Page 133 of The Assassin's Way

I flushed and glanced down at the golden snake pommel. He wouldn’t give me my other dagger back, so I didn’t have much of a choice. And he said I should wear it because it would protect me from any vampire in Nocturnus now. They all knew I was his.

“Oh, um, he’s letting me borrow it.”

Commander Locke laughed like he knew better and stood. He took a bundle of black assassin tops off the shelf with my name on the collar and no silver mark of an apprentice. My chest swelled with emotion when he set them on the desk in front of me. I could hardly believe the day had come. In some ways it felt like I’d only just arrived in Drakthar.

“Here are your new assassin tops. You can turn in the apprentice ones later today.”

On top of my new clothes, he set a certificate with my name in elegant scrawl:Aesira Havarsdotter—Bonecarver | Assassin Level One.

“You are now afforded an assassin’s wage, and you will get your own chambers. Congratulations, Bonecarver. You are a valuable addition to the League of Assassins, and I look forward to seeing what you accomplish and the many lives you will save. You and Viper will soon be assigned vampires to take out. Daywalkers. And there are the guild games coming this year. You’ll learn more about that soon.”

Grinning, I shook his hand. “Thank you, Commander.”

With my new clothes and my certificate in hand, Commander Locke pulled open the door. Vander waited in the corridor. He lifted his head and his eyes flicked from me to his uncle. My heart stuttered. He looked half ready to bolt.

“Vander,” Commander Locke said in warm surprise. “Have you come to congratulate your apprentice? Well, former apprentice. She’s ready.”

The worry turned into a smile. “Yes, congratulations, Bonecarver.”

“You two should get ready for the graduation celebration tonight.”

He waved in another apprentice who had been waiting in the corridor.

Vander nodded to his uncle. Once the door had closed, he and I fell into step, side by side. The silence between us was tense, as it had been since we left Nocturnus. I hugged my new clothes to my chest and glanced up at him.

“I thought...” He cleared his throat. “I thought you were going to tell him.”

“I thought I was too.” But I wasn’t ready to give up on him yet.

“I was in the hall planning out how I’d run,” he smiled, “and then how I’d come back to get you without being caught. I could pull it off.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop my own smile. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m not ridiculous. I can’t exist in this world without you. I don’t care how much I have to beg for your forgiveness or how long it takes.” He tilted his head. “I’ve made up my mind about you. I’ll just have to wait for you to make up yours.”

I let out a heavy sigh. We turned down the hall and hit a set of stairs. The sun was out today, shining through the long windows. Not a rain cloud in sight.

“And what if I decide that I don’t want you anymore and that we truly are enemies?”

He took my arm and stopped us. My pulse drummed as he stared down at me. The air between us shifted, thickened. A strange vibration buzzed between us. The urge to reach out and pull his lips to mine hit me in waves. I knew he felt it too. Heleaned forward like some invisible force drew him in, and he pressed his forehead to mine, breathed deeply.

“Then one day I will meet you on the battlefield and I’ll ask you to put that dagger through my heart. It’s yours to take—to end. And this time if I tell you to kill me, you’d better do it. That is the assassin’s way.”