“She was never here, you got that?” Brevan says. “If anyone asks, you’ve never seen her.”
The bartender nods.
Brevan wipes his hands on his tunic, smearing blood across the dark fabric. At least this time, I know it’s not his.
“Come on.” When he grabs hold of my upper arm, I don’t resist. I’m going to be lucky if I can explain what I was doing and how I got here as it is.
We’re progressing down the street, despite the fact that Brevan is weaving slightly. He’s still drunk, and he was able to fight that well. I don’t think I want to see what he’s capable of when he’s not worried about me and sober. He easily could have taken those men today, but he risked using his magic because he was worried about me.
“What are you even doing out here?” he asks. “With your hair and those clothes, everyone knows who you are.”
It’s a much less formal dress than my new normal, but it’s still expensive fabric. In this part of town, it might as well be a gown for a empress compared to what everyone else is wearing. It was stupid. “I was trying to find one of my ladies. She’s missing.”
“You should have asked someone,” he says.
“I didn’t want to get her in trouble. I don’t know what the rules are.”
He freezes, and I turn my attention to where he’s looking. A large group of men, most of them bloodied from the bar fight, are approaching us slowly, weapons drawn. The man who was sitting next to me—Straight Nose—is at the front of the group.
“This isn’t the Flower District,” Straight Nose says. “You want to slum it down here with us, you have to learn some manners.”
“We’re leaving. No need to do this.” I tug on Brevan’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Every need,” he says. “We’ll be heroes. Kill the emperor’s enforcer and break in the princess so hard the prince won’t want her anymore.”
Brevan steps in front of me. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s just you against all of us,” Straight Nose says.
I move around Brevan. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. He’s going to kill you all.”
Brevan’s hands glow white-hot, and I know he’s fighting against that strange magic.
“I’ll take my chances.” The men run toward us, weapons in their hands, ready to strike.
Brevan unleashes his light with a scream. I squint against the intensity, and when everything goes silent, it takes me a few seconds before I adjust to the returned darkness.
All the men are on the ground, their bodies bleeding and twitching. Straight Nose is clinging to his stomach, holding in his intestines. He’s moaning and crying.
Brevan walks over to him with deliberate steps, his jaw tight. His glare radiates rage so palpable I can feel it swirling around me. It’s familiar. I felt the same way the night I lost my brothers.
For some reason, this is personal for him. I think I mean something to him. Beyond that of a regular charge he’s sworn to protect. The thought terrifies me, so I shove it away. It has to be something else. It might not be about me at all.
Brevan grabs the sword the man in front dropped, then stabs it through his neck. He’s dead instantly. Glassy, sightless eyes stare up at the stars.
Nearby, a raven calls from a roof. Three more join it, all of them cawing together as if singing a death hymn for the men in the road.
I set my hand gently on Brevan’s arm. “We should go.” My voice is calm, soothing. It’s not a tone I’ve ever used before, but it feels like it’s what he needs now.
He turns, and as we rush away, the ravens descend on the bodies.
Twenty-Two
Brevan letsme tend to his wounds. I go through the same motions I did earlier, this time prepared for his reactions.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snuck out,” I say.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” he says.
