True to my word, I tell Dani everything—about the night I was adopted by Roren, the six years I spent training under the Blades Society, life on the road as a Bladesworn, and the mission that ultimately led to her father and our encounter at the library.

  ‘Not everything.’

  Well, no.

  I didn’t tell her about the Society’s dark secrets, or about the mission details and my own suspicions surrounding them, or about Zeph. That would be too much for her to digest in one sitting. Learning that her father is an apostate with a bounty on his head is probably more than she can stomach, as is. No sense in adding political scandals and demons to her nightmare.

  Dani is curled on her sofa, knees tucked up under her chin as she absently scratches Spooky behind the ears. Her brow is drawn in deep contemplation, her mind no doubt struggling to process all of this. But I’m still unable to read her, blind to whatever it is she’s feeling.

  It’s just as frustrating now as it was back in our youth.

  “My father’s many things, Ashe,” she says after a while, wiping a hand over her face as she lifts her gaze. Her cheeks are wet with tears and my throat tightens. “But he’s not a traitor.”

  I lean my back against the wall and shrug a shoulder. “Well, whether he is or not, someone still wants him dead.”

  Zeph bristles in my head. ‘Don’t be insensitive!’

  I roll my eyes. We can’t waste time catering to her feelings! Sentiment has no place here. She needs the truth, not coddling.

  A heavy sigh whistles from my nose as the gravity of our situation settles over me. Time is the one thing we don’t have.

  We missed Kyros’s deadline. Even if his primary concern is still the bounty, it’s only a matter of time before Roren hears of our betrayal. We’ll be marked for death and the Society will stop at nothing to track us down. And, to make matters worse, our own hunt for David Vossler puts us on a direct collision course with them.

  No matter what happens now, we have to stay a step ahead. Lingering in doubt is a death sentence for us both.

  The light in Dani’s green eyes darkens and for a moment I wonder if I should be more sensitive to her plight. I know this can’t be easy for her—

  “You’re a hunter, aren’t you? Can’t you call off the hit?”

  My brow furrows at her words. “I was a hunter.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that I’m in just as much deep shit as you.” My tone is harsh as I grit my teeth. “Because I chose to help you, Dani, I lost everything.”

  ‘We are better off.’

  They were family, Zeph, and tonight we turned our back on them!

  ‘We can find another.’

  It’s not that simple!

  ‘You make everything so complicated.’

  I bite back a scream and curl my hands into fists. Godsdamn this curse! Sometimes I feel like I’m arguing with a child!

  My temples throb as Zeph lashes out, wounded by my words, but I choke down my growing anger.

  This is not the place for one of our petty arguments! We have no leads and no direction, nothing but borrowed time on a clock that’s running out of sand.

  This may very well be a mistake that we pay for with our lives.

  “You aren’t the only one who stands to lose something.” Her voice is soft, barely more than a whisper, but it pulls me from my thoughts all the same.

  As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. This choice doesn’t just involve me. Her life has been uprooted, too.

  ‘See? Insensitive.’

  “Why did you do it?” Dani continues, stealing a cautious glance in my direction. “I mean, we haven’t seen each other in so long and we’re obviously not the same people we once were. After all this time, Ashe. Why now?”

  Her question cuts through me like a knife.

  Hesitantly, I reach under the collar of my drakeskin armor and yank out the familiar leather cord. Always there, a constant reminder of everything I was supposed to forget. My true burden.

  “We made a promise once.”

  Her eyes snap down to the pendant in my hand, the sapphire jewel igniting a glimmer of recognition that flashes across her face. Like a reflex, her fingers clutch her own chest.

  “Y-you remembered?”

  ‘Of course we remember!’

  A dry chuckle rumbles in my throat as I tuck the necklace away. “I always keep my word.”

  Spooky chirps as he rubs against my leg, nipping at the laces of my boots, and I give him a light nudge. I’m still mad at the little bastard for orchestrating this whole reunion. After all, it’s because of him that the chair was sticking out in the first place. If he hadn’t bumped against it when we first got there, Dani’s fall never would’ve happened and we would have just passed each other by like ghosts in the night. Nothing more than a fleeting encounter in a coffeehouse between two strangers.

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  There’s a small part of me that wonders if I would have even tried to warn her at all, and a thorn of guilt seeds itself in my heart.

  A deafening silence stretches between us before Dani speaks again.

  “You said I could trust you, right?”

  “I said you can trust me to keep you safe, and I will. But trust is like currency. If you give it to someone then you should get something you expect in return.”

  She arches an eyebrow. “And what do you expect from me?”

  It’s an angle that I haven’t fully considered yet. But, now that the question is hanging in the air, it’s something that gives me pause.

  By abandoning the mission I’ve betrayed the Society—what’s more, I betrayed Roren. The weight of my treason sits like a stone in my chest, but it’s the weight of his hand in all of this that truly consumes me. It somehow feels . . . wrong.

  I don’t know the truth of what Roren was told, only what Kyros had said. The headmaster is a harsh leader but he’s never operated outside of our tenets. The Bladesworn’s code is his lifeblood and, despite his views, he has a working relationship with the Imperium. Hunters exist to maintain balance in the world and he would rather die than betray the Blades Society’s ideals, that much I know to be true.

  But Kyros is brash, cocky, and arrogant. Every move he’s ever made since we were trainees has been an attempt to step out from his father’s shadow and earn his favor. He’d do anything to prove himself an accomplished hunter and worthy successor. Even lie.

  My mind reels as the pieces click into place.

