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He rubbed a palm over his face. “And by attend, I assume you mean—”
“Don’t assume,” I said, cutting him off. “It never ends well for either party.”
“What the fuck have I gotten myself mixed up in? Are you some sort of assassin? Poisons I understand, but this…”
“I’m worse. But maybe you should have considered that before letting your sticky fingers do the thinking for you.”
He blinked at me, the shadows of the night playing across his face, the moonlight shining in his bright eyes. “What are you, exactly? You cleared out a tavern full of ruffians, murderers, and heretics without saying a damn word. No more minced words or secrets, Mara.”
I seriously contemplated ignoring the question and leaving him to wonder, but he had yet to try to escape. I could always tell him the truth. It would be the ultimate test, and if he were to fail that test, then he was a dead man walking.
"You've heard of my Ravens,” I said, taking a chance on my new apprentice, watching as my words settled over him, his eyes widening as he took a slight step backward. I smiled wickedly as I followed.
MyRavens.Mine.
I waited for him to run. I’d have to chase after him, and I really wasn’t in the mood. We’d make this kill tonight if he chose to have any kind of backbone, and then he’d see firsthand what exactly it was that I did for the King–for Avedin. It was never Waylan Bane pulling the strings. It was always me.
As far as Animus knew, the Ravens were a thorn in his side with the power to undermine him at any moment, when really, we were all one and the same. If he were to ever find out about my alter ego, I'd hang without a trial.
“That’s not possible, they’ve been dead and gone for years,” Remus snapped, eyes flitting left and right, eyeing every shadow suspiciously. He was referring to the previous leader or the spy ring. The reckless man who'd been caught and hanged for a crime the king would have had Waylan carry out instead. But that was years ago, before I inserted myself at the head of the Ravens, where I planned to remain.
“Is that so? Interesting,” I said, my lips twisting into a small smile. Half of my face was shrouded beneath my cloak. Remus’s face was a mask of unease and disbelief. “Well if you're so sure then you have nothing to worry about, shifter.”
Xmara
Ireleased my belt from my hip, checking over the vials making a mental note of which ones were now empty and would need to be replaced.
It was a quick kill—in and out, after knocking out the guards watching over the mark, given his higher ranking unfortunately. It wasn’t hard, given that I brought one of my favorite concoctions—a volatile mixture of Ithica weed pollens that, when exposed to air, created a fog that would render even the largest of males unconscious for hours.
The mark lived on a large estate just on the outer edge of Avedin, with a full-time staff, a wife in a separate room, and luckily for me, only two guards posted out front. It was easy to make an incision between his thumb and forefinger, placing a single drop of scentless, colorless poison on the beading blood, where it would carry death directly to his heart.
He died in minutes while Remus watched. I half expected him to run screaming from the house, perhaps straight to the King, or even Caldor, turning me over as a plea deal—a murderer in exchange for a second chance at freedom. But he didn’t run screaming. He remained by my side while we climbed out the window and scaled the rooftop, dropping down an orange tree’s trunk before disappearing back into the night.
The dead Raven would have taken this mark had someone not snuffed them out first, and now that I'd completed the task, I would find out who and how.
In less than a fortnight, Remus would create a poison for the first time without any guidance from me, and I would drink it. One of two things would happen; he’d either kill me in most likely an incredibly painful manner, or he’d pass my test and save me with the antidote, which he would also have to create himself.
If I were to die, the King would have questions, and Remus wasn’t in any position to explain why he murdered his most trusted poisons master. Not to mention, now that Remus knew I was the leader of the Ravens, I imagined he would think twice before harming me in any way. The Ravens wouldn’t exactly let my death slide.
Luckily for my protege, death was not among the list of things I feared. Death came for us all eventually, and thewhenandwherewere not something I had control over, so why dread it? In my line of work, death and I had grown to be old friends, and when my time came, I’d greet them with a grin.
When we returned to the castle, I found a servant and asked them to find a suitable sleeping arrangement for Remus until the ‘wedding’ ceremony, after which we’d be expected to share rooms. I shuddered at the thought of it. There was no official date set, and I was going to make sure the King forgot about his plan altogether. Maybe he’d realize what an asset I was on my own and decide I didn’t need a male… I could wish, I supposed.
Caldor’s lips flattened into the ghost of a grimace as I walked past, but he eyed Remus with open disdain. He was always nearby. Always watching and waiting to make my life miserable. Perhaps I deserved it. We left the scowling Captain in the shadows as we parted ways, Remus casting me a long, heavy look before the servant ushered him off.
Sleep came easily but didn’t last as long as I’d hoped. Three hours of dreamlessness and my eyes shot open, wide awake, my body fidgety and my mind whirring. I rang the servant’s bell, and my belly rumbled with the need for food. Oftentimes, I would forget to eat, but I needed my wits about me to continue with Remus today. Pretty soon, the King would want to see for himself how his new poisons master was faring.
It didn’t take long before a maid was at my door. I let her in, and she moved swiftly to drop the food off on my small tea table. On her heels were two younger maids with extra towels and warm blankets.
Then I saw her…the one woman who I risked my life and my freedom to spite. The one who ruined my life without regard for the havoc she and Waylan would cause. What that cheating bastard saw in her I would never understand.
She came strolling into my room like she was welcome, her head held high, shoulders straight and her nose so high in the air, if it rained, she’d drown. I cleared my throat, my eyes narrowing pointedly at each and every servant until they stopped dead in their tracks, pivoting to face the woman.
“You’re not welcome here,” I said, my voice cold and clipped. “Your engagement may have given you the opportunity to leave this all behind and claw your way up, but you should still know your place until that day comes.”
As a servant in the king's household, her engagement to a Highmore male was nothing but luck and seduction. But until then she was nothing more than staff.
“You’re no better than the rest of us,” Lavinna snapped back at me, dropping a set of towels down at her feet. The other servants gasped in shock. “You think because the King allows you to use his servants, it makes you special? He'll marry you off before Waylan is cold in his grave. ” She laughed bitterly. “You’re just his little whore he keeps locked up for when he tires of his mistress. Everyone knows it.”
