by Becca Blake
“Why?” Nero asked, his voice breaking a little.
“He fed from me tonight. Drank my blood.”
A chill crept up Nero’s spine. “He hurt you?”
“It did hurt a little. At first. But then…” Neryssa sighed. “I’ve never felt anything so incredible.”
Nero couldn’t hide the disgust from his face. “You’re serious?”
“I don’t know. It did feel good.” She shrugged. “I’ll do what I must. I’m tired of starving on the streets. Lord Adrius can ensure we never go hungry again. He can protect us. The people of this city trapped us in a life of poverty even though we did nothing wrong. He’s saving us from that.”
He watched, mouth agape, as she made her way over to the door.
“Be strong for us, brother. Do what Lord Adrius asks of you, and soon, we will have the life we’ve always deserved.”
Chapter 6
Neryssa hadn’t returned for the rest of the night, and Nero hadn’t dared to leave the room to find her.
Their plan had been to find a way out if Adrius asked more of him than he could handle. He’d reached that point, but if Neryssa wanted to stay, what could he do? He didn’t want to follow the vampire’s orders anymore, but he couldn’t leave his sister behind. If he betrayed Adrius while he still had Neryssa, he would kill her. Or torture her, as he’d threatened before.
Nero couldn’t abandon Neryssa to that fate.
A harsh knock on the door interrupted his troubled thoughts.
“Come in,” he called out.
The door swung open, and Adrius stepped inside alone. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
“Where’s Neryssa?” Nero jumped to his feet.
“You don’t need to worry about her— she’s just fine.”
“You hurt her.”
“Only a little,” the vampire said. “And only because she wanted me to.”
“Liar!” Nero’s voice shook with rage. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her if I did as you said.”
“I don’t recall saying any such thing. When I bit her, I only did as she requested, you know. Your sister is rather… persuasive.” Adrius paced over to Nero.
Nero’s fingers bit into his palms, and his knuckles whitened, but he kept his fists firmly at his sides. He knew attacking the vampire would accomplish nothing, but his entire body shook with the desire to do exactly that. “What do you want from me?”
Adrius reached into his pocket and retrieved a small vial full of a clear liquid. He held it between two fingers and looked at it. “I’ve been informed that you know Captain Noah Reiner.”
“Where did you hear that?” Nero asked.
“I have sources of information throughout Nymphera,” Adrius said. “Plenty of them in this city. You’ll find my network is quite wide.”
Another threat. If he ran, Adrius would find him. No matter where he went.
“Is it true?” the vampire asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. My sources have told me that he eats lunch at the same restaurant each day. You will go there tomorrow and find a way to pour the contents of this vial into his meal.”
Nero took the vial from Adrius and turned it over in his hands. The liquid inside looked like water, but he doubted the vampire would have him go to the trouble of pouring something as innocent as that in someone’s meal.
No, whatever the substance was, it was something far more sinister.
“Poison?”
The vampire nodded. “A rather potent one, in fact. It will kill him as soon as he consumes it.”
Nero shook his head and held the vial out. “I never agreed to kill anyone. I can’t do that.”
“And yet, you will. Return here by nightfall. Be sure the captain of the guard is dead by then. Do not fail me.” He closed the door behind him, leaving Nero alone in the otherwise empty room. The tiny vial suddenly felt heavy in his hand.
The closest he’d ever come to hurting others was the explosion at the parade the previous day, which had left him shaken. He had no desire to kill anyone at all, let alone Captain Reiner.
He knew what Neryssa would say. Reiner was just as bad as any of them. He stood by and watched as their parents were killed. Murdering him would be justice.
And yet… Captain Reiner had shown them kindness. He’d saved the twins from Lord Ellery’s wrath the day their parents were executed. He’d allowed Nero to escape after capturing him, knowing that if he brought him in, he’d likely be killed. And again during the parade, he’d let Nero slip away without a word.
Do not fail me.
If he refused to do what Adrius ordered, Nero would fail his sister, too. She would be the one punished for his failure. He couldn’t let that happen.
He stuffed the vial into his pocket and trudged down the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Neryssa, lounging on one of the couches. She stood up and started toward him, but he shoved the front door open and slammed it behind him before she had a chance to catch up. He had nothing to say to her.
The restaurant was the last place Nero would expect to find the captain of Lord Ellery’s guard. It was little more than a hole in the wall, located in one of the lower class areas of town over a mile away from the inn. Several window panes were covered with old wooden boards, and the sign above the door creaked with the wind on broken hinges. It was hard to tell whether the damage had been done during the storm, or if it was always like this. It hardly looked open at all, and if not for the delicious scents that lingered outside the building, Nero might have thought Lord Adrius sent him to an abandoned building just to mess with his head.
