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Trying to act normal had never been as hard as it was at that moment. Not that I’d ever been normal, by any sort of standard, but I’d always been good at pretending. Until now. All I wanted to do was gawk at the scene around me but I forced myself to stare at the bottom of the wagon instead, as if I’d seen a city like this a million times before.
The rhythmic sound of the Pernish language drifted from the driver’s seat as Zaina convinced the guards to let us through. I had no idea what kind of arrangement she had with them but after a few moments, leather creaked and steel clanked as they stepped out of the way. Our driver clicked her tongue and drove the cart through the gateway.
No one dared say anything since we were in unknown territory, so we continued further into the city in silence. Only the horse’s hooves hitting the stones echoed between the walls as the rest of the area lay deserted at this time of night. I studied our surroundings. The streets here at the edge of the city were just barely wide enough to get our wagon through. A strange sense of familiarity filled me until I finally realized that it looked surprisingly similar to Worker’s End.
“Damn,” Zaina swore and pulled on the reins until the horse stopped. She jumped down from the driver’s seat and strode to the back wheel on the right-hand side. After inspecting it, she straightened and beckoned a finger at Haemir. “A little help, please.”
“What’s going on?” the male half of the twins asked as he landed on the stone street.
“Something’s stuck in the wheel.” She pointed to the middle of it. “See there?”
Shutters and doors banged open along the whole road. I shot to my feet. Men and women poured onto the street and surrounded the wagon while others popped up in every window. Crossbow bolts pointed at us from every direction. Right as Shade, the elves, and I started towards our weapons, Zaina’s voice cut through the night.
“If you go for your weapons, he dies,” she said from next to the wagon.
We all whipped our heads towards her. Haemir crouched in front of the cart’s supposedly broken wheel with Zaina behind him. A curved knife gleamed at his throat.
“If you dare hurt him I swear I will–” Haela growled before Elaran’s hand on her shoulder shut her up.
My eyes darted around the area. Some of the people on the street held swords but most of them brandished crossbows. And there were a lot of them. By my calculations, we were outnumbered five to one. They wouldn’t even need the swords; we would all die by the crossbow bolts alone. This was bad.
“What the hell is going on, Zaina?” Shade said, his voice filled with cold fury.
She raised her chin and grinned at him. “Oh, come now, Shade. It’s not like I didn’t tell you. I did say that I would lead you into a deserted alley and slit your throats once we got here, remember?” The Pernish captain turned towards a thin man with brown hair who had just appeared from a nearby doorway. “Good job setting up the ambush, Redor.”
The man from the house at the hidden cove smiled. “When everyone heard you were alive, they were more than eager to help set it up.”
Zaina drew the blade further up Haemir’s throat and then turned back to us. “Now, we’ll take all those pistols, thank you.”
Shade stared at her with steel in his eyes. “And after that?”
“After that?” She tapped her sharp jawline with her free hand. “Let’s just say after that, your stay in this city will be a lot shorter than you planned.”
This was not happening. After everything I’d survived, I’d be damned if I died in some foreign alley right on the cusp of a great adventure. Anger built in my chest and flooded through my whole body. For Nemanan’s sake, I had not spent a whole damn journey vomiting over the side of a ship only to die once I finally set foot on dry land again! It was ridiculous. I would not allow it.
My fingers twitched and my eyes threatened to turn black. I wanted desperately to start throwing knives at them but I couldn’t. I flicked my gaze to the dark-haired elf on the street. If I attacked, Haemir would die. The darkness pulled at my soul, screaming at me to release it. I forced it down. If I let it out, I would get us all killed. Maybe we could talk our way out of this.
“Killing us would be a mistake,” Shade said.
Zaina swung her ponytail back behind her shoulder. “Really? Why is that?”
“Because it would start a war between our nations.”
“Uh-huh.” She smacked her lips. “I’ve seen your city. And now you’ve seen ours. If our nation decided to go to war, really go to war, they’d wipe you out in a week and you know it. Besides, do I seem like someone who is particularly loyal to our rulers?” Zaina shook her head. “No, I didn’t think so.” When she noticed the fury building in the foreign eyes around her, she lifted her toned shoulders in an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, it’s nothing personal. Just business. Now, let’s see those guns.”
Gods damn it. Why had I even bothered to come on this stupid journey if it was going to end like this? What a colossal waste of time. Pure rage–against Zaina, the fickle gods, myself–bubbled through me. The man closest to me lifted his crossbow.
No. The darkness ripped from my soul. Black tendrils whipped around me while lightning crackled over my skin. My eyes filled with death and insanity. I locked them on Zaina. She stared back at me with wide eyes as the darkness built around me like storm clouds.
