“It’s beautiful.” Her grey eyes are trusting but intent as she turns around and lifts her hair, looking back at me over her shoulder, “What does it do?”
A smirk lifts one side of my mouth. Of course, my girl would be too smart to think this was just a pretty bit of magic. A weird rush of pride swells in my chest at the knowledge that this gorgeous, intelligent woman actually wantsme. “I’ll be with you now. I’ll be able to hear and see what’s happening, and if shit hits the fan, I’ll pop out of that gemstone like a fucking ninja and castrate everyone.”
Ryn quirks a brow, “You’re going to castrate my sister?”
My lips curl into my mouth, and I bite down as I tilt my head to consider, “No, you’re right. That’s selfish. I’ll let you take care of her.”
She laughs, and my heart does a little flip in my chest. I reach out and quickly do up the necklace, then wrap my arms around her waist and pull her back against my chest in a hug, gently kissing her head while stealing one last pull of her scent into my lungs.
She smiles at me briefly before nodding toward the outdoor ballroom, “I know we’re here to talk to Saskia, but if she won’t talk, we might still find some answers in her office.”
Now it’s my turn to quirk a brow. “Say no more.”
Her eyes soften, and she cups my cheek in her warm hand. “Thank you, Seth, I—”
“No, really. Please, baby.” I reach out a finger and place it against her lush lips. “Plausible deniability.”
Her eyes sparkle with mirth, and I grin back at her. She probably thinks I’m just being playful, which works for me. I am, technically, but I’m also about to break at least five Guild sanctions by the end of this day, and there’s almost no way they won’t find out.
Willing as much confidence into my voice as possible, I whisper, “Go, I’ll be with you if you need me.”
Her fingers brush over the necklace as she smiles and turns to leave. I shiver as a tingle races down my spine, and watch until she disappears around the corner.
My shoulders drop, and I stare down at the ground for a minute. I've always tried to keep my head down with the Guild, especially since I already stick out like a sore thumb. Breaking rules like this—they'll definitely have something to say about it. Will they fire me? What the hell would I even do if I wasn't a soul reaper?
She’sworthit.
I nod, agreeing with the voice of reason inside my head. Besides, the Guild really will care about this soul stone business. It makes sense that I’m trying to help her stop it. I square my shoulders and smile ruefully as I vanish into shadow, flying along the corners of the walls as I make my way to the business wing. I’m placating myself. They’re gonna be fucking pissed.
Ah, well. At least I'll have yellow-booted lap dances to fall back on. My mood brightens as I imagine the look on Ryn's face if I told her I was using her 'suggestion' as a fallback career. I think I'd make a pretty good stripper, yellow boots and all.
I pause for a moment outside of Saskia’s office. It’s definitely not empty; I can hear papers rustling and vials clinking from where I’m hiding in the shadows of the barren stone hallway. Of course it couldn’t just be empty. I concentrate on Ryn’s gem to see how things are going for her. A slightly distorted image of the sight-line from around Ryn's neck appears in my mind's eye, and I sigh.
Oh. Well, that’s a relief, kind of. She’s watching Saskia and some other courtiers laugh at a very drunk-looking prince Brenyn, which means Saskia isnotthe one currently inside her lab.
I glance over at the closed office door and purse my lips, trying to imagine what kind of foul Unseelie Court members might be in there. Focusing back on Ryn through the necklace, I whisper that I've located the lab, hoping that she'll be able to hear me over the noisy courtiers, and then I swoop across the hall and under the door. Thankfully, this place is exactly what you’d expect a malevolent lair to look like, so there’s plenty of shadow to sink into. Not so great, though, are the two hobgoblins bustling around. So much for 'in and out with no one the wiser'.
“How many more batches can we get from this?” A thin hobgoblin with a hooked nose and gnarled hands asks in a particularly nasally voice—probably extra nasally thanks to the disproportionate nose taking up most of his squished little face.
“Less than one,” another grumbles. He seems slightly larger, but mostly in the stomach area. He has his little potbelly resting on the table as he shuffles papers around. His thick eyebrows dance like miniature schnauzers above his beady eyes.
“Pfulit.She’s going to skin the hides from our flesh. His royalness said there would be enough for two.” Nose drops a bit of something into one of the flasks bubbling in front of him.
“Royalness,” Eyebrows spits the title, looking up from his papers, his beady eyes flashing with resentment. “And he’s a pillar of honesty, he is? Thatsnaarikis going to get us all kilt.”
Nose grumbles incoherently before turning back, a velvet pouch clutched in his knobby hands. He opens it and pulls out a rough-looking, clear crystal. “He proved true enough, he has.”
Eyebrows harrumphs, his thin lips wrinkling in a severe pout. “I s’pose.”
“Let’s just finish what we can and let the lady decide what to do next. This is enough for now besides.” Nose drops the stone back intothe pouch, and I wait until it clears the opening before making my move.
Heavily cloaked in shadow, I rush forward as the entire room goes pitch-black. The hobgoblins squeak with surprise, and I grab the bag of soul stones while Nose is diverted. He growls and swings, but I’m already moving back toward the door.
“Thief! You’ll pay for this!” Eyebrows screams in a shrill voice as his papers go flying.Oops.
I shrug, sending shadows out to knock over Nose’s test tubes while I’m at it. They clink as they hit the table. A giant blast of fey fire shoots up from where the liquids mix, and I scrunch my nose at the gods-awful smell. Okay, that actually was an oops. Shitty bog-smelling fey fire was not on my bingo card. Oh well. I quickly send the pouch to where my pocket would be with magic and slip out under the door, leaving some shadow behind in Saskia’s office to slow down the alarms being raised.
If you want to speak to her, do it now. I’ve got the stones. She’ll know soon.Pushing my voice through the connection with her necklace, I feel as it comes out as a whisper against her flesh. She shudders, nodding quickly and making a beeline for Saskia. I hurry through the shadows as I watch her close in on her sister in my mind.
