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Two hours pass, the sun long gone, before I decide to try something else. Talis is a crony for The Prince and The Princess, and although I’d rather slit my throat than see The Prince again today, this can’t wait.
I drop my hand to my bag and pull out the dress Gretta gifted me. I run my thumb over the soft fabric, and I grimace as my strategic side climbs forward, beating out my lizard brain.
I’m a professional, and I still have a job to complete. I can’t kill Talis, and then expect to be able to get close to The Prince and The Princess.Take them out, then deal with Talis. I move into an alley and change into the dress, leaving my bag and clothes behind an old crate. I change my shoes last, grateful Gretta didn’t completely trash my stilettos. I don’t bother with jewelry, seeing as one of my earrings is missing and my necklace has a broken chain. I bite my lip in amusement before I head inside a local bathhouse to plaster my hair into a tidy line behind my ears with water. I wash off some of my eyeliner, cleaning my face up enough to look somewhat innocent but also fully myself.I’m an assassin tonight.
I head back out to the street, zigzagging my way through partiers as I head for one of the more well-known entrances to the Underground — Mirror Cafe. It’s a massive chain that runs throughout all of the kingdoms of Mirror, dominating the caffeine market but not because it tastes good. For most, it’s all about the experience.
I step through the ordinary-looking shop front and enter a hallway littered with mirrors. Somewhere in this maze of reflection is a counter with a barista.
Somewhere deeper, there’s a black curtain calling my name.
I follow my instinct, the curtain to the Underground yearning to connect with my desires. The magic of its entrance draws me closer, and before long, I stand at the end of a narrow hallway, my red dress scattered around me in the broken pieces of mirrors, making a strange mosaic. A black curtain drapes across the furthest wall, and I close my eyes as I step closer.
VengeanceandLies, my mind shouts toward the magic in desperation. I wait for the familiar whoosh of my body being sucked into the Underground, but the magic doesn’t take hold.
I snap my eyes open with a frown, feeling the curtains’ magic digging through me and latching to something in my chest. A curled-up feeling beaten down to almost nothing. Then the magic moves to a place in the core of me, a place filled with want. The magic pools over that feeling and tugs at it. “Lust,” I breathe, the word yanked out of my throat.
Immediately, the magic whisks me away, and I steady myself as I’m berated by club music. I run a hand over my throat, disbelief leaving me unsure as to whether I should continue my job tonight. Clearly, I want The Prince. I want him enough that he’s somehow become my ticket into the one place I’ve always been free to visit.I can’t kill him, I think, and dread circles my throat like a leash.
I let the crowd of the dance floor push me about, and I shuffle through, gently swaying my hips so I don’t get trampled.
I have until tomorrow night to kill them and satisfy The Beast, and while I want to get what I need from Talis soon, it’s just going to have to wait.
I need to get this feeling out of my system tonight, I decide and saunter to the bar, ordering two shots. I down them and scan the dance floor. Most people are paired off, but a group of friends near the club’s center has an outlier. He’s tall, handsome —good enough.
I order and drink one more shot before I wiggle my way forward. I catch the guy’s elbow, and he looks down at me in surprise. “Dance with me,” I command, but the edge leaves my voice as the liquor takes effect.
He drags his gaze over me, then he hooks an arm around my waist with a smile.
We move together, my heart thumping in time with the beat. I toss my head back, my arms up and feel the bass shoot across my skin. He turns me, and I feel his arousal against my waist, my heart moving into a hammering rhythm.
I grab his hand and tug him out of the main crowd to a dark nook. Two other couples have staked their claim, their clothes discarded, but I choose not to care as I run my hands down his chest.
He brushes down the straps of my gown, and I shiver as I grab his neck and pull him to my lips.
I groan as his tongue meets mine, and my body tenses as images flash through me of The Prince, of the way his mouth felt infinitely better than this.
The guy accidentally bites my lip, and I step back. I glare at him as blood squeezes out.
He doesn’t apologize. Instead, he just grabs me again, and his grubby hands comb up my sides and grope my breasts with such little respect, I feel sick.
Fucking hell. I push him off me and hurry away, lifting my straps as I go and ducking my head to escape through the crowd. I jump when his firm hand lands on my shoulder.
“Hey,” he shouts over the music. “Come back.”
I spin around, my face scrunched in disgust. “I’m done. Move on.”
He keeps hold of my shoulder and tugs me toward him. “Don’t be like that. Things were just about to get interesting.”
“You’re right.” I reach down and hike up my dress to reveal the holster on my thigh, all my beautiful, glorious knives glistening beneath the strobe lights. “If you don’t get your hand off of me, thingsareabout to get interesting.”
His eyes go wide at the sight of my blades, and he licks his lips. “Oh, um —”
“Bye.” I stomp away, damn near snapping my stilettos. I’ve never been this sexually frustrated in my life. Usually, a quickie in a dark corner is enough to hold me over, but now my stupid brain thinks I need aparticularperson to satisfy me.
I leave the club through the closest exit and enter a labyrinth of tunnels. There are no maps of the Underground and magic seeps from the dirt walls. The whole point is to get lost, to wander exactly where you need to be. Usually, I go the opposite direction the walls tug me. I just don’t like the idea of ever giving Fate an easy time. Tonight, however, I’m hoping the walls will lead me to relief.
Give me someone hotter than The Prince, I beg them as I slide my fingers over the walls.
