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Chapter Sixteen
Aika
The emerald cloak and confident gait would have given Remy away, even if I didn’t see the face hidden beneath his hood.
Stupid, stupid boy…
There are only a handful of moments before Damian will spot him.
Even if Damian doesn’t think Remy is the vigilante, he might kill him to avoid having the crime pinned on himself.
Either way, there is no way Remy is walking out of here alive.
I massage my temples and curse beneath my breath. A small part of me, the part of me that works for Madame, insists that this could solve all of my problems at once. If Damian thinks he’s put a stop to the fire-starter, then I won’t have to worry about him investigating me anymore.
And if he takes out Remy... Well, that would eliminate the one person who suspects me, who saw me torture and murder a man tonight.
The logical thing would be to walk away.
But nothing about Remy and me has ever made sense.
My feet move before I can think better of it.
My cloak is pulled low over my face, hiding it from view as I pull a small, blue vial from my bag. I throw it to the ground, causing dense smoke to go up around all of us. When the two of them are coughing and struggling to see, I knee Damian in the groin and kick him toward the burning building.
I know it won’t stop him, but it may buy us time. Then I head for Remy, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the alleys and back roads until we are far enough from the fire to no longer see the smoke.
I try to let go of his hand, but he holds fast, ripping my cloak back from my face.
He stares at me in the waning light of the moon, his eyes churning through a sea of emotions until his features completely harden. Fury radiates off of him in waves.
“So, when you said you never hid who you were... that was what? Just an exaggeration?” He laughs, but the sound is entirely without humor.
“Please. Let's not pretend that either of us is known for our honesty.” I don’t quite scoff, but it’s an effort.
“But it would seem that only one of us is known for burning people alive.” He looks toward the inferno, then back at me. “You know I have no choice but to turn you in for this.”
I’m not overly worried about that since I could easily break free of his hold on my wrist. Besides, he isn’t the only one who is furious right now.
“Ah, yes. Where is your merry band of guards? Did they get lost in the slums? I hadn’t realized they were even aware this part of the city existed.” I don’t bother to keep the acerbity out of my voice.
“Oh, you know. They were probably distracted by that giant, raging fire you set.” He sighs and runs his hands through his hair.
I narrow my eyes at him.
“Well, you were too late. The guards are always too late,” I spit.
Then again, so am I.The thought assaults me, taunting me with its truth.
“Then why take out our only sources of information on where they went?” Remy asks.
I let out a bitter laugh, stepping closer to him. “There was no information to be had. The slavers don’t share their routes, and by the time we tortured the answer out of any of them, it would have been impossible to catch the ship.”
“Right, and why try to question people when you can just set them on fire instead?” He moves toward me, his furious breaths mingling with mine.
I stare up at him, disbelief darkening my voice. “Did you really think they deserved to live?” We are so close, our lips could be touching, when he answers me.
“Do you think that’s up to you? That you are the one who gets to choose who lives and who dies?” His voice begins as little more than a whisper of air between us, but his grip on my wrist tightens. “How many people were in there? A dozen? More? How many souls have you taken today without a single shred of remorse?” His usual mask of calm is nowhere to be found tonight, and his voice raises uncharacteristically on that last word.
