The ale was weak and tepid, but gods, I wanted more. Anything to stop my racing thoughts.
When Renwell and I had made this plan, I’d been so certain I would have heaps of information to lay at his feet. Then he would gift me a rare smile and a few short words of praise that would tell me I had succeeded. That I had protected my family, done my duty, and was well on my way to being an excellent High Enforcer.
But now I wasn’t sure what to tell him.
For two years, he had been my guide, my mentor, my only escape from grief and a life I no longer wanted. He had been a constant in some of the darkest moments of my life. He had shaped who I was.
But I couldn’t let him be the only window through which I saw the world.
Ten days in this strange life had already fractured that view.
Cracks formed between what I believed and what I saw. My intentions and my actions. Most of all, my fondness for Ruru, Maz, and Melaena and my growing feelings for Aiden warred with my duty to destroy them if they threatened my family or my kingdom.
My view had become distorted. Strange. Uncertain.
What would happen when that window shattered?
“Room six,” the bartender’s voice wheezed.
I lifted my head, almost having forgotten where I was.
The old woman took my empty mug and wiped the bar top under it as if I’d left a mess. She jerked her head toward a staircase. “He’s waiting.”
I nodded woodenly, sliding off my stool.
How had he gotten there without me seeing him? Perhaps there was a back entrance. Renwell always remained unseen when he wished.
My boots sounded too loud, too slow, up the stairs and down the narrow, dark hall. Most of the rooms were occupied, if the noises within were any indication.
The ale had done nothing to calm my nerves. If anything, it sloshed harder in my empty stomach, making me feel sick.
Room six. I stared at the dented brass number nailed to the door. Renwell was on the other side. Waiting for me. Growing impatient with me. He was likely already furious after everything that had transpired.
Sweat prickled along my spine. The thin scar along my chest seemed to tighten and tingle—evidence of my disobedience.
Something creaked on the other side of the door, as if a body had shifted. Then the door slowly swung inward, revealing a dark room.
Lifting my chin, I slipped inside.
The door eased shut. A bolt scraped.
I whirled around. I couldn’t see him, but I could smell him. Always the same. Melted wax and candle smoke.
A tiny flame flickered to life in an oil lamp overhead. Renwell’s hooded face and dark eyes loomed over me. His gaze was like a scavenging crow, devouring me from head to toe.
“Hello, Wolf slayer,” he murmured. Then his gloved fingers seized my throat. He slammed my back against the door.
I gasped, but he only clenched harder. I tried to tear his hand away, but his grip was like the sunstone blade at his waist.
Unbreakable.
My other hand scrabbled for my knives, but he snatched my wrist and crushed it against the door by my head.
Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes as he brought his face within a breath of mine.
“You disobeyed me,” he hissed.
I choked and spluttered. Shadows pillowed around my vision, around him. Gods, he already knew. How?—
