He threw his head back and let out a deep belly laugh. I was going to murder her in her sleep. “So it’s true?”
“No!” I pulled my sword and raised it. “Celine was just being ridiculous. I wasn’t going to do that. Ihaven’tdone that. Did Falcon tell you?”
“I can’t name my sources.” He started to circle, waiting for me to strike.
I glared and made sure to take a mental note that Falcon could not be trusted when it came to Vander. I swung hard and quick, our swords clashed, and I drove him back two steps.
“Damn, going for blood, I see. You must really want to take the handsome, legendary assassin home to meet your parents.”
“Oh, you’re full of yourself today, aren’t you?” It seemed the sunshine and the coming end of winter was doing both of us good.
Metal cracked against metal as we went at each other. The roof we were on was slanted and some of the shingles were loose, forcing me to concentrate on my feet more than usual. He blocked everything I threw at him, high strikes, quick jabs, and swings. I backstepped and ducked under his blade. To show off, I dipped into a back handspring and readied myself for his next attack.
He paused, looking genuinely impressed. “When did you learn that?”
“On my own. While you were on one of your nighttime adventures. Where do you go anyway?” I’d never called him out on it before.
He went very still, and his face tensed as if I’d caught him doing something wrong.
“What? You didn’t think I’d notice you leave for hours at a time?” I smiled at him and swung. He easily dodged and struck back.
“Sometimes I just need to be alone in the fresh air.”
I sensed I was getting close to the edge of the roof and turned. With a leap, I made it to the other rooftop. He landed beside me, and we went straight back to sparring. The sounds of our blades echoed off the next building,ping, clang, whoosh. “I’m not judging you. I like to be alone sometimes too. You going out gave me time to learn back handsprings without you laughing at me. I can do the splits now. Want to see?” I dropped into the splits, then swung my leg at him, and to my surprise, swept his feet out from under him. His back hit the tiled roof and I pounced. My blade was at the base of his throat and my knee sunk into hishard abdomen. Triumph made my heart soar. “Do you concede, Viper?” I lightly bit my lower lip, trying to fight off smiling.
“I do,” he said, eyes softening.
I pressed my hand to his chest and pulled my blade from his throat. “Your heart is beating fast.” It drummed hard beneath my palm. “Do we need to work on your endurance?” I teased.
“My endurance is perfect.” His blue eyes settled on mine. His voice was huskier than usual, and that intensity I sometimes felt when touching him roared within me. Like a hot flash of lightning shooting through my veins.
I jerked my hand away and jumped up. I pulled my gaze from his and looked across the city, anywhere but him. A flock of geese flew in above. That was a good distraction. “So, now we go see my family.”
He smiled despite having lost. But I was positive he let me win. In a quick motion, he went from his back to his feet and stood. “Just don’t tell anyone. We can go after the game.”
“Race you back?”
We ran along the rooftops toward Drakthar. I cleared roof gaps easily and pulled myself up to higher levels with grace when I needed to. All without making a sound. My crippled hand wasn’t a thought anymore, although I still kept it covered with a glove always. I hadn’t even broken a sweat by the time we made it back to Drakthar.
When we got to our tower room, an envelope was attached to the door. Vander took it down and we settled into our usual routine. I plopped onto my bed while he went to his side. Paper tore and his feet shuffled.
I tugged off my boots and opened my bedside drawer to pull out the carving and the tool I needed. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I pressed the sharp tip against the bone and made a small cut among the snake scales. I’d tossed out two different carvings in the last few months because I didn’t like the way the snakelooked. This one, however, was coming along perfectly. I was almost finished.
“You’re suddenly very quiet,” I said, making quick chisels.
No reply. I glanced toward the dark curtain separating us. I thought he must have gone into the washroom. I needed to wash the sweat away myself after our sword match. But then his bed creaked and I swore I heard him mutter a curse.
“Viper?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah?”
“Was the note something for the game?” Maybe it was delayed.
Quiet again. Soft steps pattered and he came around the curtain. I hurriedly dropped the carving into the drawer so he wouldn’t see it and turned—the downward curve of his mouth as he gripped the paper and envelope chilled me. His light mood had completely shifted.
“It’s from Commander Ace.”
“Am I in trouble for something?”
