30. Kiera

Chapter 30

Kiera

Without another word, Aiden strode over to Nikella and clasped forearms with her.

I followed at a more cautious pace while they murmured to each other.

Maz grinned at me from a chair where he was polishing his small silver axe. Standing behind one of the tables, a man with dark skin and a crown of white hair nodded at me with a warm smile. He was dressed in a Teacher robe.

But the woman. The woman was a mystery.

She was tall and built like a warrior. Long black hair with a few touches of gray was braided down her back. She wore a loose white shirt with short sleeves under a leather vest and dirt-smudged pants and boots.

As I drew closer, she looked away from Aiden and pinned me with a stare. I quickly swallowed my gasp. She was strikingly beautiful with her dark blue eyes and sculpted cheekbones. A thin scar ran from her left temple to her right jaw, splitting over her lips as if someone had dragged a knife over her face. As if someone had wanted to destroy her beauty.

That person failed miserably.

Her muscled arms were etched with even more scars—light and dark, twisted and smooth. She looked like she’d been through a dozen wars, yet Rellmira hadn’t seen one in centuries. Perhaps they were from Dag skirmishes? Aiden had lived there for a while.

Something else haunted me about her face. A familiarity I couldn’t quite place. But I’d never seen her before. And from the quick study she did of me, she didn’t know me either.

My heart stilled. Was she Aiden’s mother?

Aiden released her arms and turned to me with relief shining in his eyes. “Kiera, this is Nikella, my mentor.”

Oh. I gave her a nervous nod.

She nodded back but said nothing.

“Did you have any trouble coming through the city gate?” Aiden asked her.

“No, but I had to smuggle in my spear,” she said in a hoarse voice, as if she hadn’t spoken in days.

I glanced down at the table to see a double-ended spear made entirely of steel with a wide leather grip in the middle.

“How did you do that?” Ruru asked in awe.

Nikella picked up a long hollow stick from the ground and shoved her spear into it. She capped it with a leather cuff. “Walking stick,” she grunted.

Ruru’s mouth fell open, and I had to blink a few times myself. How often did she have to disguise her spear?

“And this is Librius,” Aiden continued with the introductions. “A Teacher here, and a good friend.”

White stubble framed Librius’s smile as he gave me a short bow. “Lovely to meet you at last, Kiera. The boys have talked about you a great deal.”

My cheeks warmed, as did Ruru’s. Maz winked at me, wearing nothing but an unlaced vest and rolled-up pants. Aiden simply studied the assortment of tins laid out on the table.

Nikella, however, looked unamused. Or perhaps that was just how she always looked. “Ruru tells me you helped Aiden escape prison,” she said, her eyes as sharp as her spear.

“That’s true,” I said, wondering if there was a wrong answer.

“Stole the key to the chains right off the jailer,” Maz added.

“Then you set Aiden free,” Nikella continued. “Why?”

I blanked at the blunt question. I was also very aware of Aiden standing two feet away. “Because... I needed his help to escape. And... and he tried to protect me from the jailer. Which is more than anyone’s ever done for me before.”

Aiden’s fingers stilled in their perusal of the tins. Then he continued as if I hadn’t spoken.

Nikella subjected me to her unwavering gaze a moment longer. Whatever she saw must have convinced her of my truth, because she gave me a curt nod and slid her spear out of its disguise.

Aiden held up a tin of brown powder. “Looks like you have everything you need now, Librius.”

The Teacher rubbed his hands together, rocking on his feet. “Yes! Nikella procured everything we asked for. This will allow me to finish the,”—his eyes darted to me—“er, items soon.”

“It’s all right, Librius,” Aiden said. “You can speak freely about anything pertaining to Ruru’s part in the plan.”

My brow furrowed, but before I could ask, Ruru nudged me with his elbow. “Did he tell you? You’ll be with me.”

“He hasn’t said much of anything yet.”

Ruru glanced at Aiden. “Can I tell her?”

Aiden nodded.

Tugging on my hand, Ruru led me over to a simple wooden bow and a quiver of arrows. “On the night it happens, my job is to distract the Wolves.”

“ What? ”

“No, no, we have a plan! See, I’ve been practicing with this bow.” Ruru fit an arrow into the bow and pulled the string back to his ear. “We’ll be high up on a rooftop, setting fire to a few abandoned parts of the city, to keep the Wolves busy chasing their tails.” He released the arrow, and it flew to hit near the center of the target. “I’ve been practicing for weeks,” he added proudly.

My eyebrows rose. Bows and arrows weren’t allowed in the city, except for the guards on the wall. Renwell had a bow in our old training room, but he’d never taught me to use it. Said I’d never need to know.

“Do I have weeks to catch up to your skill?” I asked Ruru, sending a covert look over my shoulder where the other four had their heads bent close over the table.