Nero pushed open the door and stepped inside, and the hearty scent of meats and spices greeted him. He slid into a booth in the darkest corner of the restaurant. The dark cloak concealed his face, helping him blend into the shadows around him. He fingered the vial in his pocket as he watched and waited.
How in all the hells was he supposed to get close enough to poison the guard's food without being seen and recognized?
A waitress walked out from the back. She fluffed up the volume in her red hair as she approached Nero’s table. "Good afternoon, stranger. What can I get for you today?”
Nero smiled as he leaned back in the chair, trying to look far more relaxed than he felt. "What do you recommend?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'd enjoy just about anything we have to offer here."
"After the week I've had, I'm sure I would,” Nero said. Despite everything that had happened and everything to come, he grinned. “Why don't you surprise me?"
"I'd be happy to." Her hips swayed as she walked away from his table.
Nero knew well enough that her demeanor was just an act, but it was a damned effective one. If he’d come to the restaurant for any other reason, her efforts would likely earn her the extra coin she was fishing for. Despite his need to focus, he wanted to indulge her flirtation. If nothing else, he could grasp at normalcy and pretend he didn’t have to face the murder the vampire had demanded of him.
He tilted his head back to rest against the wall behind him and sighed. He couldn’t run from reality forever. If Adrius was correct, Captain Reiner would walk through the door any moment.
As though Nero’s thoughts had summoned him, the bells on the doorway chimed to announce his arrival. Reiner strolled in, hanging his jacket on a hook by the door.
The waitress emerged from the kitchen, carrying with her a large bowl. She flashed a warm smile at Reiner as she passed by his table. “I’ll be with you in a few, Captain,” she called over her shoulder. She set the bowl down in front of Nero, then disappeared into the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Nero retrieved the vial from his pocket and dumped the contents into the soup— a lobster bisque, if the signs hanging behind the counter were to be believed. It looked incredible, and smelled even better.
A perfectly enticing bowl of poison.
Nero picked up the warm bowl and walked across the room to Captain
Reiner’s table. “Is this seat taken?”
The captain looked up at Nero, and his eyebrows rose. Before he could object, Nero slid into the booth across from him.
“I came here to chat with you,” Nero said. “I wanted to buy you lunch, as a peace offering, so you’d hear me out. If you need to arrest me after we’re done, I understand.”
Captain Reiner’ lips tightened, but he said nothing.
“Do you like lobster?” Nero pushed the bowl across the table.
Captain Reiner sighed. “You’d think so, living in a sea town like this. But no, it’s not my favorite.”
Nero’s breath caught in his throat. He’d already emptied the vial. If Captain Reiner refused the stew, he’d have no other way to feed him the poison.
“But I’ll accept the peace offering,” Captain Reiner continued. He pulled the bowl closer but didn’t pick up the spoon. Instead, he leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. “What did you want to talk about, kid? You’re white as a ghost.”
“I…” Nero ran a hand through his hair. If he was being honest, he hadn’t considered what he should say. He hadn’t considered any of this at all. He’d been too busy trying to will it away, to pretend it wouldn’t have to happen.
Now that he was here, sitting across from Reiner, his mind blanked. What could he possibly have to say to him?
The older man raised a brow. “I’m assuming you want to know why I saved you and your sister, all those years ago?”
“Yeah,” Nero said, letting out a breath. “Exactly. I wanted to know why you saved us then. And why you saved me last week.”
“And again yesterday?” Reiner, raising a brow. “It’s funny— when we got back to the palace, we realized Lady Morgana’s tiara was missing. And we still haven’t caught the person responsible for the explosions.”
“I was just watching the parade. And then the explosion went off, and everyone was running,” Nero said. “I didn’t mean to run into Lady Morgana.”
“And the missing tiara?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” Nero said carefully. “Maybe it fell off when I ran into her. It would be a stupid thing to take, anyway. None of the pawn shops would buy it.”
Reiner scrutinized him for a few moments, then relaxed against the back of his chair. “I’m glad to hear it. I hoped you weren’t involved in all of that.”
They shared an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Nero cleared his throat. “I was wondering… about my parents.”
The waitress poked her head out, and Captain Reiner waved a hand to send her away. “Back then, I didn’t think it was right to punish a couple of kids for their parents’ sins. And when I saw you on that beach last week… I hated seeing the life you’ve been forced into. It didn’t seem right to me. I know how you’ve been cast aside by this town because of Lord Ellery’s orders. It’s not right.”
Nero looked down at the table and dragged his finger along the patterns in the wood grain. “I don’t even know what they did. Or why.”
Reiner rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Your father was one of the most brilliant minds this city has ever seen. Your mother, too. Despite what everyone says, they weren’t evil.”
“So why did they do it?”
“They disagreed with Lord Ellery’s decision to remain part of the Viridian Empire. They didn’t want Caracta to have to answer to elven rule. And, hell— neither did I. We just disagreed about what to do about it.”
