I sprint toward the docks and spot Max climbing from our skiff. She doesn’t seem surprised to see me hurtling toward her at full speed, giving me a perfunctory look as I careen to a stop just before I bowl her over, my shoes sliding across wet wood. “Mirren,” I yell, “Where is Mirren?!”
She eyes me distastefully. “She needs a minute. Gods, Shaw, can’t you see you just devastated her?”
I know,I know.I shake my head and lick my lips. “No, Max, Jayan is—Mirren is—it was a trap!”
I stumble over my words, desperation garbling them together. I am running out of time. Whoever it was that wanted Mirren alone will have acted as soon as she left the gathering. It might already be too late. Gods, what if it’s Shivhai that found us? Would he have healed so quickly?
Or worse, has he told the Praeceptor who I am?
I grab Max’s shoulders, something I would never do normally. She hates to be touched without warning, something I’ve always done my best to respect. But the touch has its intended effect and Max’s eyes widen in alarm. She studies my face for less than a second before nodding.
“Please tell me you took her back to the manor.” The manor, at least, has some semblance of security. Not impossible to get through, but it will buy me some time.
“I dropped her off in the drive. She said she was going for a walk and needed to clear her head.”
I curse loudly and open my mouth to explain, to beg for help, to dosomething,but Max waves me off. “Go. It looks like Cal could use a little help. Did you manage to piss off theentirecity guard?” she asks, sounding slightly impressed.
I don’t bother to answer, untying the skiff and rowing toward the manor. The wind of the Bay of Reflection sings in my ears and my heart beats painfully against my ribs, as I pray to gods long dead that I’m not too late.
* * *
Mirren
A man appears in the darkness between the trees, and I know immediately it’s not Shaw. He would never move so carelessly through the forest. Even on a casual walk, his feet are always silent and this man crunches leaves and twigs loudly beneath his boots.
The stranger examines my dagger with interest before plucking it from the tree. By the Covinus, I wish I’d been able to fit two under this dress. Or taken Max’s offer of a jeweled weapons belt. Instead, I only have the small leather sheath, now empty.
“I’m curious who you thought I was?” the stranger asks genially. He steps from the shadows, moonlight illuminating his features. He is young, a few years older than me, but age is no indication of deadliness. Shaw is proof of that.
I glance to the trees. The man stands between me and the path back to the manor house. No matter how upset I was, it was foolish to come here alone in the depths of night.
“My friend,” I tell the man, careful to keep my voice confident.There is always something to use as a weapon.Normally, Shaw’s state of constant vigilance is a source of annoyance, but now the words ground me to my surroundings. The sparkling granite around the pond is full of rocks and branches. I need to keep him distracted long enough to grab one. “He’s meeting me here at any moment.”
Lie. If Max has even made it back to Nadjaa by now, I’d be surprised. And I didn’t even tell her exactly where I was headed. No one is coming to save me. Even if Shaw came after me, there isn’t enough time for him to figure out where I’ve gone. If he even cares enough to do so after I stormed out on him.
The stranger grins, revealing a set of pearly white teeth. His dark hair is shorn close to his head and his dark eyes glint against his pale skin. He knows no one is coming for me. Fear clenches me, but it isn’t for myself. What has he done to assure we’re alone?
The stranger lunges and I scramble to grab one of the branches. I swing out as hard as I can, but he darts backward, light on his feet. I whirl again, the branch whistling through the air, but the stranger twists out of my reach, a skeletal grin on his face.
He surges toward me. I whip his hand with the branch. If he grabs me, I’ll be done for. I can’t overpower or outmaneuver him. My only chance lies in moving him out of my path and running like hell toward the manor.
The manor that is empty of people. Of help.
Don’t think of that now. You need no one to save you. You can save yourself.Shaw’s voice. Calm and calculating. I let it swirl inside me until I, too, am these things. I’ve survived Boundary hunters and the yarmardu’s screams and a bloodthirstylegatus. I will survive this, too.
The stranger withdraws his sword. The blade is thin and curved and winks in the moonlight. His murderous gaze glints and I barely have time to throw the branch up as he brings the weapon slicing down. It whistles through the wood as if it’s made of air and I’m forced to jump back to keep from being gutted. I dance to the side, praying he follows.
He does, twirling the weapon with deadly skill and striking fast once more. I cry out as his blade comes across my forearm, hot as iron. Blood pours over my fingers, but I force myself to move again. The stranger circles me, watching me bleed with a fervent look, and I get the distinct impression that he is playing with me. If he weren’t, I would already be dead.
“I admit, I took this job out of pure curiosity. After all, what kind of girl requires an assassin of my skill to take care of them? Why not just get her alone and take care of the deed oneself?” The stranger tilts his head, his eyes roving from my hairline to my toes, sizing me up. As if he is trying to peer beneath my skin and examine what lives beneath it.
“I thought perhaps there would be something special about you. Something powerful. But you seem perfectly ordinary.” His lips twist in disappointment.
The stranger sighs as if deeply put out, and then adjusts his grip on the pommel of his sword. “I suppose even the wind can be wrong at times,” he says softly, before darting forward.
His small movement is all I need. As soon as the heel of his foot leaves the path, I launch myself toward the manor.
* * *
