The next day, Aina woke to Mirran walking into the bedroom they shared with Tannis, who’d already left. Bags were under her eyes and she yawned as Aina sat up.
“How was your job last night?” Aina asked.
She shrugged while twining her long blue hair into a braid. “Stole a few thousand kors from some unsuspecting businessman at a fancy party, the usual. Some Jackals almost knifed me on the way home, also the usual.”
Aina raised an eyebrow. “Where are they now?”
“In the river where I left them. I’m happy to stab anyone who’s trying to stab me, but I’m worried about our recruits.”
“Me too,” Aina admitted, thinking of Kushik, Markus, and Johana. They were better at defending themselves than most other kids in the city, but the Jackals’ attacks had only been growing more ruthless, and she couldn’t help the spike of fear she felt for the three recruits. “Did Tannis ask you to look into the Jackal hideouts?”
Mirran nodded, then sat on the floor next to Aina’s mattress. “I actually heard something from the men at the party last night. When they think you’re a silly little girl, they don’t really pay attention to what they’re saying around you.” With a smirk, she continued, “There’s a Diamond Guard named Arin Fayes, have you heard of him?”
“He’s a captain, isn’t he?” Aina asked, dredging up from her memory what she knew of the man. “Works in the prison. I’ve heard one of his favorite hobbies is making the prisoners fight one another and taking bets on it.”
“Yeah, that one. The party was on one of his boats in the northwest harbor. He also owns a few apartment buildings on Lyra Avenue, and he was whispering with some of his colleagues about how they were offering free rent to any tenants willing to hide people there and keep their mouths shut about it. I found out where all the apartments are.”
From her pocket, she withdrew a folded-up piece of paper and then spread it out on the floor. It was a simple map of Lyra Avenue, showing the cross streets where the apartments could be found. Four of them. With Fayes offering free rent to anyone agreeing to house people from Kaiyan, he’d probably gotten a lot of volunteers. With Kohl’s information that Bautix was hiring Kaiyanis rebels to fight for him … Her pulse raced at the sight of the map—this was more than a decent lead to start shutting down Bautix’s plans.
“You’re amazing, Mirran,” she said, folding the map and tucking it inside the pouch of poison darts at her belt.
“I know,” she said, leaning against the wall with her arms folded behind her head. “Can I have a raise?”
Aina took a gold kor out of her pocket and tossed it in the air. Mirran caught it easily and winked one of her own gold eyes.
The summer heat hit Aina like a brick to the face when she stepped outside. She brushed hair away from her eyes, finding it already sticky with sweat. It was barely noon, and the day would only get hotter.
Every time she turned a corner on her way to the Center, she glanced over her shoulder to check if anyone was following her. If any of the tradehouses found out she was working with Kohl, they would never trust her again; if Teo or Tannis found out, they’d realize she’d lied to them last night. The closer she got to the Center and the train station, the more alert she grew, checking the crowds around her for familiar faces.
Blending in with the hordes of passengers would shake off anyone tailing her. People ran past her to ticket booths and platforms, hauling heavy luggage in their arms and sweating in the crowded, sun-drenched station. With a nod to the bribed security guard, Aina slipped past the ticket barrier.
Unlocking the door to the darkened service stairwell, she made her way to the second floor.
When she neared the train station’s tower, Kohl was already there. She kept her footsteps and breath quiet as she peered around the corner, wanting to watch him for a moment before speaking.
He waited for her on the edge of the windowsill, legs dangling over the side, his dark brown hair blown back by the wind. It was strange to see him so exposed, unaware she was there—she’d never had this opportunity while working for him, and something about it now felt personal, intimate. They’d spent hours here together when she was still training to become a Blade; he’d told her everything he knew about the city, and she’d grown used to his voice, his presence, all the secrets he kept. Half of her wanted to stand here and watch this man she’d spent years trying to figure out, while the other half wanted to shove him out of the window.
But she had to make him trust her again before killing him and proving to him that she’d never needed him at all. If she wanted her revenge, this job with him, to be worth it … she needed to be patient.
“I found out who the Diamond Guard traitor is,” he said without turning, and she stiffened. How long had he known she was standing there? “He’s been close to Bautix for years—they both came from army families and were stationed on the same base in the south. He’s a captain, one of only four who works in the prison, and now he’s helping Bautix build secret entrances into the Tower.”
Crossing her arms as he turned to face her, she said, “Let me guess. Arin Fayes.”
