Smirking, I lean back in my chair and get comfortable.
The man grabs the package and rises to his feet. Without a single word, he tosses some frade on the table next to the wine and leaves.
I watch him over my shoulder with a frown.
What a weird character.
But hey, at least I got a bottle of good plum blossom wine.
Humming a tune under my breath, I fill my glass. Just as I bring the glass to my lips, something familiar catches my eye.
I turn my head towards the table on my left.
The first thing I see are polished leather boots resting on the corner of the table. One ankle crossed over the other. Long, lean legs clad in black leather and torso wrapped in a loose white silk shirt. The black and red waistcoat is unbuttoned, in a messy yet elegant way.
She holds a blade in her hand, the handle carved from blood diamond.
Extremely expensive no matter which continent you live in.
Exceptionally rare, too.
But she uses it as if it were nothing. Picking at her long cherry-colored nails.
Her raven-black hair is tousled as it fall over her shoulders. As if she just rolled out of bed.
Her red lips curl into a smirk, and she quirks one well-manicured dark eyebrow. “No hello? Nothing?” She tsks. “How fucking rude, little brother.”
Ah, the last thing I need at the moment is my patronizing older sister’s surprise visit.
But I guess it’s true what they say.
You can’t outrun your past.
And trouble never travels solo.
“Maeve,” I say, cocking my head to the side. “What brings you here?”
Maeve’s emerald eyes—our father’s eyes—pin me in place. She tosses her blade into the air and without even looking at it catches it before tossing it again.
“General Slayer, huh?” After a beat of silence she says, “Father’s not pleased. He didn’t send you away to make a bigger mess out of your life andhisreputation.”
My heart drops.
Oh, shit.
“Nobody knows me here,” I say and spread my arms. “Nobody knows I’m the disgraced offspring of the trade king of Emera.”
“Don’t insult your own intelligence, or mine.” She uncrosses her ankles and her feet hit the floor with a heavydunk.“It wasn’t Father’s spies who brought us the news about his son.”
My eyebrows hike all the way to my hairline.Who did, then?
I’m curious to know. But that can wait.
First things first.
“What are you doing here, Maeve?”
She rests her elbows on her knees and leans forward. A slow smirk grows on her face. “I’m here on business, of course.”
