As if he somehow knew Finn had signed his name, Boris rolled over and groaned.
Boris does not count as an army. Ash might. The rats say they might as well.Finn paused.Still, it is a math problem we lose.
Zane looked amused. “That’s not even a number.”
Exactly.Finn nodded with grave certainty.Math cannot conceive how bad that idea would be.
“We’re not going after their queen,” Zane blurted. “Too risky. We just need someone valuable enough to impress the Flask.”
“Agreed. The ones living in the large rooms are probably council members or vampires of importance. And we know some of the high-profile targets the temple wants eliminated.” I gestured between Zane and me. Finn nodded.
“After we complete reconnaissance, we’ll make a list. One of them will be our mark.” I pushed to my feet to get a closer look at the map. Entrances and patrol routes sprawled across the parchment, a maze of risk and advantage. Finn had circled one narrow point. I pointed at it. “Is this our best way in?”
A small window in the basement.He tilted his head in curiosity.Once we have someone, then what? We cannot drag a vampire through the streets without notice.
“Mathias ordered every candidate a set of spelled restraints,” Zane said. “We’re also permitted to take horses from the stable.”
Finn raised a brow.And we bring this vampire where?
“Here,” I said, then signed,Our room. We guard them in shifts.
Excellent. Nothing like tucking in deadly enemies before dawn.Finn sighed.
“And if things go wrong at the House of Whispers?” Zane asked.
We run. Different exits marked on map: north servant door, east kitchen window, south cellar.Finn tapped each point on the map in turn.
“I’ll gather what we need. The gags, sedatives, rope, and Finn’s armor. Sidney, all you have to do is go ask Mathias for the restraints. We’ll have our supplies before we move,” Zane offered. “And we’ll need rest before we tackle this.”
“All right. We stake it out tomorrow night,” I said. “Learn their patterns. Make our move when we’re certain.”
Zane pressed a tender kiss to my brow before vanishing through the door.
A soft squeak broke the quiet he left behind. My gaze dropped to the rat at Finn’s feet, then lifted as Finn signed,You should practice understanding the animals more.
After a deep inhale, I opened my mental gate. Another attempt with the rats produced the same one-way connection: scattered words and images.“Hungry. Hot. Cold. Cheese.”
My head throbbed, frustration tightening my throat.
Finn abandoned the map and stepped close.You are shaking. Enough for now.He turned, and the rodents scurried away, their claws scratching against the floorboards before they vanished through the crack in the window. Boris remained asleep, while Nibs nestled into his favorite shoe. Butters had curled into a furry ball in the chair I’d just been sitting in.
With my mental door shut, the room was too quiet. My thoughts filled the space, stirring every buried worry until they scraped raw against my ribs. An uncertain future tightened around my throat.
My breath came shorter, the walls closingin. The weight of expectation stayed lodged behind my eyes, pounding in a slow, stubborn rhythm.
Do not forget you have me.Each of Finn’s signs cut the air with hard, decisive strokes.And Zane. And your own considerable skill. We are in this together.
A tight knot in my chest loosened, and air rushed back into my lungs.
I worry about losing you.Finn’s fingers paused.I have never had something worth losing before. Now I do.The vulnerability in his eyes stripped away every defense I had left.
“Finn.” His name came out like a plea, an answer, the only truth I had. I needed proof that right now, in this moment, we both existed and breathed and wanted.
He cupped my cheek in his palm, cutting off whatever inadequate response I’d been forming. Warmth spread from the contact, chasing the chill that had settled in my bones. The scent of parchment and ink clung to his skin.
My attention snagged on the freckles scattered across his collarbone, visible where his shirt had shifted. His thumb traced my jawline, the touch light enough to feel like a question.
The space between us narrowed, and my hands found his chest, feeling the slow rhythm of his vampire heart beneath my palms—so different from my own frantic pulse.