“How did you know that?” He raised one eyebrow as he stood to walk toward her.
“One of my employees found out he’s also the one who owns the apartments on Lyra Avenue where all the Jackals and the Kaiyanis men are hiding.”
“One of your employees for the next few weeks, you mean.”
His gaze leveled at her and she stared back at him, refusing to blink or show any frustration at what he’d said. He’d come close enough that he blocked out the sunlight streaming through the window, leaving the half of the small room they stood in doused in shadow.
“If we can stop Bautix from getting any more weapons and take out Arin Fayes, we’ll win this before he really starts fighting,” she continued. His eyes flashed briefly at her words.
And then it’ll just be you and me.
“I’m going to go look at the apartments today and see what I can learn.”
After a brief pause, Kohl said, “I’m going with you.”
“What?” she snapped. “I thought you wanted to lie low. Someone will see us.”
He raised an eyebrow, then pulled a black kerchief from his pocket with a dramatic flourish. While she frowned at him, he tied it around the lower half of his face as a makeshift mask.
“You really think people won’t recognize you like that?” she asked flatly.
“Not everyone has worked as close to me as you have for the past six years,” he pointed out, his voice slightly muffled by the cloth. “The only Jackals I’ve personally spoken to are the ones on my side. Besides, you need me there, since half of the people we’ll probably end up spying on are Kaiyanis, and I’ve learned their language. You haven’t.”
As he spoke, he tugged down the sleeves on his shirt to cover his Vulture tattoo, the bird hung by a string of diamonds, the marking of his old gang. He made a good point, but going to Lyra Avenue meant traversing half the city—there were too many chances someone would see them.
“My employees will recognize you if they see us together,” she said in a low voice.
“What does that matter?” he asked in an icy tone. “If you’re a good boss, they won’t question you, and if they do, you’ll put them in their place—won’t you?” He paused. “Nice bosses get their throats slit, Aina, you should know that by now.”
Aina gestured for him to follow her, turning so he couldn’t see her expression. But her ears burned as she led the way down the stairs, back into the train station, and then out into the Center.
This is what he does, she reminded herself. His taunts wouldn’t get to her if she stayed on her guard.
For the first ten minutes of their walk, she stayed ahead of Kohl, trying to put the crowds between them and checking every rooftop and alley for a sign of anyone who might see them together. He said nothing as they walked, but every time she glanced over her shoulder, he was at the same ten feet of distance, always watching her.
She decreased the distance between them as they approached Lyra Avenue, knowing it would be easier to blend in with the crowds once they reached the bustling district. As soon as they got there, they moved in perfect tandem, taking the same steps to avoid pedestrians and the hawk-like eyes of Diamond Guards patrolling the streets. She watched Kohl from the corner of her eye, finding it strange to work alongside him again now that they were equals.
She’d dreamed of being at his side for years, not taking orders, but truly working together. Before she’d learned to stop trusting him, she’d hoped that one day, he might see her as more than a colleague. Something of that old, naive hope sparked curiosity in her—how would he act toward her now? For a moment, as they meshed with the crowds of Lyra Avenue like shadows in the night, she let herself feel the brief exhilaration that came when you moved at the same speed as someone and worked with the same skill. In minutes, they slipped through a group of Marinian tourists and reached the casino where she’d gone last night.
Kohl tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the alley next to the casino, where a fire escape led to the upper floors. Together, they stepped off the main road and into the alley. Wrinkling her nose against the scents of piss and garbage, Aina walked up to the fire escape and jumped to catch the lower rungs.
“That’s a lot of apartments to search,” Kohl said below her. “Four stories, six windows each floor. Let’s look through the windows, then do a quick sweep of the halls.”
She nodded, then lifted herself up onto the fire escape stairwell before climbing to the next floor. The window ledges were rather narrow, but would be enough to stand on. The difficult thing would be scaling between each window, using only the space between the bricks as footholds and handholds.
While she examined the distance between the fire escape and the first apartment window, Kohl started climbing over with an utterly relaxed expression on his face as if this were a stroll through a field. Cursing herself for hesitating, Aina found what purchase she could on the wall. She moved slower than she normally would, her bullet wound from yesterday throbbing when she put too much pressure on her left leg. She scaled her way over to the first apartment window and then glanced inside, gathering what details she could—it was just a family’s apartment. An old woman napped in a chair. A door opened within the apartment and a younger woman walked out in house clothes. Aina quickly stepped to the other side of the window to avoid being seen.
