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She skimmed her fingertips over the hematite buttons on her coat, savoring their polished surfaces. “But it can be. Surely I don’t have to tell you that.”
“Being afraid doesn’t give anyone the right to hunt folks down like animals,” Alem replied. “For coin, no less.”
She met his gaze. “Wouldn’t you pay to keep your loved ones safe?”
To his credit, he did not look away. “I must believe there’s another way — a way without bloodshed.”
“Is that what Damaris thinks,” Verve mused, “or just Alem?”
His jaw tightened. “Marea Damaris is beyond your reach — beyond anyone’s reach.” He paused, toying with the flower pin on his shirt. “If you can’t find them here, will you leave?”
Was that sorrow behind his words, or hope? Verve couldn’t tell one from the other, sometimes.
Would she leave? If she didn’t, someone would eventually come looking for her. Hell, Verve should have sent an update by now. No doubt Danya was immensely curious how this job was going. Except if Verve returned to Danya empty-handed, her failure would be punished. So that wasn’t an option.
But the other option left a taste in the back of her mouth that reminded her too much of the healing herb mixture: bitter, but probably for the best.
Verve said, “I suppose my absence would make your life easier.”
Lightning flashed again, followed seconds later by a distant rumble of thunder. Alem looked at her, and there was no mistaking the heat in his gaze, the expression that made her heart fling itself at her ribs, as if trying to reach him.
“Easier, perhaps,” he said. “But definitely less interesting.”
