“What, and torment Okean all over again?” Gaige’s face hardened. “Leena should’ve taken him from the start. Now…”
“At least you can still see him,” Kost said, voice soft. Tentative.
Gaige tensed. “Do you know how many other beasts I have? Excuse me,had?”
Kost finally looked up, meeting Gaige’s gaze. “I’m sure Leena can fashion more keys for you.”
“That’s not the point, nor is it feasible,” Gaige hissed. Tight fists formed at his sides. “You expect me to carry around hundreds of keys just to have some semblance of the life I used to lead? What if I lost one? What if it fell into the wrong hands? Not to mention, I’m not even sure I could call on them like I used to. I feel…different.”
Kost braved a step his direction. “The transition is rough on everyone. We all felt different, too.”
Gaige glared at him. “It’s not the same. You can never understand what I’ve lost.”
“We made the decision to raise you so you could live, Gaige.” I slipped my hands into the pockets of my trousers. “Like I said, if you don’t want that, death is still a possibility.”
“Live?” His laugh was brittle, broken. “What’s living without my beasts?”
“What about us?” Kost asked.
“Whataboutyou?” Gaige’s question cut like a blade. Kost stiffened. This wasn’t the first time a newly raised assassin had turned their ire on us for being handed such a fate. But Gaige’s anger was different because it was tinted with torment. Weknewhim before the change, and we knew just how devastating a life without his beasts would be. And to hear that we—thatKost—weren’t reason enough for him to stay… Kost looked away and pinpointed an indistinct spot on the wall as he adjusted his glasses.
“I will take responsibility for what happened. Now, do you want to live or die? Is anything here worth it to you?”
Tension flickered between them, unseen yet palpable. My stomach turned with unease. I longed to disappear into the shadows. To give them a moment alone. They’d barely spent any time together since Yazmin’s attack, and Kost was always so close-lipped with his emotions.
Before Gaige could answer, the beast realm door groaned open and Leena reappeared in a flood of rosewood light. With flushed cheeks and mussed hair, she strode toward Gaige and handed him a bronze key. “Here you go. Okean’s healing up nicely. You should be able to summon him in no time.” She glanced between him, Kost, and me. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is perfect,” Gaige said with a sharp bite to his words as he accepted the key. “Now if you all would kindlyleave, I’d like to be alone with my thoughts.”
“Oh. Of course.” Leena drew back, tossing me a sidelong glance. “We should probably check on Oz, anyway.”
“If you need anything, just ask. There’s a bathroom through that door there.” I pointed to a door on the other side of the room, nestled between an armoire and the rycrim heater. “Spare clothes can be found in the dresser.”
Gaige didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his back on us, making what he wanted—needed—abundantly clear: privacy. Without another word, I led Leena and Kost out of the room, hoping space would give him a chance to come to terms with his new life.
* * *
The day came and went without Gaige emerging. And while he was newly raised and unable to fully control the shadows, the tendrils that spilled from this room were impossibly strong. It was as if the power he’d wielded as a Charmer had nourished the darkness in a way I’d never seen. Rather than waiting to be manipulated or called upon, the shadows clung to his sides like beasts. Alive. Thriving. I sensed them writhing around his room, creating a cocoon of sorts that blanketed out all noise and masked his presence even from us. It put Kost on edge, and he paced in front of the hearth in the foyer, occasionally glancing at the ceiling only to shake his head.
Fully recovered, Ozias sat on the couch with Calem, each of them tracking Kost’s movements. In the armchair across from them, Leena pressed her elbows to her knees, cupping her chin in her hands and staring into the crackling fire. I stood beside her, silently wishing Gaige would come down and put my family at ease. A few other assassins milled about the residence. Some upstairs, some in the library playing games or reading books. A few were loitering in the kitchen, munching on food. One thing was clear: they were all waiting and eavesdropping without showing their faces. Since Yazmin’s attack, I’d made it clear that changes were coming, and that we’d be working with the Charmers against our enemies. They just didn’t know exactly what that meant.
“So,” Calem said, finally breaking the silence, “how’s he holding up?”
“I don’t know,” Kost replied, voice tight.
“Okkkaaay.” He dragged out the word and glanced at me. I shook my head once. It was better to leave Gaige out of this conversation for now. Calem sighed, but didn’t argue. “Now what?”
“We move forward with the plan,” I replied. “Get everyone to Hireath so we only have to defend one location. Today proved just how vulnerable we are.” Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. Yazmin and Darrien had attacked and escaped, despite how prepared we thought we were. The worst part? We were all familiar with battle. If they had struck against anyone else, Charmers or even assassins who weren’t skilled in combat, the damages would have been far worse.
“We need to move faster,” Leena said. “The anniversary of Celeste’s death is only a few weeks away. As it stands right now, we’d never survive against Yazmin.”
“Leena,” Ozias said, voice hushed.
“She’s right.” I shook my head. “We’re severely outnumbered. Even more so when you count the number of people who are actually willing to fight. We need an army, but all we have is a small force.”
“Why?” Calem asked. “Who are we really up against? Yazmin, Darrien, a handful of traitorous assassins.” He ticked off his fingers as he spoke. “It’s not as many as you make it sound.”
“There’s also the obvious fact that Yazmin and Darrien attacked ustogether.” Kost continued to pace despite his halting words. “I wasn’t even aware they knew each other, which tells us a few things. First, Yazmin is likely in Wilheim, because that’s where we last saw Darrien.”
