Something crashes in the hallway. More of them.
"Boss!" Grimm's voice, followed by someone meeting walls.
My study is ruined. Water, blood, probably destroying the carpets Olivia insisted I needed. The painting—propped safely in the corner, untouched. Small mercies.
"Ruvan?"
Olivia's voice, small from under the desk. Right. The civilian who just watched me kill without hesitation. Who's realizing what kind of monster she's been feeding vegetables to. Whose thigh I was caressing sixty seconds ago.
"Stay there. Don't move until—"
The wall explodes.
Not the door. The entire wall where weapons hung. Water pressure shatters stone, sends me into my bookshelf. Professional work. Someone trained. Someone planning while idiots died testing reflexes.
I roll. Ice spear drives into floor where my head was. Extract myself from philosophy texts I'll never read. Face the real threat.
She's young. Twenty-five maybe. Tide Runner blues clinging to distracting curves. Pretty in that sharp way that makes stupid men drop guard. Her water flows in perfect control.
"Shadow King." She inclines her head like we're at dinner. "Apologies for the mess. We needed to verify rumors."
"Consider them verified. Now leave before I mail pieces of you to your leadership."
"See, that's the thing." She steps through ruined wall, water flowing around her. "Word is you've lost your edge. Gone soft. Letting civilians wander. Eating vegetables. Very concerning for those of us in the murdering business."
I hear Olivia shift. See the Tide Runner's eyes flick toward the sound. Calculate angles and exactly how much of this woman I need intact for identification.
"Fascinating theory. Want to test it?"
She smiles. "Love to."
The water comes fast. Trained speed. Real skill. I dodge, dissolve, reform. But she's already attacking where I'll be, not where I was. Professional. Expensive.
We dance through wreckage. Water versus shadow. Her sprays create rainbows. Pretty if they weren't lethal. My shadows slice through reforming water. She's good.
Too good for standard enforcer.
"Who sent you?" I catch her wrist, shadows racing up her arm. She breaks free with a whip that takes skin off my cheek. "The Tide Runners don't move like this on their own."
"Does it matter? Maybe we got tired of the Shadow Guild controlling all the fear."
Lie. This is targeted. Someone knew I'd be here, in my private study, vulnerable.
I need to end this. Guild's in danger. Olivia's under a desk. And this bitch is in my way.
No more dancing.
I let her water spear catch my shoulder. Let her think she's winning. Pain's irrelevant as I surge forward, shadows exploding outward. She tries to shield.
Not fast enough.
Shadows punch through water, wrap her throat, lift. Her eyes widen at her mistake.
"Here's what happens next. You die. Your friends die. I find whoever sent you and make their death last days. Your guild learns why the Shadow King held territory twenty years."
She tries to speak. Can't. Shadows crush her windpipe slowly.
"Or." I loosen slightly. "Tell me who paid for this suicide mission and I make it quick."