It took an hour for her and Kohl to check all the windows, and by the time they finished, Aina was covered in sweat. Kohl, however, barely looked ruffled. When they met on the fire escape landing of the top floor, she held back a huff of frustration. This would have taken double the time if she were alone.
“See anything interesting?” she asked Kohl.
“Mostly families, but I saw some of the people Bautix hired from overseas. None of them said anything interesting while I had time to listen. You?”
“About the same. Let’s check the halls.”
They climbed into the top-floor hallway. Doors stood open, laughter and music filtering into the hall along with the scent of grilling meat. As they walked down it, people moved between apartments, families and friends visiting one another. A mix of languages filled the air; Aina caught snatches of Kaiyanis, Durozvy, and Marinian.
Aina and Kohl walked to the end of the hall and through a door into a winding stairwell. A chill hung in the dark, windowless stairwell, a welcome respite from the summer heat outside. A single flickering bulb hanging from the ceiling lit the way. The staircases were so narrow, they had to walk one at a time, their breaths and echoing footsteps the only sounds.
They’d barely reached the second set of stairs when the door on the landing above opened with a loud creak. Kohl came to an abrupt stop, and Aina almost tripped trying not to walk into him, except he spun around and caught her by the elbow. Her back pressed against the railing, and she barely breathed as she listened to the voices above speak in Kaiyanis. Three male voices, all of them loud and boisterous, with no care in the world if they were overheard.
Kohl was too close. Their boots touched on the stair, his chest was an inch or two from her shoulders, his chin at her eye level. As the Kaiyanis men descended the stairs, Kohl glanced down at her and she gulped, trying not to breathe in his scent—the same smoke-and-mint scent she’d used to take every opportunity to be near. She leaned back slightly on the railing to put distance between them.
The men’s voices echoed as they approached, only one flight of stairs away now, and Kohl whispered, “Those are definitely some of the men Bautix hired, but all they’re talking about is how great the burlesque clubs on Lyra Avenue are supposed to be.” He raised an eyebrow at her and a blush overtook her face. She was about to shove past him when he said, “Follow my lead.”
The men turned the corner then, so relaxed they didn’t even notice Kohl and Aina standing there. But Kohl lifted a gun so fast, they had no time to react. Aina moved, drawing a knife. Kohl shoved the closest man away so he slammed into the wall, and fired into the head of the man behind him. At the same time, Aina launched a dagger into the throat of the third man.
As the two dead men slumped on the stairs, Aina pushed the surviving one to his knees. She placed a knife at his throat and turned him to face his dead colleagues. Kohl leaned toward him then and spoke in Kaiyanis, his voice a raspy whisper.
Though she only understood a few words, Kohl’s voice was threatening enough in any language. His eyes flashed while the man choked out a reply, and then Kohl nodded at Aina. She swept her blade across the man’s throat and let him drop.
As she stepped away from the body, Kohl said, “Bautix is having them prepare to escort a shipment of weapons this weekend, so they’ve been trying to enjoy the city’s nightlife before then. Let’s find out what else we can.” Then he moved to walk down the stairs, but paused, turning back to face Aina with a self-satisfied smirk. “I told you it’d be good to have me here.”
Grinding her teeth in frustration, she said, “We still have to sweep the hallways. Let’s check alternating floors and meet downstairs.”
Without waiting to see if he listened, she took quicker steps down the stairs and slipped into the next hallway, where he thankfully didn’t follow.
They met on the ground floor, and having found nothing more, they made their way to the next apartment building. The heat pressed down on them as they skirted through the crowds, so humid it felt like trying to breathe underwater. She cast a glance at the clock tower of a bank at the end of the next block; it was already afternoon, and she had to get back to the Dom to meet Ryuu, Raurie, and Lill. She waved for Kohl to hurry up, and they soon reached the next building. They repeated what they’d done at the first one, moving slightly faster this time. That search yielded nothing, nor did the next one.
As they stopped under the fire escape of the fourth building, Kohl turned to her and, with a hint of mock concern in his voice, asked, “Did you want to stop?”
She brushed the sweat off her forehead, glaring at him out of the corner of her eye. He still barely had a hair out of place.
“I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Are you tired?” He reached out a hand and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen from her ponytail.
When his hand touched her skin, she felt like an electric shock went through her, and she was thrust back into a memory. Last month, after she’d failed at a job, he’d cornered her in an alley, punched her in the face, and then touched her chin softly like this.
