Chapter Seventy-Seven: Myla
“It’safuckingshitshow,” Shen says as she paces her small living room, the bar beneath her apartment loud in spite of the late hour. I wrinkle my nose at the scent of stale beer that permeates the floor, Shen jumping when the sound of something crashing below shakes the walls. “Fucking assholes!”
“Their presence will remain because of what I did to Sir Dae,” I say through my mask, my fingers dancing along the empty sheath at my thigh.
“He deserved everything that you did to him. I only wish I could have been there to give him a few slices and dices of my own.”
I arch a brow, folding my arms over my chest. “Slices and dices?”
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know what you do, but you have enough daggers strapped on you that I assume you enjoy cutting into these mongrels.” She exhales and plops down on the armchair across from me, tossing her glossy black hair over her shoulder. “In any case, if you’re feeling regret about bringing the guards here, you shouldn’t.”
“They’re going to make everything more difficult,” I warn. They already had, and they’d only been here for a handful of minutes longer than me. “You’ll have to be more careful when scouting.”
Shen scoffs. “I’mplentycareful! The perk about being a low-bornnobodyis that I’m never noticed when I go out. And before you get all sentimental, I wasn’t trying to garner pity.”
It’s my turn to make a noise of derision. “I do not pity you, Shen. And I’m not sentimental.”
She smiles as she points her finger at me, one that has been cut off at the top knuckle. “Good. The last thing we need is the Shadow getting soft.”
“That will never happen,” I tell her, adjusting my weight where I lean against the wall. “Do you have any new information for me?”
Shen sighs, crossing one leg over the other beneath her black cotton dress. I observe her as she begins to update me on a few targets. She was still a teenager when I met her for the first time. It was an accidental moment on my second trip to Khargis, but it solidified what I wanted to do with Navin’s training. Shen had been abducted on her way home from the market by two wealthy males who had beenscoutingfor females in the lowerneighborhoods. Witnesses had tried to stop them, but the males’ security had fought them off. For days, they brutally tortured her, invading her body in ways that still make anger burn deep in the pit of my soul.
It had been dumb luck that I was sneaking through the forest into Khargis when I was, passing by a small shack the men were hiding a small group of females in. They were kept in a basement, but Shen had managed to hoist herself up to a small window, hitting it to garner my attention. When I discovered them, they were pale and sickly, bleeding and covered in fluids that made my stomach churn. They had been treated worse than garbage, yet they thanked me as I helped them break free of the literal chains anchoring them to a wall.
We moved quickly as I snuck them into Khargis, Shen leading us to the group home she had been raised in as she begged the females running it to give the others a safe place to clean up and sleep.
“What about you?” I had asked when she emerged with a bag slung over her shoulder, freshly showered but with a haunted look in her eyes.
“There isn’t enough coin to take care of us all. I’ll find somewhere else to go.” It was a lie. Therewasnowhere else to go. As I watched her walk away, disappearing around a corner, I realized that justice wasn’t something that had ever been doled out fairly in this kingdom. These males would never be caught, never have to face the way they had terrorized these females simply because they were born into money and their victims weren’t. They knew that, and it made them feel invincible. It made them act as if they were gods.
That night, I returned home and gathered as much coin as I could, asking Navin to go to the royal treasurers for more under the guise of wanting to buy a small piece of land. I knew they wouldn’t question him, and they didn’t. The next day, I returnedto Khargis, dropped funds off at the group home, and then found Shen.
“I have a job for you,” I told her, as I showed her around the tavern that would become her new business. And her new home. “I want you to spy for me.” She had been apprehensive at first, but when I explained the type ofclienteleI wanted her to get information on, it morphed into determination. For years, Shen has used the bar as a way to get information. She hasn’t failed me once, and I’ve watched her grow into a female who knows her worth.
“You weren’t in Khargis for a few weeks,” she says quietly, halting my trip down memory lane. My gaze meets hers, dark eyes serious beneath the dim light of candles flickering around us.
“I was busy,” I lie.
Shen hums but says nothing more, standing as she brushes the nonexistent lint off of her dress. “I should go back down and make sure those bastards aren’t messing with Jarrin.”
Jarrin is an older fae male Shen had hired to help run the bar. He treats her like a granddaughter, the two having met when Jarrin punched a male half his age for saying something nasty to Shen. I have trusted my informant’s gut when it comes to who she allows in her bar, and so far, Jarrin has proven worthy.
“Thank you for the updates. You will likely see me less because of all the guards,” I say, walking to her front door. My hand pauses on the handle as I twist to look at her. “Leave your correspondence in our usual place, and if at any point you think you’re being watched, stop recon.”
Shen smiles wider, her teeth flashing. “Don’t worry about me, Shadow. I can take care of myself.” She waits for me to open the door before breezing through it, the ruckus from the tavern below still bleeding through the floors.
Blowing out a breath, I make sure my hood and mask are in place before I follow, shutting and locking the door before disappearing into the night to watch over the city.
Navin is quiet as we fly to meet Aria days later. I had only spoken with him once since our disagreement before the king decided to send him to patrol the borders. I want to believe that he was truthful when I asked if he knew about the mages or dragons. That he was simply acting on the information the king gave him and was flying with the King’s Riders to make sure that our borders were secure behind the Spell.
When my boots hit the sand, Navin says nothing before he and Lan launch back into the air.
Heading into the cavern, my gaze catches on Aria as she emerges from the water, transforming into her mortal form while clutching her usual blue bag to her chest. Her hair hangs in ringlets around her shoulders, the ends brushing the curves of her hips as she trudges in my direction. The sun plays off the faint markings of her scales, rivulets of water making them glint even brighter. When her gaze meets mine, it’s paired with a pinched look of concentration. There is no quick hello or far too friendly smile offered to me. There is only quiet as we reach the rocks to climb up to the stone platform at the same time.
Handing her the cream tunic I brought, I give her my back as I climb up first.
“What is your lesson plan for today?” she asks once she’s joined me, dropping her bag down. I turn to face her fully, the faint shimmer of the golden scales just below the hem of her tunic catching my attention as she walks towards me. They glow against her dark skin, a warm contrast to the ruby colorof her hair and the scales now hidden beneath the cream fabric. “Myla.”
