Her target appeared at exactly twelve o’clock. A man of habit, according to their client, and today was no different. The second the Voreshi bells rang out the time, the crowds began to thin and the man snuck into the alley. Perfect.
Vesper would have gloated at how easy this was being made for her, except he was fucking huge. He must have been some kind of hybrid—and hybrids were notoriously difficult to kill. She only hoped he wasn’t mixed with a species that kept their hearts in a different location from humans.
She gritted her teeth. She still had to kill him.
The alley was dark—perhaps Riya’s doing to provide a tactical advantage. Vesper might consider thanking the woman if she bothered to fucking show herself. Vesper cracked her neck and shook out her arms. The man was quickly approaching, and she leant casually against the wall, pretending to smoke.
Her magic crackling around her was disguised easily as trying to light a nonexistent stick in her mouth. Sparks danced across her hands, and she molded them into a thin, twisting, dagger-like shape she could throw since she certainly wasn’t reaching his throat while he stood.
She threw the first one. It sparked through the air, landingright in the back of his head. The second one flew into his throat. Not wanting to take the risk of a misplaced heart, those would do. No hybrids she knew of could survive a good blow to the head and slit throat.
As expected, he didn’t drop immediately; thicker skin probably kept her magic from fully penetrating his skull. Blood trickled out of the holes her magic left when it dissipated, and he lumbered around, turning, growling, yelling. She waited until his back was to her again—Riya must have hidden her—then she sprinted out and ran a thin blade of magic across the back of his knees. He howled in pain, finally dropping, and she stabbed right through his neck. She held the magic in form until she could rip through his throat, ensuring she’d take out some veins and arteries too.
She grunted with the effort, her lips clamped shut so none of the blood sprayed into her mouth. Finally ripping the blade of magic free from his neck, blood spurting onto her clothes and face, she released her hold. Energy quickly depleted from her body, and Vesper pushed herself to her feet. She was breathing hard. Her pants were covered in blood, and it dripped from her hands, but he was definitely dead.
Vesper had been wiping her face with a clean section of her shirt when a honeyed voice came from the shadows behind her.
“Impressive,” Riya said, moving into the light.
“Any assassin could do it,” Bellamy snapped. She yanked Vesper’s shirt out of her hands before she finished wiping away the blood and covered her back up as Riya sauntered over from the opposite end of the alley.
“Was wondering when you’d show up,” Vesper smiled at her, smacking Bellamy’s hand away. “Why don’t you clean up,” she hissed at Bel, stepping away from her line of fire quickly and striding over to get closer to Riya. “You look good,” Vesper said, her voice taking a more flirtatious tone as she unashamedly let her gaze drift down Riya’s body, tuning Bellamy out entirely.
Riya was fucking gorgeous. She always had been. Gold claspslittered her dark locs, and her black skin was flawless and dusted with gold to match. Per usual, her eyes sparkled unnaturally. Vesper suspected there were some permanent illusions at play. Even in her baggy clothes, Vesper was still hot for her. Unfortunately, Riya did not seem to share a similar sentiment.
“Don’t even try it,” Riya grinned, reading Vesper’s mind.
“No? You sure?” Vesper asked.
“She said no,” Bellamy snapped, shoving Vesper away from Riya. “Isn’t your job done here anyway?”
“Can’t leave until the evidence is gone,” Riya shrugged.
“Exactly, so why don’t you doyourfucking job,” Vesper snapped back at Bellamy. The body wasn’t going to just magically disappear, and she’d love to get a real answer from the illusionist.
Bellamy’s magic crackled in her palm—likely rivaling her anger—and she slashed the man’s arm off so viciously, blood had splattered the walls, and droplets speckled Vesper’s face and arms. Bellamy even managed to get it on Riya, who was standing a bit away from Vesper.
“Fuck’s sake, Bel,” Vesper growled, wiping uselessly at her face. She’d just fucking gotten it off.
“Oops.” Bellamy’s reply came right before another savagely sharp cut, paired with more blood spray.
Vesper gritted her teeth. “Let’s give her some space,” she ground out, dragging Riya a safe distance. “She’s being a bitch on purpose,” Vesper complained, loud enough that Bellamy was able to offer a “fuck you” in defense.
“I know, Ves. It’s how you two work,” Riya replied. “I’m used to it.” She had to have been used to it too, they didn’t get paired up with illusionists for their work often, but when they did, it was almost always Riya. She’d known the two of them for a long time.
“So, you doing anything later?” Vesper asked when they got to the edge of the alleyway—hopefully out of Bellamy’s hearing range. She stopped right at the decorative planter beds attempting to grow red poppies, likely for Rahina Desain celebrations.
Riya raised an eyebrow. “Not out in your area.”
“Here then?”
“Cute,” Riya smirked, looking out at the small crowd beyond her thin veil of illusion.
“We could have a good time.”
“No offense,” Riya whispered—the same way she started her excuse every time—“but I don’t think one night is worth having a target on my head. And I really like living.”
Vesper sighed. Riya had a point there. She unconsciously rubbed at the scar on her palm, a remnant from one time Bellamy caught her sleeping with someone else. No one died, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.
