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"How?" I asked. "You can't even follow people down the street without being detected."
"You need to give yourself more credit," she told me. "No one else would have noticed me but you. You wouldn't be a very good Master of Assassins otherwise."
"That might be true," I said. "Or you might have been more obvious than you thought." I admit to getting a touch of sadistic pleasure at the look of discomfort on her face. I got it, no one liked to have their skills questioned.
On the other hand, I didn't trust anyone who tried to butter me up. She might have told the truth about a secret faction who plotted against Harel, and she might have been lying through her teeth. It seemed much more likely that she worked for Harel and was trying to keep an eye on us. If that was the case, he needed to hire some better spies.
"Are we going to stand here talking all day, or are we going to do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing right now?" she asked.
"Who says I'm not supposed to be doing exactly this?" I opened the bag of cakes and pulled out the one intended for Vayne.
"No one makes cake quite like the bakers in the Summer Court." That was a lie. It was all right, but not anywhere near as nice as what we got back home. Whatever, I was hungry.
"Basic logic says so," she retorted. "You were following them, watching out for anyone else who was also following them. And now you're not following them, so if anyone is, you're not there to see it."
I took a bite out of Vayne's cake, then dropped it back in the bag and folded down the top.
"That's true, you sidetracked me by following them," I told her. "But trust me when I say they can take care of themselves. The worst thing that'll happen right now is them missing out on cake."
The worst thing that could happen would be them being caught and killed, but missing cake was pretty high on the list of bad things to happen. Even if it was only mediocre cake.
"Are we going to catch up to them?" she asked. "We can't be that far behind."
"I'm going to keep going," I said. I stood here long enough. My skin started to twitch with impatience. That wasn't a good thing for anyone.
"I'm going with you," she insisted. "I have a vested interest in this too. The Autumn Court can't keep going on like it has. Harel is bleeding us dry. Families can't afford the taxes he's putting on them, and if they can't pay…"
I gestured for her to finish her sentence. The Autumn Court coffers were none of my business, unless innocent Fae were suffering. If that was the case, I might make it my business. Or Ryze's. I was almost sure he'd love something else to stick his nose into.
Okay, probably not, but I'd make it his business anyway. He could thank me later.
"Some of them have had to join the army," she said. "Others have disappeared."
I frowned. If that was the case, the Autumn Court wasn't the only one making people disappear. Several assassins sent to the Summer Court had gone missing. None of my contacts had any idea where they'd gone. Nothing beyond educated guesses. That likely being the case, I doubted we'd ever find their remains. Their family mausoleums, where the skulls of Fae were placed on stone shelves in neat lines, would forever miss having theirs there too.
"How many would have gone into the army?" I couldn't do anything for Fae who were already dead, but taking people into the army was extreme, even for the Autumn Court.
"More than necessary, given we're not at war." Her expression was grim, her green eyes troubled. I found it more and more difficult not to believe what she was saying.
Voices out on the street reminded me we shouldn't linger here too long. Nothing said ‘suspicious’ like two people standing in an alley, talking in low voices.
I thought quickly. "Fine, you can come with me. But if you get in the way, or do anything that would in any way indicate I can't trust you, I will kill you."
I thought about doing it now, just to save time, and to satisfy the urge I got all too frequently. The overwhelming desire to feel warm blood on my hand and see the light fade from their eyes. Did Ryze feel that powerful when he used magic? Surely there couldn't be anything more powerful than taking a life.
"I could say the same to you," she said. "I guess we're going to have to trust each other."
I made a slight noise of agreement in the back of my throat. "Try not to get in my way." After a moment I added, "And never put a knife to my throat again. That's the quickest way for you to end up dead."
"Don't give me a reason," she retorted.
I won't lie, my hand twitched near one of my knives. Not because I planned to kill her, but I was curious to see her response if I looked like I was going to.
I held the bag of cakes at my side and gestured towards the street. "Let's go then. We'll need to hurry a bit to catch up. Without looking like we're hurrying."
I didn’t wait to see if she understood what I meant. I stepped back out onto the street and wove through the crowds. They seemed thicker now.
I walked faster than I had before, but still meandered, stopping here and there to look at stands, and to give way to wagons that crossed sidestreets.
