No good comes from dwelling. I need to pick her next opponent. One that will create a spectacle, earn a lot of money for the arena, and end with a loss for Celine. She’s well-rested, well-fucked, and I promised results. It’s time to rip the floor out from under her.
The angel or the vampire must die.
A popping sound comes from the corner of my room, a portal I certainly didn’t authorize.
I stiffen and return the binder to the drawer as bitterness threatens to choke me.
No privacy.
I’m givennothingof my own.
S’lach steps through the small portal, curling his lip as he takes in my simple living space. “How’s my little girl?”
“Alive.” I drum my fingers against the desk. I won’t stand for him. Not today, at least. I don’t care if it’s rude. He invaded my space without warning or invitation.
“So I’ve heard.” His words are laced with threats, and it’s all I can do not to roll my eyes as he blusters. “And those leeches that hang on to her also remain alive. Care to explain that?”
“You paid me to break her, then kill her,” I remind him. “How I do that is up to me.”
“Wrong,” he growls. “I paid you to do what I say. I want her whores dead, and I want them dead now.”
I raise my eyebrows and do my best to hide my anger. “She fights ferociously to protect them. I’ve pitted her against some of the worst beasts the monster realm has to offer, and she’s come out on top both times.”
S’lach scoffs. “Of course she won.” His eyes glint with cruelty. “She works best alone.”
“The odds of her winning the next fight?—”
“Your odds are irrelevant,” S’lach speaks over me as if I never opened my mouth. “Make her fight alongside them. She’ll be distracted, desperate to protect them—it’s her fatal flaw. They’ll die, and she will break.”
I force myself to nod.
S’lach tilts his head, studying every inch of my face. “I’ve always been curious; the others of your kind never show”—he waves his hand—“that. They choose a face to steal and make their own.” I bite down on the inside of my cheek and use the pain to ground myself. He’s close to striking the nerve exposed by Luca’s fury.
“I don’t fear what I am,” I say. “Nor do I concern myself with the comfort of others.”
And I’d rather die than give S’lach a glimpse of my pain. He’s not paying me enough to know my secrets. I’m an assassin for hire, not an experiment for him to dissect to satiate his sadistic curiosity.
S’lach strokes the red stubble on his chin and laughs. “An admirable trait, and a smart intimidation factor too. Imagine yours being the last face you see.” He shudders theatrically. “Truly horrifying.”
I nod slowly, my molars grinding to dust in my mouth. “Anything else?”
His cold eyes rake over me before he shakes his head. “No more disappointments, shuck. You signed a contract, and employees who fail me don’t live to regret it.”
The walk to the arena is quiet and thick with tension. Snow falls around us, softer than the usual pellets. It coats Celine’s eyelashes as she stares over the bridge railings at the stark black-and-white landscape. Lips pressed into a thin line, with her hair braided tightly to her scalp, she looks untouchable.
I open my mouth, then close it. What am I thinking? I can’t warn her about the fight. Not only would that be working against my own interests, but it would almost certainly trigger the magic embedded in my contract with her father. Broken contracts can’t kill. Angry angels can. And double-crossing S’lach would be signing my own death sentence.
Gods. I need this job to end.
She’s destabilized me. Perhaps I can’t blame her for it, but I also can’t allow it to continue. No more wrapping her in my cloak. No more watching her when she’s not looking. My fascination with her must end.
I’m impressed by her resilience and intrigued by her strength—that’s all. It’s got to be.
Luca’s eyes dig into my back, his hatred so concentrated that it takes on physical weight. If I didn’t have a magical dampener locked around my ankle, I’m sure he’d do his best to turn me into a permanent bridge ornament.
I ignore him and keep walking.
By the time we’re inside the holding room, the silence has grown teeth.