“You don’t need to catch up,” Ruru said, his brown eyes sparking with excitement. “Aiden says I need a personal guard—someone to watch my back while I take the shots. He said you’re the best, and I agree.”

I smiled, ruffling his messy hair. Such confidence, such stout support. Like a future commander, learning the ropes of leadership.

My heart warmed that this was the job Aiden had given me. Not thieving or killing—unless it was in defense. But guarding this dear boy.

I glanced over at the others again as Ruru readied another arrow.

This job was also going to be conveniently far away from whatever they were doing that night. Whichever night they chose.

“Do you know when it’s happening, Ruru?” I asked quietly as he aimed his shot.

“Nope. Aiden said we were waiting on Nikella and for Librius to finish making our bombs.”

I startled. “Bombs?”

Ruru released the bowstring with a twang . “Yep. Librius is a genius for that sort of thing. He knows how to seal a few fireseeds into a can of brown powder. We stick the can in a pile of old wood and shoot it with a burning arrow that sparks the powder and the seeds, then boom! ”

I blinked in horrified fascination. I’d never heard of such a thing. This was information Renwell—and Father—would probably kill to get their hands on. But it still didn’t explain what Aiden and the others were up to. Father wouldn’t care about a few fires and distracted Wolves.

“Do you know what the others will be doing that night?” I murmured to Ruru as he fired another arrow.

He shook his head. “Aiden said it’s safer that way. Oh, and before I forget.” His expression turned serious. “If we need to escape the city, there’s a guard at the gate by the name of Gregor who will give us horses and let us out.”

So, Aiden had at least one guard on his payroll. The bag of gold on my belt felt heavier than ever.

“And you support Aiden? In... killing the king?” I asked.

Ruru stood the bow on the ground, crossing his hands over the top. That missing thumb made my heart twinge every time I noted its absence.

“I don’t like the idea of killing people,” Ruru admitted, his eyes drifting over to Aiden. “But I believe in justice. A king should face the consequences he forces others to. My father used to say that.”

I placed my hand on top of his. “You never told me about your parents.”

He shrugged. “They died when I was little. Sickness. My brother—Daire—took care of me for a while. Then the Wolves took him too.”

“I’m sorry, Ruru,” I said, my throat tight.

He gave me a small smile. “It’s all right. Everyone loses everyone eventually. But there are always more to find. I found Aiden. And Maz. Sophie. Librius and Nikella. Melaena. My friends around the city. And you.”

Tears welled in my eyes, but I smiled back. “I’m so glad I found you too, Ruru.” I quickly blinked back the moisture. “So, what happens now?”

His smile widened. “I’ve never had a personal guard before, but I think that means you start carrying my stuff for me. Want to practice?” He lifted the quiver of arrows.

I laughed. “That’s most certainly not how it works.”

“I disagree, but I’ll also be showing you our route and helping you practice your climbing.”

I sobered immediately. “Climbing?”

“We have to climb fairly high to stay out of reach of the Wolves. Then we’ll have to run over a few buildings to get to the next spot, and so on.”

My palms grew moist at the thought of flying over rooftops. “Then I’ll need all the help I can get.”

“Kiera! Ruru!” Aiden called and waved us over.

He hadn’t called me “little thief” since he’d discovered me crawling out of my hiding spot. Certainly not “ my little thief” as he had during the heist.

I shook the thought from my head as we made our way over. It didn’t matter what he called me. It was a ridiculous moniker, anyway. One of many I held.

Father’s voice taunted me, You can’t make up your gods-damned mind, can you, girl?

Everyone’s face was serious as we approached.

“I told them about Asher,” Aiden said. He inclined his head at Ruru. “He’s dead.”

Ruru groaned.

“Stealing from the High Treasurer was ill-conceived,” Nikella said.

Aiden cut her an irritated look. “We had to. What’s done is done.”

Her eyes flicked to me, but she didn’t say anything.

“Well, it’s a gods-damned shame—may the gods find his soul—but where does that leave us?” Maz asked, twirling his axe in one hand.

“The same place as before,” Aiden said. “We just need to tread more carefully. Librius will continue working with his new materials, aided by Nikella. Kiera and Ruru will continue training for their part?—”

“—while Aiden and I relax and drink and wait for you all to be ready,” Maz finished with a laugh.

Ruru and Librius laughed along with him while Aiden sighed. I thought I even caught a glimmer of a smile from Nikella, but it was there and gone so quick, it could’ve been a trick of the torchlight.

I nudged Maz’s knee. “What has you in such a festive mood?”

He grinned up at me, his light blue eyes glowing like a cloudless day. “I get to go home soon, lovely. Figured I might as well start celebrating now.”

“We’re not there yet,” Aiden reminded him sharply.

Maz waved him off. “Details, brother.”

My gut tied itself into knots. Would Maz make it home after all this? I didn’t want to be the reason he didn’t. It wasn’t just Aiden’s fate I held in my hands. It was all of theirs.

