CHAPTER 2

Silas

At first, I thoughtLilith herself walked into that pub.

Soul-stealing blue eyes landed on me, and everything in and around my body tingled. Every bleeding muscle tensed. Sensation stormed my stomach like a goddamn tsunami. It was a swift lust that hit out of nowhere, and I'd never worked so hard to keep my overactive knob in check.

I didn't believe in fate, but when the woman from my decades-long dream manifested before my very eyes, even I was left wondering if maybe it wasn't total bollocks to think the hand of fate was involved with this one.

Bane's one and only daughter.

Her vibrant purple hair caught the light, beaming radiance only the goddess from my dreams could match. She was proper fit—the look and curve of someone who trained every day. I could tell on first glance she knew how to fight, and I couldn't pretend I wasn't bloody chuffed to think I might see how well sometime soon. She'd worn a jacket with a body-hugging top under it and a pair of black trousers with biker boots that reached her calves. It was smart. Plenty of places to hide weapons, and I could tell the bird was packing. A gun was holstered to one side of her hips while a dagger was fitted to the other.

The lad hadn't been blowing steam up my arse. This was one dangerous little bird, though to what extent I couldn't be sure. After being an assassin as long as I had, I saw it right away—she'd have any sorry sod stupid enough to try to touch her laid out in seconds flat.

My lips slanted, and I leaned back in my seat, admiring her beauty like the rest of the poor twats who knew all they'd get was a look in this shoddy pub.

I might like women—a lot—but I wasn't the kind of wanker who laid his hands on a client. Even I had a code to follow. I might be a paid killer, but I was one who knew where the job started and where it ended. This gorgeous little sister to Lilith was off limits. But fuck me, the picture the lad had given me didn't do the gorgeous nymph justice.

Every thirsty wanker in that place stopped what they were doing just to watch her come over, drooling like two-bit dogs hungry for scraps, and I nearly voiced my frustration over what a pretty runaway meant. Good fucking chance we'd get out of the city unnoticed. Or anywhere for that matter. This job was going to be a right pain in the arse.

But after internally ruing my luck these days, my trained eye picked up on the noticeable wounded gait the runaway princess adopted. Like every step was a chore to take. The metallic scent of blood hit my nose next. Then I noticed the little rebel lean away from her right side when she tried to take a deep breath, suggesting she'd broken a few ribs. When the nymph went to sit, she was very careful to mind how fast and hard she came down on the chair, and blood raged in my ears.

The rebel Fae hid her injured state well enough. Most wouldn't notice it because she quickly fixed her posture when she realized it was giving her away, and it was as if nothing were ever amiss. But I wasn't the best in the business for no reason. Nothing got past these quick eyes of mine. Those Dark Fae tossers had done a number on her, but I'd expect nothing less of any low-skill bastard answering to that sea witch the lad called mother.

They liked their women beaten and bound, the sick fucks.

But the second her eyes lifted and caught mine, nothing but strength and poise shined through. If I hadn't been the trained killer I was, I'd never know she was on the run or riddled with wounds. Because all that fed through her gaze was lethal confidence.

Oh aye, no two ways about it. This one was a killer, too.

"Silas, I gather?"

It took me a second to respond when she asked for me by name and mentioned the lad who'd tracked me down only a few days prior in a frenzy. Then the saucy Fae went for her weapon. I couldn't believe it. She looked ready to slice my head clear off if I gave her even a whisper of the wrong answer.

This beauty was all beast, and I was bloody into it, I was.

It wasn't often I was taken by surprise, but the last couple of days had been nothing but chaos. Especially when I realized the woman from my dreams wasn't some fabricated being. She existed, and now she was here in front of me. But I didn't let that distract me. I had a job to do.

The lad called on his favor, and I was going to make good on it. As with any gig, I did my research, made the necessary arrangements, and prepared for anything that might come our way—and that meant pulling out all the bloody stops.

This was Bane's daughter, and if the powerful Fae's words rang true, I was in for a ride. But how much was anyone's guess. Plus, those Dark Fae Society cretins were nasty buggers, and I'd been hired enough times by their kind to know they never did anything halfway.

If they were hunting her, they'd hire the worst tossers this side of the business; the ones without codes of honor and who didn't make it a clean death. The ones who'd make her suffer the worst agony imaginable and who'd have their way with her for as long as they could before cashing in on her severed head. I just had to hope it wasn't the same bastards I'd left behind because they were the worst of the worst. I didn't want to go toe-to-toe with Reaper if I could help it.

Have it my way, and I'd be dropping the rebel Fae off at her designated location to whomever she was meeting there and be on my merry way, good deed repaid. Daughter saved, just like predicted. But the feeling in my gut told me I was in for a life-changing fight, one that'd rival any others to date. One that'd put the one I had against her father to shame.

And my gut was never wrong.

What intrigued me more about Nika being on the run was why. Usually, I didn't have trouble finding information on my clients, but Nika was a ghost. Aside from my dreams, she didn't exist anywhere. All I knew was that she was the daughter of the man I'd crossed paths with all those years ago. Otherwise, there wasn't anything I could find on her.

If I had had more time, I would've asked more questions when I met up with the lad, but our first meeting was brief. He didn't want to risk staying out too long. It was clear now for what reason. She was being tortured, and he didn't want her to suffer longer than she had to. Lev was a good lad who'd come to a poor unworthy bastard's aid, so I could only imagine what he did for someone he actually cared about.

The last correspondence Lev and I shared was a meeting point. Which was how I ended up coming to this hole-in-the-wall pub. Very few of our kind wandered here, and it was one of the safer meeting places close enough to the borders of the Dark Fae Society's lands. Any further and she was at risk.

I got to my feet after our little back-and-forth, far more into the beauty than I should be. The fire in her eyes and venom lacing her words despite numerous injuries and a whole society of Dark Fae after her got my blood pumping. In no small way, I was eager to see what she'd say and do next. It made me proper giddy just thinking about the way her tongue lashed out and how little she feared someone else, even when I was twice her size and clearly powerful.

Lev hadn't hired me for no reason. I was the best, and if he'd told her anything, she'd know that, too. Still, it was like no one and nothing could ever scare her. Like she'd rather die fighting than show the tiniest fragment of fear.

Fuck me, I'd better get this gorgeous nymph to where she wanted to go quickly before I did something I couldn't take back.

Still, I couldn't wait to share another battle of wits with the spirited Fae. But first, we needed to treat her wounds. As I took Nika out of the city, I idly wondered why I got the sensation that something big—something fucking world-ending—was set into motion the second she wrapped her tiny arms around my waist.