“That’s exactly what we’re here to find out,” Scorpius counters, and I’m immediately on edge. “Who are you, Little Dagger?”
The question is soft, even, demanding, and all that’s left in its wake is confusion.
“I don’t understand?” I state, opening my eyes to find all three Scorpions now staring down at me.
Bones rubs at his wrist, and I’m immediately reminded that this isn’t the first time these three have loomed over me and played with my fate. Scorpius steps closer, pulling my focus to him, and I quickly run through what in this room can be used as a weapon. Just as quickly, I dismiss every option that pops into my head. I may not feel the need to writhe in agony anymore, thanks to whatever salve Bones just dripped all over my shredded back, but there’s still no way I can get up off this cot and fight anything stronger than a gentle breeze.
The Scorpions are quiet, like they expect me to hurry to fill the silence, but all I can do is picture the last time these three were there for one of the worst days of my life. I run my gaze over Scorpius’s glamoured face, studying it and locking it in place with the skeleton that was first out the window that night in Dorsin’s office.
“What?” I ask, my eyes fixed on his. “No offer to kill me this time?”
Scorpius’s brow furrows at the question. He stares at me as though what I just said will make sense if he simply looks at me long enough. None of them make the connection. Not a one recalls that we’ve all been here before. What did I expect though? I wasn’t significant enough tohelpback then, why would I think I’d be significant enough to be remembered at all.
“Why would we kill you?” Bones asks as though the mere suggestion is ludicrous.
“No reason, I’ve just been told a time or two that I’d be better off if someone did,” I answer, carefully watching each of their faces for the tiniest hint of recognition.
I find nothing.
I deflate a little under the weight of their empty stares, and suddenly my lids feel heavy and my body and soul as wasted as they’ve ever felt before.
“I’m tired,” I whisper with a weary exhale. “Whatever it is you’re here to do, just do it so I can get back to wallowing in my misery alone,” I tell them, waving my hand in dismissal and appreciating that things don’t hurt nearly as bad as they did.
“What makes you think we’re here to do anything?” Scorpius starts, and I groan in frustration.
“Fuck the stars! What are you, a bridge troll with all these riddles and inane questions?” I growl crankily. “What do you want, Order of Scorpions? To irritate me to death?”
Scorpius rewards my outburst with a small smile, but I won’t be beguiled again. I roll my eyes as the grin grows; it seems my annoyance does things for this pest. Figures. Bones laughs lightly at my frustration, and Skull tilts his head back and shakes it as though all of this is pure entertainment to him.
The smirk drops from Scorpius’s face just as quickly as it appeared, and his eyes once again grow intense. “Who are you, Auset? Who are your people? Why are you here, and why are you trying to infiltrate our Order?”
The questions fire out of his mouth like bolts from an automatic crossbow. Each of them hit their mark, but for what purpose, I couldn’t say. I narrow my eyes at the skeletal face, taking my turn to try and understand what he means by all of this.
“I’m a blade slave,” I answer evenly, as though that’s all I really need to say. In truth, it should be. “I’m owned by Tilleo. Brought to this ludere from people and a place I have no memory of, and despite your gargantuan ego and misplaced superiority, I have no interest in your Order,” I tell him matter-of-factly. “I was assigned by my master, and I don’t know if you know how things work around here, but arguing with orders isn’t an option.”
I see doubt and judgment bleed into Scorpius’s glower, while anger settles in mine.
“Why would Tilleo assign you to us? What makes him so sure that we’d take an interest?” Scorpius demands.
I huff, annoyed, and try not to roll my eyes. “How would I know?”
“Oh, you knowsomething, Little Dagger, and we’re not leaving here until we get to the bottom of it,” he tells me darkly, and I work hard to ignore the enticing bite that sings in the sweet threat of his words.
“We can help you,” Bones offers, moving closer, his eyes softer and more imploring than his brother’s commanding stare.
I bark out a laugh at the offer. If only they knew how funny those words really are. I once begged for just that, pleaded for them to help me, only to watch them slip out of the window without so much as a backward glance.Theyleft me to this very fate. I wasn’t important enough to remember, but they would guffaw at their own audacity if they could recall what I already know about their willingness to help.
“And why would you do that?” I snap at him, venom now dripping from every word.
Confusion and a tinge of hurt seeps into Bones’s surprisingly gentle stare.
I refuse to let myself feel bad about that.
“It serves all of us to get to the bottom of what’s going on here. You’ve been tasked with infiltrating us, and we need to know why. Things will go far better for you if you’re honest and help us put the pieces together,” Scorpius retorts, his tone now hard and menacing.
“You don’t want to test us, Moonling. We make far better friends than we do enemies,” Skull adds, the threat in his words blanketed by a seductive purr.
I stare at them, annoyed and depleted and far too close to the end of my rope, which is probably why I start laughing like some sun-sick pilgrim just a day past pure madness. I gasp when my fit of giggles forces my back to remind me that I should be taking it easy and not acting like I wasn’t just whipped within an inch of my life.Damn all the stars. I want whatever salve or tincture Bones used on me. I don’t care if I only have days or maybe even hours to live, whatever it was is pure magic.