Aiden jerked his head. “I’ll show you where to keep your gold, Kiera.”

He led me to a locked trunk nestled in a corner. Sinking to one knee, he fished a key from his pocket and opened it. “Librius usually has the key and will give it to you whenever you ask.”

I knelt next to him and peeked inside. Two snarling Wolf masks gazed blankly up at me. A shiver rippled over my skin. The stolen uniforms and sunstone knives were there as well, alongside a few pouches that bulged as if filled with coins. King Tristan’s ring was hidden near the bottom. A packet of letters and?—

“Is that human hair ?”

Aiden chuckled. “One of Maz’s braids. He was so upset when he had to cut them off that he brought one with us as a reminder of sorts.”

I wrinkled my nose and tucked my bag of coins as far away from the blond braid—and the Shadow-Wolf gear—as possible.

Aiden closed the trunk and locked it. But he didn’t get up. I suddenly realized how very close we were.

My breathing tightened.

“That gold is yours, Kiera, to do with whatever you want,” he said quietly. “You don’t have to worry about working as a messenger or a dancer anymore, unless you wish to.” He took a deep breath. “When the time comes, I’ll give you a warning so you can prepare. However this ends, I hope you can take this gold and use it to make a new life for yourself. A better one.”

“What if I can’t see a way to a better life?” I whispered.

His eyes softened, and I could almost feel his need to reach for me. Or perhaps that was only my own need. “You’ll find one,” he whispered back. “For the short time I’ve known you, you’ve always found a way to win.”

Gods help me, I wanted him to win too.

“Again,” Ruru’s weary voice filtered down to me.

I grunted, hobbling in a circle on my sore ankle. “Give me a moment.”

He sighed loudly, and I nearly threw a rotten apple from the gutter at him.

It’d been nearly a week since Asher’s death and my induction into this gods-forsaken plan.

A week of training with Ruru—throwing knives while he shot arrows, running laps above and below ground, and this gods-damn climbing routine straight from the deep, dark, wandering hell itself.

He’d shown me the spots he was to shoot from, each one a small, flat-topped roof of a high building—a bathhouse, an old inn, and an abandoned apartment building. Our views gave us a direct line of sight to the closest web of alleys and our targets—a crumbling carpenter’s workshop, an empty house, and a dilapidated stable near the prison.

Each target was chosen for its state of abandon and its separation from the surrounding buildings. We didn’t want to start a fire that would spread to more parts of the Old Quarter.

Thinking of my mother, I made Ruru swear that we would triple-check that no people or animals were inside when we set the bombs. He’d already been stocking the places with old driftwood and broken furniture.

But to get to our perches?

We had to scale three buildings in a very short amount of time. Aiden and Maz had been timing the Shadow-Wolves’ response to commotions for months. Everything had to work perfectly.

But I was used to the climbing walls Renwell had rigged in our training room, as well as the few places in the Noble Quarter I’d climbed. All of which had a myriad of footholds and handholds. And even then, I hated clinging to the side of a building like a moth. Except I had no wings and would plummet to the dirty street below.

These buildings were plainer, smoother. I had to rely on windowsills and small cracks in the storm-washed stone.

Gods, I wished I were back with Melaena completing a thousand turns with a smile over this torture.

“You’re hesitating right before the jump,” Ruru called down to me from the roof I’d been trying to leap to from the one next to it. “It’s making you fall short.”

I glared up at him. “You think? Any more helpful tips?”

A deep voice spoke from the other roof. “Perhaps you need more motivation.”

I squinted past the setting sun to see Aiden’s green eyes gazing down at me. We hadn’t spoken much in the last week. I’d seen him with Librius and Nikella when I trained with Ruru; I’d eaten with him and the others at The Weary Traveler . He’d slept every night in the next room.

I followed him a few times to see if he was doing anything else, but each time, he simply went back to one of his usual places.

But he’d become withdrawn and restless. Prone to quiet, tense conversations I wasn’t part of. Mostly with Nikella, who barely spoke to me at all. To be fair, I didn’t try to draw her into conversation either. She never seemed to leave the Temple, anyway.

Every day that passed weighed more heavily on me. I didn’t want to let Aiden assassinate my father, but I couldn’t think of a way to convince him not to. And if I protested too much, he might cut me out of the plan entirely. A plan I still knew precious little about.

Father wouldn’t step foot outside the palace, especially when he knew assassins were afoot. Which meant Aiden, Maz, and Nikella were going to infiltrate the palace while Ruru and I distracted the Wolves.

But how were they going to infiltrate with only the three of them?

I also hadn’t reached out to Renwell to tell him anything I’d learned. I hadn’t even checked The Crescent Moon for his mark.

I couldn’t hide much longer.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked Aiden.

He flashed me a sharp grin. “How about I play the Wolf?”