  Roren may have sanctioned this hit on an accused apostate within the Imperium’s own hierarchy, an opportunity that would be all too tempting for him to ignore, but I’ll bet my life that he doesn’t know the full details.

  The Society has falsified hits before, making them look like attacks from other factions to keep the peace, but Roren would never fabricate an assassination to ignite a purge without cause—and he’d never stoop so low as to use an artifice or a myth on an assignment. Such devices, he would say, would undermine a hunter’s integrity. His faith is in steel, not magic.

  He would never condone Kyros’s renegade mission.

  ‘We were tricked.’

  My blood boils. Seven hells, I knew it didn’t feel right!

  Kyros had met with the contact personally, he said so himself. That single act can sabotage the integrity of a mission. It risks a Bladesworn being bribed or manipulated outside the headmaster’s control and goes against everything we’re taught.

  Why didn’t I see it sooner?

  Only the headmaster has the authority to approve contract terms. His hunters may be the blades of the Society but Roren is its face. If Kyros is manipulating that authority to further his own agenda—or, worse, if he’s in league with this mysterious contact to try and start a Cleansing—then it’s my duty to stop him. It’s the only way that any of this makes sense. I have to believe that!

  Saving the Hand isn’t just about fulfilling a promise anymore. It’s my only hope of saving Roren and the Bladesworn from disgrace, and may be my only chance at redemption.

  I draw a dagger and twirl it around, a habit I picked up during my training to help focus my thoughts. The metal sings as it slips through my fingers, cool against my palm. I don’t miss the apprehension that creases Dani’s brow or the subtle flinch of her hands as my blade winks under the apartment lights. Despite the guilt clawing at my insides as I glimpse the mark I’d left on her neck earlier, a small smirk tugs at the corner of my lips.

  There’s a certain power in being a predator that always seemed to thrill me, but she’s right about one thing: we are not the same people we once were. If this partnership has any chance for success, it lies in us cutting all ties to the children we thought we knew. Let the past stay buried. Those memories only threaten to hold me back from the job I have to do.

  Besides, having the daughter of a Supreme indebted to me might come in handy later on.

  “I help save your father’s life and, in exchange, you’ll owe me a debt.” I sheath my weapon and cross my arms, daring her to object. “This is my price.”

  To her credit, she doesn’t balk. If Zeph had any objections, he stays silent. Thank the gods for small miracles.

  “Is this nothing more than a transaction to you?” she asks, her voice low and hesitant.

  Life is nothing but a series of transactions. Debts and favors are the only true currency in this world.

  “In a sense. Finding your father is my mission now, but that’s as far as this goes. Trust people to be who they are, not what you want them to be.”

  Her eyes find mine again. “So then what can I trust you to be?”

  I stare at her for several long moments, my gaze hardening as I search for the right words. But there’s only one cold truth that I can’t avoid. And so, I don’t even try.

  “I’m a killer, Dani. You’ll do well to remember that.”

  Her breath hitches but she doesn’t look away. For a heartbeat I wonder if she heard any of it, if she truly understands what this alliance will cost us.

  Then, with a steadying breath, she offers me a clipped nod. The uncertainty in her voice is gone, replaced by a resolve that nearly mirrors my own.

  “Alright. We have a deal.”

  The conviction in her words nearly takes me aback, but soon enough I find myself holding back a smile.

  So, Dani has some fire in her after all. Good. The terror is still there, evident by the slight quiver in her tone and the faint glint shining in her eyes, nearly overshadowed as the darkness of her new reality sinks in, but this is better.

  Fear makes you run. Fire makes you fight.

  She’ll need both if we’re going to survive at all.

  I tip my chin, indicating the bag she had discarded by the front door shortly before my arrival. The blue light of dawn has already faded, replaced by a slow spill of gold through the windows, and an uneasiness settles in the pit of my stomach.

  We’ve overstayed our welcome. It’s time to move.

  “You were preparing to leave,” I surmise. “Is that location still safe?”

  “Is any place safe?”

  “Dani—”

  “Rosalie’s Roasts.” She sighs, frustrated, and threads a hand through her hair. “I was going to head that way at sunrise.”

  I quirk a brow. “The coffeehouse?”

  “My friend has a loft above the cafe. I was planning to go there to collect my thoughts and try reaching my dad again.”

  “Good.” I grab the strap and toss her bag onto the cushion next to her. “Your apartment’s compromised and the cafe is public enough. Go there, quickly. You can hide in the crowd but that only works for so long, so go straight to the loft. Spooky will follow you and I’ll meet you there.”

  “You aren’t coming?” Her voice is flat, distrust coating her words like an accusation.

  “I have some supplies I need to get from my hotel room before we start our hunt.” It’s not like I had time to pack before my entire life unraveled.

  She sits up a little straighter, her muscles tensing, and I inwardly groan. “If I was going to kill you, Dani, why would I go through all this trouble?”

  “You’re a hunter,” she reasons, a cold bitterness seeping back into her tone. “It’s what you do, isn’t it? Toy with your victims?”

  ‘She expects you’ll betray her.’

  I can see that! But neither of us have a choice.

  “I gave you my word,” I say, fighting to keep calm as I plead for her to trust me. Doubt spreads fear and fear will only slow us down if she misplaces it now. “I won’t hurt you. If you believe nothing else, believe in that at least.”

  She hesitates, searching my gaze for something that I’m not quite sure is there, before grabbing her bag and shouldering the strap.

  “Fine. But double-cross me, Ashe, and know that I’ll never forgive you.”