She watches as my brows draw low when I realize that the necklace is made ofseashells.Their flat surface is dotted with ridges and specks of iridescent color. Just like Aria’s scales. Karina chuckles. “What thought is causing such a serious face?”
Flashes of Aria’s luminous skin, her scales inset along her body like some magical piece of art, come to me unbidden. I let go of the necklace and instead weave my hand into Karina’s hair, guiding her down to me. There is nothing sweet about the way our mouths collide, the taste of her flooding my tongue as her body drapes over mine and I use her to chase away the images of the ruby-haired siren who has become the bane of my existence. Her fingers trail down my body, sliding into the indent of my waist before coasting over my hip and then finding the warmth between my legs. There is a comfort in the way she touches me, as much as I hate to admit such a vulnerability.
Karina had given attention to what I liked from the very beginning, only because it was her job to. I paid her well and got out of her hair the moment we were done, and she gave me a momentary break from the constant fear I lived in before I knew what it was tobea weapon. To find some sort of solace in the fae I killed who actually deserved it. But before I was Khargis’s Shadow, I was just a pathetic, lost female, teetering on the edge of a blade that promised to slice me no matter which way I moved. The events that led to my full ostracization began with a sweet-talking pair of lips and a head full of silky raven hair. And in the destruction, I realized that love could never be anything more than a weakness. I had fallen in love once—let myself be bared to another because I had believed that, no matter what, she held my heart as carefully as I held hers. Never again would I be so weak.
“Is this truly the last time?” Karina says softly, dragging her lips over my neck and down to my collarbone.
“Yes.”
“Then we will make sure you are properly taken care of before you leave.” Nothing more is spoken as she kisses her way down my body, her head settling between my widely spread legs. I squeeze my eyes shut and let myself melt at her touch, let myself pretend for the briefest of moments that I’m somebody with a soul. That I have freedoms that aren’t hidden in the shadows cast by my father’s rule. I give myself this single illusion of happiness.
Later, I slip back into the darkness of the city, my hood pulled up and my mask covering the lower half of my face as I return to my purpose. With my blades strapped to my body, Iamthe weapon the vulnerable need. And until I can bond a dragon, that will have to be enough.
My gaze flicks to where Sir Dae hangs attached to the metal hook and chain—unconscious with his feet dangling a few inches above the ground. The flame gems I have placed around the room highlight his sharp cheekbones and full mouth while strands of black hair frame his face, the rest of it pulled back into a neat braid. As far as males who have hung in front of me go, he might be the prettiest one I’ve ever caught. The bastard had put up a decent struggle, though, and our scuffle in the alleyway had not only left me surprised that he knew how to fight at all but also with a bruised rib and a swollen eye where he had landed well-timed punches. I try to avoid hits to my face at all costs because, even though I am mostly hidden beneath the veil I am required to wear in the palace, I never know when Leesi will show up to dress me. And I am under no preconceived notion that she would keep the discovery of a mysterious wound on me to herself.
Sir Dae’s body jerks as he gasps for a breath,finallyregaining consciousness. I pace around him as he slowly wakes and observes his surroundings in a calmer manner than I would have anticipated. Most immediately panic, their bodies recognizing the danger they are in before their minds do. But this male just looks around the darkened chamber as if he’s mapping out every corner in his mind to see which will yield his best chance at escape. Maybe he is. The thought brings a smile to my face.
“Hello.” I drop my voice deep enough to hide its femininity, beginning one of my favorite games. “Welcome to my workshop.”
“Where am I?”
“In Khargis,” I answer, walking around him until I’m at his back. I wait for him to thrash, as they all do, to keep me in his line of sight. But the male stays still, his breathingrelaxed.
“Not just Khargis, but in the lower district,” he counters, halting my steps. At the silence that builds between us, he adds, “This area has a certainodorto it. It clings to the buildings and the people, making it very distinguishable to a sensitive nose.”
I resume my pacing, letting a hand slide to one of the daggers strapped to my thigh. “Fair enough, though the smell can’t be too offensive to a male who spends so much time in this district.” I keep my eyes trained on him, smirking beneath my mask when he tenses for the briefest second before relaxing again.
“So you’ve been keeping tabs on me.”
“Oh, much more than that, Sir Dae.” I stop once I’m in front of him again, drumming my fingers along the outside of my leg. “I know that you run a collection of businesses in Khargis, ranging from clothing shops to apothecaries to the occasional bakery and tavern.”
“Diversifying one’s income is never a bad thing.”
“Ialsoknow that you have a wife and children at home, and yet when you aren’t working, you spend your evenings here. In the lower district you seem to despise so much.”
He lets loose a chuckle, and my vision flashes red before I tame my ire. “My family is taken care of. They want for nothing.”
“Except a loyal husband and father.”
He laughs again, shaking his head before laying it against his arm, flexing his hands where they are restrained above his head. “Spoken like someone who has longed for something they could never have. My wife’s class was lower than my own. Marrying her was seen as akindness, and she acts as such. Our children attend the finest schools and have full bellies every day. They will grow up and lead as the next generation to carry my name. My loyalty to them is in all that I provide, not what I do to chase my own pleasures once they sleep.”
“Do you allow your wife tochaseher own pleasures while you are gone?” The flattening of his lips answers my question before any words can leave his mouth. “Precisely. Your claims of generosity, I’m afraid, fall upon deaf ears. Because I know what your so-calledpleasuresare.” The sound of my dagger sliding from its sheath draws his gaze to my thigh.
“There is nothing wrong with partaking in a hobby to relieve stress.”
I tilt the blade in my hand, letting the light from a nearby flame gem reflect off of the sleek metal. “I think the females you brutalize would disagree.”
“And I think that the opinions of birds matter not to a cat.”
My jaw clenches, but I force my movements to stay steady—controlled. This game is mine, and while Sir Dae may be a skilled opponent, his moves are limited to only what he aims to rile out of me. There’s a sadistic thrill at having someone who counters my moves enough to keep me entertained. Even if I know that, in the end, the justice of my blade will still prevail.
“You know, so many of those from the higher districts don’t believe you to be real, despite the way your reputation precedes you.” I watch him track the movement of my blade as I toss it up in front of me, catching it by the hilt and then doing it again. “I know, down here, they treat you as a hero. Their vigilante come to rescue them from the evil that walks among them. But up there, up the mountain where the sidewalks glitter with gold and the air isn’t tainted with a rotten stench, the fae thatmattercan’t believe anyone would waste their time killing scum over some childish idea ofrighteousness.”
“What makes you think there is any sort of morality to the way I kill? Perhaps I just enjoy the sound they make as I flay their skin from their muscles.”
“I don’t doubt that plays a part. It is quite auniquefeelingto force someone to confront death early, isn’t it? All the confidence in the world can shatter easily once someone realizes that their next breath might be their last. There is somethingintoxicatingabout it.”
I get close enough for Sir Dae to see into my eyes. To see, even in only the amber light of the flame gems, the way they glisten at the prospect of doing just that. “Glad to see we are in agreement.” I flick my wrist to angle my dagger, and like a hot knife through butter, I dig into him as I drag a line across his chest.
