Chapter 15

"Are we really going to do this?"

The boy didn't answer as he paced back and forth, his boots crunching on the gravel-strewn asphalt.

We were in the alley behind the "den," as my aunt called the place where she did business once a week. I didn't know if the building was a gambling den or something else, but it's where she and other mythics went to make secret, illegal deals—like selling their nieces to terrifying men called Bane.

She was in there right now. So was Bane. If I had gone up to the attic, I might have been able to eavesdrop again, but the boy and I were out here for the same reason. We didn't want anyone overhearing us.

Leaning against a graffiti-marked brick wall, I watched him pace. Should I finally ask his name? But then he'd ask mine. Names were dangerous.

"Well?" I prompted.

"I plan to kill him." He growled the words without stopping his restless movements. "I will kill him. But I'm not ready. I'll only get one chance so I have to be certain."

His words echoed my reservations. Killing someone shouldn't be that difficult. I had a knife and Ruth had a carotid artery. But walking up to her and stabbing her in the throat wasn't as easy as it sounded. If she guessed what I was about to attempt… if I missed… if she survived…

I shuddered.

"He has a sixth sense for threats," the boy muttered. "As soon as I make a plan, he'll suspect it."

"Poison his food?" I suggested.

"He'd notice. Besides, he's practiced mithridatism for decades."

I nodded, familiar with the method of building up a tolerance to poisons by ingesting small doses. "Can you ambush him?"

"Unlikely. If it was that easy, I'd have done it already."

Then we should just run away. On a night like this, we could do it. As soon as Ruth and Bane went into the den, we could run for it.

But I didn't suggest that. If my aunt was alive, I'd never escape her no matter how far I ran. I'd always be looking over my shoulder, always watching my back. I wanted to be rid of her forever, and I'd bet the boy felt the same way about his guardian.

Spinning on his heel, he swept over to me and stopped a couple feet away. His hood shadowed his features, the darkness in the alley clinging to us both.

"What about your aunt?" he asked. "How would you kill her?"

Grimacing, I tugged roughly on my blond ponytail, hating the color she had chosen. Hating that she controlled everything about my life, including my body. "She locks me in a room at night, so I can't sneak up on her while she's sleeping. If she's awake, she's on guard."

"What about poisoning her?"

"She's an alchemist. She carries a universal antidote with her everywhere, and—"

"That doesn't work on everything."

"And," I finished, "she has antidotes for almost everything else."

The boy leaned against the wall beside me, then sank down to sit on the damp pavement.

I lowered myself beside him, my hands tightening into fists. "It's impossible, isn't it? She's gonna sell me to Bane, and he's going to… what?"

"Feed you to a fae, probably."

A fae? So Bane was a witch? Did that make the boy, his apprentice, a witch too?

Just like me.

"What if…" He glanced at me. "What if I could get you a poison with no antidote?"

I scrunched my face skeptically. "Where would you get that?"

"It's one Bane doses himself with for his mithridatic training." He fidgeted with his sleeve. "I could steal it."

A thrill of fearful anticipation ran through me. "Really?"

"What will happen to you if your aunt dies?"

I shrugged. "My parents are dead, and if I have other relatives, I don't know them."

He considered that. "Bane might try to take you anyway, depending on how bad he wants you."

"So we have to kill them both. Especially if you're going to steal from him."

He bit his lower lip.

"What's the biggest thing stopping you from killing him?" I asked softly.

His eyes darted around as though he expected a monster to materialize from the darkness. "His fae. They're always there. Always watching my every move. He knows I'd murder him in a heartbeat, so he always has one shadowing me."

"Even right now?"

"Not now. My familiars are keeping his away, but that won't work if he's nearby. He'd notice right away."

He had multiple familiars? I didn't even have one.

My hand drifted to the collar of my jacket. "If you could get past his fae without them noticing you, could you kill him?"

"Yeah, but it's impossible to sneak past those fae."

"Actually, you can. With the right magic."

His attention fixed on me, intense and piercing. "What magic?"

"I have a… an artifact. It hides the person wearing it from fae senses. I could lend it to you."

"Something like that exists?" He sounded breathless, as though my words had hit him like a punch to the gut. "You'd let me use it?"

"Borrow it," I clarified emphatically. "It was a gift from my parents. It's the only thing of theirs I have left."

"Borrow," he agreed quickly. "For one night. Just long enough to… Are you sure that's how it works? It will hide me from any fae?"

"My parents said it doesn't matter what kind of fae or how powerful. As long as I'm wearing it, no fae will notice me."

"That's… that's unbelievable." He raked his hand through his hair, pushing his hood off with the motion. "I could test it with my familiars, figure out exactly how it works…" He looked up, his eyes burning into mine. "If the spell does what you say it does, I can do it."

"You can kill him?"

He nodded. "He relies on them to watch me. I can slip away using your artifact, and while they're searching for me, I can kill him."

"And I can kill my aunt with your poison." My brief grin faded, and I added haltingly, "And after they're dead, we could…"

He canted his head toward me. "We could what?"

"We could… band together?" I blew out a breath. "Better than going at it alone, right? I mean… if you want to."

"Like… long-term?"

I forced myself to nod, my shoulders hunching with uncertainty. Why would he want to saddle himself with someone like me? What did I have to offer? We barely knew each other. We hadn't even exchanged names.

"I…" He rolled his shoulders. "I like that idea."

A sharp edge of hope embedded itself in my lungs. "You do?"

"Yeah."

My cheeks flushed. I hastily looked around for a distraction, then grabbed his wrist. "How's the cut?"

I turned his hand over, surprised by how much bigger it was than mine, with long, strong fingers. I peered between his ring and middle fingers, finding a rough, pinkish ridge where I'd cut him. A scar.

"Sorry," I muttered guiltily.

He laughed. "A memento, I guess."

"You don't need a memento of me. We're going to stick together, right?"

"Right."

I looked up at him. "We are… aren't we?"

His lips curved, a small smile that struck me like lightning, electrifying my nerve endings. "Yeah. Together."

My fingers tightened reflexively around his hand. "Then I guess we should, you know, introduce ourselves. My name is—"

"Wait." His free hand came up, fingers pressing against my lips to stop me. "Not yet."

"Then… when?" I asked in confusion.

He hesitated, his eyes moving across my face. "After they're dead. A reward."

My brow furrowed.

"I need something to look forward to," he whispered.

His fingertips drifted from my mouth to my cheek. My heart drummed against my ribs as I tilted my face up. He leaned down, his breath warm against my lips. A shiver of anticipation rolled over me, and I closed my eyes.