“Ashaana,” she whispered, still holding my gaze. She withdrew the blade from Haemir’s throat before snapping her fingers and motioning for her people to lower their weapons. “You’re one of them.”
I had absolutely no idea what Ashaana meant or who the ‘them’ she was talking about were, but I figured it was in my best interest not to reveal that. All around us, the men and women lowered their swords and crossbows. Surprise and apprehension danced across their features when I swept my gaze over them. My companions glanced at me but said nothing. I closed my eyes briefly and, since the immediate threat was gone, managed to force the darkness back into the deep pits of my soul.
An apologetic grin flashed across Zaina’s mouth. “Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. If I’d known that your people...” Looking at me, she trailed off and spread her hands instead. “Maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement instead.”
My people? Countless questions exploded like fireworks in my mind. What had she meant by my people? I opened my mouth to demand an answer to that exact question but before I could articulate it, a strong hand encircled my wrist. I scowled at the man attached to it but Shade just gave me an almost imperceptible shake of his head before releasing me. He put a hand to the side of the wagon and leaped off it.
“Yes, I think some kind of arrangement could be made,” the Assassins’ Guild Master said as he drew up in front of Zaina. “I can see now that simply offering you your freedom wasn’t enough.” He locked eyes with her. “You want more. My only question is, why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?”
The Pernish captain studied the assassin through narrowed eyes. “Maybe because I don’t trust people who’ve held me prisoner.”
“Distrusting.” Shade let out a soft chuckle. “Smart. But now that we’ve gotten all this double-crossing out of the way, let’s talk business. We want a peace treaty and we need help with language, connections, culture stuff, and maybe another trip or two across the sea.”
“And in return?” Zaina said.
“Once we’re sure Pernula won’t attack Keutunan you can have...” He cocked his head to the right. “You can have that ship we arrived on. Plus, you can ask the crew on it to join you. Given how they looked at you there towards the end, most of them’ll probably say yes.”
An excited murmur rippled through the crowd around us. Zaina raised her eyebrows. Beside me on the wagon bed, Elaran was fuming but he didn’t say anything.
Shade gave a lazy shrug. “I’ll even throw in a couple of crates of pistols that you can get when you return us to our island.”
Redor blurted out a couple of sentences in Pernish that flew by too fast for me to comprehend but Zaina nodded at him. Maybe we would survive this after all. Zaina lifted her knife. I gave myself an internal eye roll. Or not.
She drew the blade across her palm. “Deal.” Blood dripped from her hand when she held it out towards Shade.
For a moment, we all just studied her with mirrored expressions of confusion on our faces.
When no one moved, she barked a short laugh. “Alright, first culture lesson. All important deals concerning really valuable or high-risk stuff are sealed in blood. That way, you make certain no one betrays the other.”
Huh. What an odd custom. Why in Nemanan’s name would drawing a little blood stop someone from double-crossing the other? I could almost hear Shade thinking the same thing but in the end, he just pulled a blade and drew a shallow cut as well. Their hands met over the sand-covered stones.
“Deal,” the Master Assassin confirmed.
“Alright then, let’s get off the streets.” After snapping some orders in Pernish to the rest of the ambushers, she turned to Haemir. Another apologetic smile settled on her lips as she waved the blade in the air. “Sorry about the knife.”
Both twins watched her with wary eyes but then nodded in unison. She nodded back. Rustling clothing filled the night as the gathered men and women withdrew from the alley.
“Get on,” Zaina called to Shade and Haemir while she climbed into the driver seat. “We’ve got to get somewhere safe.”
As soon as all the wagon’s previous occupants were back on board, she clicked her tongue and urged the horse on. Wood creaked as the cart rattled over the stones. Liam cast a quick glance towards Zaina before leaning closer to me.
“Why did you attack?” he whispered.
It was meant for my ears but I could tell that the rest of our companions were listening in as well. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
“Please, Storm, you have to be careful,” he continued in a soft tone. His dark blue eyes were filled with worry. “If that hadn’t worked, she would’ve killed Haemir.”
Guilt twisted like a hot knife in my gut. “I know.”
Haemir wasn’t the only one who would’ve died. If Zaina hadn’t believed that I was part of some unknown group of people, they would all have died. And it would’ve been my fault. All because I couldn’t control the darkness.
“It’s also the reason we’re all still alive right now.” Shade raised one shoulder in a shrug. “I’m just saying.”
I lifted my eyebrows. That had been an unexpected comment coming from him. But the person who worried me the most was Haela. Because of my actions, I had put her brother in danger. I barely dared meet her eyes. Warm night winds tickled my face as I braced myself for looks of anger and disappointment on the twins’ faces. There weren’t any.
You did the right thing, Haela mouthed over her brother’s shoulder.
