All I know is that once someone’s name is written in an assassin’s ledger, they’re marked for death.
For some reason, I’m still alive.
Slade considers me for a moment. “Peyton didn’t want you killed. And the truth of the matter is that you wouldn’t have been. There was no evidence against you to justify your assassination.”
Fuck. After all the manipulation we suffered because of the threat of the assassins…
But my anger is nowhere near as important to me now than knowing that Peyton is safe. I didn’t expect to be alive. I’ll be damned if I let any harm come to her.
“Where is she?” I ask. “Where is Peyton?”
“Far away from here.” Slade’s response is calm. “She’s safe, Striker. But it’s better if you focus on yourself right now.”
Not a chance.“What about the other students?”
“They’ve chosen to stay at the Academy for now. The Guardian is helping them negotiate an agreement with the Magical Magnate that will ensure they’re left in peace. The Magnate has nothing to hold over the Guardian now that we’ve recovered the missing assassin’s rings.” Slade gives me a grim smile. “Lucinda Adams is determined to rebuild the Academy as a safe house for Unknowns.”
I know enough about how assassinations are brought about to understand that the Guardian is the human who holds the immense power of determining if an assassination is sanctioned.
It doesn’t matter how much someone offers to pay in exchange for a desired death. Every assassination must be justified by evidence, which is what the Guardian decides.
But with every Unknown that Lady Tirelli captured and brought to Bloodwing, she intended to build an army of monsters who would have risen up and fought the assassins and their Guardian.
Now, Slade is telling me that the powerful Guardian is making moves toprotectthose monsters?
I want to believe him, but I can’t allow myself to feel hope.
I’ve been surrounded by liars for so long that it’s hard for me to believe that anyone tells the truth.
I study Slade carefully, trying to decide if he’s lying to me. “So… the students are okay.”
Slade nods. “You have my word they’re fine, but you, Striker, have a choice to make.”
He doesn’t make a move toward me. All three men are keeping their distance, giving me space, but I feel the weight of Slade’s words in my soul.
“You can leave the Legion and try to make it on your own,” he says. “Or you can accept our help, stay here for a while, train, and learn. You don’t have to leave until you’re ready.”
I’m surprised. “You’re offering me a place here?”
“Not as an assassin. Although I suspect you’d make a good one.” Another grim smile flickers around his mouth before he takes a deep breath. “You would be an associate. A Friend of the Legion, so to speak.”
I remember my final moments at the Academy.
Fighting Hadrix nearly killed me. I had nothing left. The assassins could have left me to die, but instead, they brought me here. Slade himself carried me. I remember a brief moment of being lifted into the air before I lost consciousness.
I have nowhere to go. No home.
The company with my name on it, Draven Industries, is controlled by my stepfather, Oliver. The billion-dollar corporation was my mother’s and would have been mine, exceptthat Oliver had me declared as an Unknown so he could send me to Bloodwing and wrest control away from me.
With him at the head, Draven Industries supplied all of Lady Tirelli’s weapons while she was alive and, after her death, formed an alliance with Hadrix, too.
I fought hard to escape the Academy. I wanted revenge on all those who wronged me. But I thought Peyton would be beside me.
Now, one of the Master Assassins, Slade Baines himself, is offering me a place to stay, and the ancients know I need this, but I don’t trust myself.
The assassins’ mercy can only be their undoing.
I shake my head. “I’m a hellhound. Whatever I touch, I destroy. The White Wand obeyed me, for fuck’s sake. That has to tell you how dangerous I am.” I give another shake of my head, even firmer, more certain this time. “You don’t want me here.”
