He can see me. Both of them can. They’re aware of me. There just isn’t anything they can do about it for another—fifteen seconds.
Smooth skin greets my fingertips. The hard muscle of his lower abs don’t even tense beneath my touch. He’s entirely helpless. I feel like a creep and a goddess all at the same time. A creepy goddess.Perfect.
I barely pull back the elastic of his boxers when I see the arching angles of his rune. Mine is hidden down the length of my spine. It gives me the strength to use my power to manipulate time. It’s inky, veering angles kiss down the center of my back.
Angry, dark lines frame his hips, and just between them is a v with another v just above it. The inky details are interesting and perfectly accent his body.
It’s a symbol I’ve never seen before, but it has the same arching lines as mine does. They’re similar, yet completely different.
I don’t pull his clothes down any lower. My hands are barely touching him. It doesn’t stop the power I feel within him from shaking through him.
In less than—five seconds—he could have the upper hand once again.
I can’t give him the time to do that. I need time to sort this out. I need more than sixty seconds to understand why Armond would send me after a group of hunters.
Hunters don’t hunt other hunters.
And I’m not starting today.
My eyes lock on to his, knowing he can see me clearly.
“It was nice meeting you, Tylin.” My whispered words are sweet and innocent. “I’ll be seeing you again soon. Hopefully next time, you’ll keep your pants on.”
My palms hold on to his corded biceps as I lean into him. I press my lips slowly to his. The thin fabric of my mask separates us, but it doesn’t prevent the warmth of his lips against my mouth.
I won’t admit it, but he feels good beneath my touch.
One more second is all I give myself. With a running leap, I freefall from his room. The whipping wind is cool against my skin.
The echoing sound of their curses follow me into the night.
Four
We Meet Again
My boots tread quietlyagainst the smooth pavement. The building before me reaches high into the dark sky. It’s an ominous structure. Gray, towering peaks spike up to slice against the heavens. It’s a deadly thing that looks like it’s at war with the world itself.
And the assassins in this house are just as deadly.
We have to be. The Lifeless League took me in at a young age. It gave me a home when society had turned its back on a lost teenager.
I thrived because of it.
Right now, though, I don’t have the balls to walk inside. I turned my back on a target. I ran away. The choice I made was the lowest of the low.
I can’t walk back in there until I fix this.
A prickling feeling races across my flesh. I can’t go back in there until I know why. Why would Armond have given me their names? He trained those men himself; just like he did me.
A hunter never kills a hunter.
My chest is tight as I stare up at the dark, shadowed building.
There’s nothing left to do but figure out if everything I’ve ever known is a lie.
* * *
I startby going back to where it all went wrong. Tylin’s house. On careful steps, I skim through his home like a ghost reliving the past. A plain white comforter is tucked tightly across his small mattress. I listen intently but nothing can be heard. The house is vacant.