Relief flooded my chest. I’d never cared what people thought of me before, but as much as I hated it, I did care about these particular people’s opinion of me. Damn. Feelings were so inconvenient.
The horse snorted and whinnied as Zaina pulled the wagon to a stop outside a large building. It was long and rectangular with a courtyard far larger than any of the surrounding houses. I studied the grand double doors located at the middle of the long wall. Whoever lived here had to be filthy rich.
“Wait here,” our driver said and jumped down from the seat.
She snuck across the stones and approached a small door at the edge of the house. Three soft knocks drifted through the air. Candles flickered in the windows until the door was pushed open and light spilled onto the ground outside. A cry rang out.
We all tensed up, ready for trouble, as the young woman in the doorway flew across the threshold and into the arms of the Pernish captain outside. Zaina patted the dark hair of the woman clinging to her neck. After a few moments, the stranger pulled back. She stared at Zaina for a second before giving her a hard shove and launching an assault. The athletic captain just stood there and let the young woman pound delicate fists on her chest until she wore herself out. Muted sobbing floated across the courtyard as the unidentified woman broke down and leaned into Zaina’s embrace. Zaina pulled her arms tightly around the woman.
“Another person who loves her and who believed she was dead,” Liam stated, sadness washing over his features.
“Yeah, and it looks like we’ll get to stay here so we don’t have much time before she comes back,” Shade said and swept his gaze over our group. “We need to get some things straight.”
“Listen here, Deadly Nightshade,” Elaran said in a mocking tone and narrowed his eyes at the assassin.
“Shade,” the Assassins’ Guild Master cut him off.
The grumpy archer furrowed his brows. “What?”
“Yeah, it comes from deadly nightshade but that’s not my name. My name is Shade.”
“Whatever,” Elaran replied with an irritated shake of his head. “You’re not the boss here. Who gave you the authority to just give away our ship without consulting us first?”
The Master of the Assassins’ Guild locked hard eyes on the ranger. “I don’t need anyone’s permission. And besides, we need her. Without someone with local contacts and culture knowledge we’ll never pull this off.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, we don’t have time for this right now. We have more pressing matters.” Shade turned towards me. “What the hell is Ashaana?”
All eyes turned to me as they waited for me to explain something I didn’t have a clue about either. I threw out my arms. “Fuck if I know. But I’m gonna find out. As soon as we’re indoors, I’m gonna ask her.”
“The hell you are,” Shade said.
“Yeah, I am. She said one of them and your people. That has to mean there are others like me.” I flicked my eyes between my companions. “I need to know.”
The Master Assassin leveled eyes dripping with authority on me. “Until we have what we came for, you are not going to breathe a word about this. Not a single word.”
I snorted. “Or what? We’re a long way from your Assassins’ Guild now.”
“I don’t need my guild for that.” He ran his eyes up and down my body. “We both know how our last fight would’ve ended if that horde of Pernulans hadn’t interrupted us.”
“Yeah, we do. Because we both remember who took out that whole room of attackers single-handedly.”
Shade’s mouth dropped open but only a disgruntled huff escaped. He was about to try again when he was interrupted by a voice filled with exasperation and anxiety.
“Enough, both of you,” Haemir hissed before turning to Shade. “You said it yourself, we don’t have time to argue right now.” He looked at me. “And you, Shade is right. The only reason we’re alive is because she thinks you’re one of those people. If you start asking questions, that falls apart. And not just asking her questions. The same goes for everyone in this city. No one can find out that we don’t know what Ashaana is.”
Liam nodded. “He’s right.”
And now they were ganging up on me. Fantastic. But, yeah, they did have a point. I threw my arms up.
“Alright, I won’t ask any questions until we have what we came for.”
Shade watched me with an unreadable mask on his face. “Swear it by Nemanan.”
I crossed my arms. Damn him for knowing I’d never break a vow to the God of Thieves. Releasing a slow sigh, I conceded. “Fine. I swear by Nemanan that I won’t ask questions about it until we’ve accomplished our mission.”
“Guys, she’s coming back,” Haela whispered.
When Zaina arrived at the wagon, we were all acting like our hurried argument had never occurred. She looked from one face to the next before offering a shrug.
“We’re sleeping in here. Grab all your stuff, the pistols too, and follow me.” Zaina flashed a smile. “We have a lot to discuss but right now, we all need some sleep. I’ll get you settled in and then we’ll talk in the morning.”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and strode back towards the house. The six of us scrambled to follow her. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and picked up the closest box of pistols.
Well, would you look at that? We’d made it to the continent, and in only a few hours, we had infiltrated the capital, survived an ambush, made a somewhat dependable ally, and gotten a safe house. Maybe the seven of us would actually manage to take on an entire empire. Excitement bounced around inside me as I slipped in through the door and into the lit hallway beyond. I couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.