She flinched back and grabbed his hand, taking two of his fingers and bending them back dangerously far.
“Did you want me to break your fingers?” she snapped, nearly spitting the words in his face. “Don’t touch me, Kohl.”
She pushed his hand away from her and hauled herself up the ladder, resisting the urge to kick him in the face when he laughed a little. She was supposed to be making him uncomfortable, not the other way around.
“Hot-headed bosses also get their throats slit, Aina,” he said in a threatening tone, so low she almost didn’t hear. She stiffened for a moment on the ladder, then shoved his words aside and continued upward.
This last building went nearly the same way as the others, and Aina was close to giving up—until, at the first window of the third floor, she froze. Four people had gathered in the sitting room, and one of them had a Jackal tattoo on her forearm. The woman looked up then, and Aina pulled back from the window.
Hissing to Kohl, she caught his attention and waved for him to come over. He did, gripping the pipe running down the wall with his hands while his feet rested above the bricks.
“Can’t hear anything,” he said, peering into the room along with her. “You stay here where you can see them, I’ll go into the hall and try to listen at the door.”
She nodded, her fingers aching from holding on to the wall. She inched one foot over to the windowsill to have a bit more purchase. Leaning closer, she tried to hear more of the Jackals’ conversation. Their voices were mostly muffled with the closed window between her and them, but she caught something: “Day after tomorrow, I heard.”
“At an unholy hour of the morning,” another one groaned. “I’ll have to take the first train out to the port.”
One of them stood from their chair then and the squeaking sound drowned out the next words another one said. Aina’s hands began to sweat on the bricks. Edging her foot farther onto the windowsill, she strained to hear more.
Then her boot hit the window.
She yanked her foot back, but the Jackal woman who’d almost seen her before jolted upright from her seat, a pistol in hand already.
Her next words came clearly: “Heard something out there, and I don’t think it’s a bird.”
Aina grabbed on to the pipe Kohl had been holding earlier as the woman approached the window. Swinging herself around the other side of it, she gripped it with one hand and one foot, her other hand and foot scrambling to find purchase on the bricks, feeling very much like a cave spider. With her back to the wall, she could see the exact height of the three stories she’d fall if she lost her grip.
At that moment, a loud knock sounded on the door of the apartment. Aina barely breathed, trying to calm her racing pulse as the Jackals answered the door. “Blood King,” one of the Jackals greeted perfunctorily when they opened the door. “Didn’t know you knew where to find us.”
“There are many things I know that you don’t,” Kohl replied without a pause. “Check that the Kaiyanis rebels aren’t enjoying Lyra Avenue’s revelries too much. They’re already sneaking out and probably getting seen by plenty of Diamond Guards who will be able to tell they’re not simple tourists. Keep them in line.” He paused then, and added, with a hint of bitterness in his voice that Aina thought only she might be able to recognize, “Bautix’s orders.”
As his words died out, Aina made her way over to the fire escape and climbed onto it.
The window opened then, and she jolted behind the steps. The Jackal woman who’d almost seen her stuck her head out of the window, one hand still gripping the gun. She glanced left and right, then slammed the window shut and drew down the blinds.
Aina swore as she leaned back on the railing. They’d almost shot her, and Kohl had been the one to save her by distracting them. She needed to do something to throw him off, to make him scramble for a reply.
When Kohl stepped out onto the fire escape a minute later, he finally looked bothered—he brushed back his dark hair, sweat on his forehead and shoulders tense. “Did you hear that? The shipment will be here in two days, at the southwestern coastal port. They’ll be putting it on a cargo train.”
“I’m going to stop it,” she said, looking out at the rooftops visible ahead of them, the bars and brothels and casinos spreading all over Lyra Avenue, and toward the Stacks. A pall of black clouds hung over it all. “You in?”
“Wouldn’t miss the chance to put Bautix in his place.”
She locked eyes with him then, and for a moment, she imagined grabbing him and flinging off the fire escape. But instead, she said the one thing he wouldn’t expect from her. “Thank you, Kohl. The Jackals would have seen me if you hadn’t distracted them.”
The words were like poison on the back of her tongue—admitting that he’d helped her. He froze, his eyes narrowed as he took in her words. She kept her features casual, unreadable. He could taunt and threaten her all he wanted, but she had a better weapon: making him trust her. And she was just getting started.
He held out his hand to help her up, and this time she took it.