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SORCHA APPEARED IN an abandoned house in the suburbs where the middleclass fairies lived. It was a mystery why the Immortal Triumvirate wanted her next target dead. Lord Dallinar was probably the person who had sent her this kill order. “Maybe she’s one of the poor women he tried to bed and failed to perform with,” the sorceress said. Once again, teleporting had shorted out her shield. She flinched a little when she heard her own voice. Demon scouts could be anywhere, so she cast the spell to mask her scent and noise again.
She left the house and walked a few blocks to the modest brick house where her mark lived. The house was devoid of occupants, so she let the spell guide her to another house two streets over. A bunch of fairies were gathered inside. They were probably having a tea party and were gossiping about the rich and famous.
A stab of grief hit Sorcha when she realized she would never be able to sit in the living room of her mansion with her friends and chat about inconsequential things ever again. She wished she’d decided to rebel against their overlords years ago. Eden and Malachi would still be alive if she’d found a way to break their link to their leaders. But she’d believed Wort’s lies that the bond would give them away if they broke the rules. The satyr was just as evil as the men who’d given him the task of training three innocent young children to be killers.
While she was waiting for an opportunity to strike, Sorcha cautiously gauged the strength of the fairies. None of them stood out as being very powerful, so she would have to continue her search. “Who could this mysterious magic user be?” she murmured noiselessly. Once she’d taken down this target, she would scour the city until she found him.
A couple of hours passed, then she sensed her prey heading for the door. The tea party had come to an end and the guests were heading home. Sorcha followed the dainty, beautiful fae woman until she broke away from the group of fairies she was walking with. The assassin remained camouflaged as she looked around to make sure no one was watching. When her quarry was walking down the path to her house, the sorceress struck. She sent a lethal spear of air at the wingless being. The fairy was killed painlessly and died instantly.
Sorcha teleported away and made a few random jumps before ending up in the grove near the elven woods. Her glamor spell cloaked her identity as she left the grove. She started down the sidewalk in search of the man who would change her destiny forever.
The elven woods were usually filled with powerful fae beings. Even from a distance, Sorcha could feel their strength. She’d never been inside the woods, but she wouldn’t be barred from entering it, since she had fae blood. The spell that had kept non-fae beings out had faded long ago, but she still felt as if she didn’t belong.
As she skirted around the edges of the woods, the sorceress saw a flicker of dark red in her peripheral vision. She turned to see the handsome courier leaving one of the mansions. He must have just finished delivering a package to the house. He would probably head back to the Magic Guildhall for further instructions. The wizard turned and saw her and halted in surprise. Again, he’d somehow seen through her disguise.
When the courier motioned towards the elven woods, Sorcha found herself nodding in agreement to meet him there. Realizing she still had her scent and noise muffling shield in place, she dropped it and walked towards the once forbidden forest. Kade Sinclair met her at the entrance to the path and offered her his arm. “My lady,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you, kind sir,” she replied. She placed her hand on his arm as if they were high born beings rather than the lowest of the low in the fae hierarchy.
“What’s your name?” Kade asked as he guided her to a secluded gazebo that would shelter them from the rain.
“Sorcha,” she replied almost breathlessly. The courier’s amethyst eyes were mesmerizing up close. He was so gorgeous she was finding it difficult to think. Just being near him was almost as distracting as having two assassination orders hounding her at the same time.
“I’m Kade Sinclair,” he said as he waited for her to take a seat beneath the gazebo.
“I remember,” she replied. “You told me your name when the elf gave you a package to deliver a few weeks ago.” The elf was dead by her hands now, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said as he studied her face intently. “Is that why you wear a disguise? Is it to stop men from constantly trying to court you?”
“Something like that,” she said evasively. Her palms were sweaty and she felt slightly awkward. She’d never been in a situation like this before. She wasn’t sure how to act, or what to say. He seemed just as out of his depth to her. On impulse, Sorcha leaned over and pressed her lips against his. The kiss only lasted for a bare second or two. Then she jerked back in horror, waiting for her magic to zap him. Kade looked a little startled, but nothing bad happened. “Sorry,” she said in embarrassment and amazement that her innate defenses hadn’t kicked in. Maybe she hadn’t hurt him because the kiss had been her choice.
“You’ve done nothing to apologize for,” the courier said and reached out to touch her cheek. Her body didn’t react badly to his touch. “I wanted to kiss you from the first moment I saw you,” he admitted.
Alarm thrummed through the sorceress when Kade leaned towards her. She put her hands up and they became splayed against his muscular chest. His mouth stopped a hairsbreadth from hers as he waited for her to make a decision. With her heart thudding hard and fast, Sorcha gave in to her innermost desires and kissed him again. His arms went around her back to hold her close. Her hands slid around his neck as he deepened the kiss. Her body seemed to know what to do. Instead of being awkward, their embrace was sensual. Liquid heat flicked inside her as the courier coaxed her latent desire to life.
An annoying fluttering noise intruded on the pair a few minutes later. They broke apart to see a letter hovering between them. Kade reached for it, but the envelope darted over to Sorcha. She took it and scowled when she opened it and read the note. “I have to go,” she said reluctantly.
“Duty calls?” Kade asked with just as much regret that their short dalliance was over.
“Always,” she said grimly. As they stood, she surreptitiously probed him. She found his strength was just as low as she’d expected for someone of his status in the Magic Guild. He kissed her cheek, then watched her as she left the elven woods. Sorcha wasn’t surprised that Kade Sinclair wasn’t the man who was destined to help her break free from her bonds, but she was bitterly disappointed. The thought of being bound to him didn’t bother her at all.
When she was a mile or so away from the elven woods, Sorcha teleported to the gothic church in the center of the Vampire District. It seemed Lord Kreaton had someone he needed her to kill now. “It’s never-ending,” the assassin said in despair as she cast her new shield around herself again. She would have to continue her search for her knight in shining armor in between her endless missions to deal out death.
