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EDEN STOOD BENEATH an awning of a boutique in the City Square. It shielded her from the snow that slowly blanketed Nox. Winter was half over and they’d only suffered through a couple of blizzards so far. Neither of them had been bad enough to shut the city down, but it was gearing up for another storm.
Being half fae and half succubus gave the assassin some protection from the cold, but her feet still felt frozen inside her dark red boots. Her dress was the same shade of crimson. It looked like dried blood now that she thought about it. Her coat, purse and umbrella matched her dress and boots. While her coat had a hood, it blocked her peripheral vision too much, so she left it down. The umbrella was a better option and it could be used as a weapon as well.
Eden’s attention was focused on her target. He was a high-ranking member of the Magic Guild and her orders had been more specific than usual. She’d been instructed to make sure he vanished without a trace, but she wasn’t allowed to lure him out of the guildhall. It would be too obvious that he was bewitched if he left the building in a dazed state. She hadn’t been given his home address, so she’d been stalking him for the past few hours. He’d finally left the guildhall half an hour ago. He’d walked to the boutique she was currently watching. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone. A beautiful young fairy had joined him just around the corner from the Magic Guildhall. The target had taken her shopping for lingerie. The blonde fairy taking her sweet time to choose something.
At last, the door opened and the lovers emerged. Eden’s target was a fairy who had enough power to still have his wings. His companion was far weaker. Her wings had vanished from the annual Energy Tax that drained her magic.
A carriage stopped beside them as they paused to share a passionate kiss. The assassin tensed when her mark opened the carriage door. She relaxed slightly when he helped his girlfriend inside, then closed the door. Apparently, he’d just been taking a break from work. He waved goodbye, then turned to walk briskly along the sidewalk back towards the Magic Guildhall. He drew his wings around himself and shivered from the cold.
Glancing around to make sure they were alone, Eden sent her succubus magic after her quarry. His back stiffened, then he turned to look at her. His expression was dazed and slightly confused rather than rapturous. “Do I know you?” he asked when she reached him.
“We’re old friends,” Eden lied and put her arm through his.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before,” he refuted with a frown.
Eden’s magic increased and swirled around the fairy. It seemed strangely reluctant to sink into him. She’d been having trouble controlling her innate talents lately and she knew exactly when it had started. The master vampire who had rescued her several times was to blame. He’d gotten under her skin and had worked his way into her mind. He was lodged in there and the succubus didn’t know how to get rid of him. She didn’t even know if she wanted to expunge him from her thoughts. A single kiss or touch from him was enough to set her blood on fire in a way she’d never felt before.
“I need to return to work,” her target said and attempted to tug his arm free.
The assassin wasn’t about to let her quarry escape. It was her job to eliminate him and she couldn’t defy her orders. Until she found a way to break free from the Immortal Triumvirate, she had to complete her missions. “Come with me,” she said and her seductive magic finally sank into him. As always, the kill order created a niggling sensation in the back of her head. It became an insistent prodding now that she was so close to him. It would eventually drive her mad if she didn’t fulfil her mission and assassinate him.
His confusion cleared and he became besotted with her just like every other victim she’d ever ensnared. She led him into an alley that was partially protected from the snowfall by an overhanging roof. It was dark and secluded and she couldn’t sense anyone else nearby. Her target eagerly bent down when she gestured at him to lower his head. She was taller than full blood fairies, but he was still a couple of inches taller than she was. She pressed her lips to his and her power struck. In a few short minutes, the handsome fairy had been reduced to a withered ruin. A gust of wind whistled down the alley, shattering his brittle wings and scattering the pieces.
Looking down at the mummified shell of her mark, Eden had to smother a stab of guilt and horror. She’d learned to lock her emotions deep inside her when she killed, but it was getting harder and harder for her to switch off. She hadn’t asked to become a murderer. Her destiny had been thrust on her by the Immortal Triumvirate and she had no choice but to obey them. “I can’t keep doing this,” Eden whispered as she conjured up a weak flame and set fire to the remains.
A Night Cursed fortune teller had foretold that she would meet a tall, dark and handsome stranger who would sweep her off her feet. He would give her a choice between being good and evil. Eden desperately wanted to change her life, but it would entail breaking her ties to her evil overlords. So far, she hadn’t found anyone she could trust to help her. She felt trapped and she feared she would never be free.
When the fairy and his clothes had been reduced to ash, Eden scattered the remains with her boots so they were no longer lumped into a pile. The streets and alleys were filthy, so the ash blended in with the dirty gray snow.
Now that her mission was complete, Eden walked home with the ashes of a dead man clinging to her boots. They became coated in snow, but it wasn’t enough to wash them clean. Like her soul, they were stained. Unlike her soul, the magic of Nox would clean her boots until they looked brand new.
Eden entered her mansion through the back door. The Assassin Guildhall, as Malachi had nicknamed it, was quiet tonight. She couldn’t hear her half-brother, or Sorcha in either the training room, or in the living room. They were either out on missions, or they were sequestered in their apartments.
Feeling dispirited, Eden trudged up to the fourth floor and entered her apartment. She hung her umbrella on the hook among her collage of umbrellas, then headed to her bathroom. When she stepped out of the shower to dry herself, she noticed the clothes she’d dumped in the hamper were gone. Her dress and coat would be back in her closet, hanging up neatly. Her boots would be pristine once more. They would be in their usual place lined up on the floor of the closet beneath her clothes. Her underwear would be in the dresser.
“Nothing ever changes,” the succubus said forlornly as she made herself a snack, then sat down on her favorite chair. Delicate and antique, it was made from sturdy dark wood. The padded high back and seat were covered in dark blue fabric, with small gold diamond shaped patterns on it.
She gazed out through the window at the solitary streetlamp. The glow was hard to discern through the steadily worsening snow. As she ate her food, Eden’s thoughts once again strayed to the handsome master vampire who was never far from her mind. She wondered where he was and what he was doing right now. It was inevitable that he was somewhere in the City of Night. After all, no one could leave this dismal place. Once they stepped through the invisible barrier into Nox, they became imprisoned here forever.
