “You’re in my bed.”
Thinking of the male I’d just displaced, I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“Yes.”
She giggled. “But, I don’t mind sharing.”
The corner of my lip tipped up in a sneer. Even if I’d been in the mood to fuck anyone, the woman’s lies would have made me turn her away.
I couldn’t stand any more lying humans.
“Even if these beds were assigned, which I know they’re not, I’d still tell you to go sleep on the floor. I don’t want company.”
Her smile vanished, and she leaned back, affronted. Frankly, I thought she got off rather easily. If I’d had the energy to truly scare her, perhaps I would not have to deal with any more of these propositions. Only, somehow, I was beginning to feel guilty over breaking humans just for the sake of it.
I rolled over again, attempting to ignore the sounds of the barracks. With every passing second, I regretted my refusal to sleep in the main house. But then, the memory of this morning would creep into my subconscious—of storming into the same upstairs hall that I’d comfortably walked only last week, and hearing her familiar breathy moans. I knew the sound instantly, and that alone was alarming. How many cries of pleasure had I heard over the years? Too many to count, yet for some reason I could have picked hers out of an entire chorus of voices. Horrifying to say the least.
Footsteps sounded beside the bed, and I ground my teeth without opening my eyes. “I thought I made it clear I’m not going to fuck you.”
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to find some way to quell my disappointment.”
I opened my eyes abruptly at the sound of the unexpected voice. Lonnie stood at the end of my bed, arms crossed, jaw set. She looked like she was trying very hard to seem aloof, but her hands shook and I could hear her erratic heartbeat thrumming too fast to be normal.
I sat up too fast and my head spun. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Obviously,”
she said, almost bitterly, keeping her huge brown eyes fixed on the bed. “I’m well aware of how repulsive you find your attraction to me, my lord.”
I cocked my head. Lonnie was dressed unlike anything I’d ever seen her wear, in clothing no doubt borrowed from Siobhan. Her trousers and bodice were leather, with a low-cut white blouse and a black beaded belt. Her long curls were left loose and untamed, falling in a halo around her shoulders. I blinked slowly at her. “You don’t know fucking anything.”
“Don’t I? You can’t lie, so you must’ve meant it when you said you wanted me, but you won’t do anything about it. What am I meant to assume?”
If not for the persistent noise of the room, and the throbbing pain in my face, I might have thought I’d fallen asleep after-all. This felt like a dream. Or a test. She could not truly have come to find me just to ask if I wanted her, there had to be something else she wanted. “What are you doing here?”
She took a step forward, still not looking me in the eye. “You didn’t say anything during the meeting.”
My brow furrowed. “That’s not true.”
She swallowed heavily, and I was distracted for a second watching her throat work. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was in pain. “I meant, you didn’t say anything about if you intended to travel with us.”
“There’s nothing in Aftermath except ruins and afflicted and the source knows what other fucking creatures. Going there is suicide.”
The corner of her mouth tipped up unexpectedly. “Bael said much the same thing.”
Good. At least he hadn’t completely lost his mind. “Then why go?”
“I’ve explained this. If my mother is alive, she is most likely in the north. In any case, I was born there. You are correct that there are dangers in the north, but that’s not all there is.”
I shook my head. “And you seem to forget that I spent a decade in Aftermath. I know perfectly well what hell awaits us there, and I have no desire to return.”
She pressed her lips flat together. “So, you are not coming with us?”
I sat up straighter, so we were nearly eye-level. “Are you asking me to?”
“Would it matter if I did?”
she asked, answering my question with a question in a way that would make any of the Fae proud.
For a long moment, I forgot the sound of the room. I could hear nothing but my own heartbeat, and her breathing. I licked my lips. “Perhaps.”
“Perhaps.”
She sneered. “Perhaps you could be doing anything. Just say what you mean, Scion.”
The sound of my name from her lips seemed to resonate through me like a siren song, but I pressed my own lips together, saying nothing, because I could not—could never.
Perhaps if she said she wanted me, I wouldn’t be able to deny her.
Perhaps I’d thrown myself head-long into the plans for taking back the capital, filling every waking hour with work, because I was determined to keep the vow I’d made to Bael in the crumbling tower; resolute in my conviction to avoid Lonnie until he asked otherwise, and never to betray our friendship again over this damned woman.
Perhaps I’d never had a reason to envy my cousin anything, but now I feared I’d grow to hate him because he was the one whom she’d deemed worthy of forgiveness; the one sharing her bed every night and making her late to breakfast.
Perhaps…
“Will you go to Overcast with the rest of your family?”
she asked when I remained silent too long.
“No,”
I replied, realizing this for the first time myself. Until I’d spoken I had not been certain that I had no intention of going into hiding along with the others, but now that seemed as if it should’ve been obvious all along.
“What, then?”
she asked. “Or were you planning to make me keep guessing?”
“I wasn’t planning on anything. You’re the one who sought me out, rebel.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t avoiding me.”
My lip curled. “Did you ever stop to think about why that might be? What if I don’t want to see you?”
She shook her head, brow furrowed in anger, and stepped back toward the door. “Right, never mind. I don’t know what possessed me to come down here.”
My jaw clenched as I turned my head away, unable to mask the anger boiling within me. Her leather boots thudded against the floor, a constant reminder of her presence and my frustration. But just as she reached the door, I heard her steps falter. My chest tightened, and I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out something I’d surely regret.
She hesitated before speaking, carefully choosing her words. “I know better than to ask a favor, so I won’t ask you to come with us... but I do wish you would offer.”
My head snapped up, caught off guard by her request, and my thoughts scattered when our eyes finally met.
Even though I expected it by now, the searing pain that shot through my body still caught me off guard. It was like wasting away from starvation, every fiber of my being screaming for relief. Like a thousand knives were being driven into me at once, each one piercing deeper, twisting in my gut. The intensity of it left me breathless, my muscles tensed and trembling with the effort of enduring it. How could something as innocent as a glance produce such an excruciating physical response?
I’d made an entire career from pain. I’d defined my immortal existence by it, and learned its intricacies so well that I knew the exact point at which a mind would splinter, unable to handle another moment of agony.
With every glance, she shattered me.