“And they thought the answer was murdering the Ellery family, so they could rule instead?” Nero asked.
“People are capable of terrible things when they believe their cause is just,” Reiner said. “But no. Your parents weren’t interested in ruling the city themselves. Your father hoped to be a steward for Lady Morgana until she came of age to rule. They hoped to take out the Lord and Lady quietly. Make it look like an accident. They told me everything because they thought I would help them, since I agreed with their position.”
“But you were the one who turned them in,” Nero said, suddenly realizing the ugly truth of it.
“Yes,” Reiner said. “What they intended to do was dishonorable. But to this day, I still wonder if I made the right choice.”
Nero rubbed his face, then buried his head in his hands. He needed to keep Reiner from growing suspicious about his intentions, but this was the last conversation he wanted to have. There was no point in bringing up the past. That was all over now.
“You shouldn’t let your soup get cold. It smells good,” Nero said finally.
“Did you steal the money to pay for it?” Instead of the judgment Nero was expecting, there was a deep sadness in Reiner’s eyes that said his words were genuine.
“Yeah.”
Captain Reiner nodded. “Then, I’ll pay for this meal. Keep your coins. And you should take the food, too. I know it doesn’t look it, but this place is the best in the city.”
“I’ve, ah, already eaten today,” Nero lied. “Really— I ordered it for you.”
Reiner leaned forward again, clasping his hands together above the bowl. “What I want to know is, why are you still in this city?”
Nero shrugged. “Where else would I go?”
“Anywhere.” The captain picked up the spoon and tapped it against the table. “Somewhere you can have a real life.”
“It’s expensive to travel,” Nero said. “I’ve never been able to save enough for both of us to leave.”
Reiner brought the spoon to his mouth, blew on it gently, then took his first bite of the soup. “It’s excellent today. Are you sure you don’t want any?”
Beneath the table, Nero fingered the cloth of his cloak. “No, thank you.”
The captain shrugged and took a few more bites. “I’m worried about you, kid. I think you have it in you to be someone great, if you can just escape the shadow of your past.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Well, it’s true. This is your life. No one but you can define it.”
Nero’s gaze drifted down to the bowl, then back up to the captain’s face as he took another bite. “I’ve made some bad choices. I don’t think there’s any coming back from the things I’ve done.”
“Have you killed anyone?”
“No.”
Not yet.
The captain cleared his throat. “Then you can always come back from what you’ve done.”
“I’ve gotten involved with some bad people recently. And I don’t think there’s a way to get out of it.” Nero buried his face in his hands. What had he done? This was wrong. And there was no stopping it now. The bowl was nearly empty.
Reiner frowned. “A gang?”
“Something like that.”
“I’ll help you get out. There’s a caravan leaving the city today— heading to Northhold, from what I’ve heard. I can pay the fee for safe passage out of the city. For you and Neryssa.”
“Why would you help me?” Nero asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t deserve your kindness.”
“It’s the right thing to do.” Reiner’s body shook with a heavy coughing fit.
“Wait. Don’t eat any more of that soup,” Nero said, panic creeping into his voice. “Not another bite.”
The captain folded up his napkin and set it next to the empty bowl. He leaned forward, arms crossed on the table. His soft chuckle was accompanied by wheezing. “Too late for that. If you were hungry, I was happy to share—”
“No.” Nero shook his head and stood up. “No, no, no.”
Reiner reached for Nero. “Calm down, kid. I’ll buy you your own, if you want some.”
“No!” Nero jumped to his feet. He took the bowl and threw it across the room. As it clattered to the ground, the last drops trickled out onto the wood. “This was a mistake— I didn’t want to—”
“What’s going on?”
“You’re going to die,” Nero whispered.
“What?”
“The soup. He made me do it— he h
as Neryssa.” Nero stumbled backward away from the captain’s outstretched arm. “I’m sorry.”
Reiner’s eyes widened with understanding. His hands rose to his throat. “Poison—” he managed to gargle out before breaking out into another harsh coughing fit that racked his entire body. He fell back into the booth, hacking up blood with every cough. It splattered across the table in front of him, seeping into the white napkin he’d folded neatly on the table.
“What’s going on in here?” the waitress yelled from the kitchen. As she returned to the dining area, her gasp turned quickly to a scream.
Captain Reiner pointed a shaking hand at Nero. “Poison,” he wheezed again.
The waitress shrieked again.
Nero backed away toward the front door.
The captain’s eyes bulged as he fell to the floor, still gripping his own throat. Blood bubbled at the corners of his lips and trickled down to the floor. His skin turned a hideous, blotchy purple as he fought for breath. Then, as suddenly as he’d started convulsing his body stilled, frozen in place on the ground.
The combination of fear and fury was still etched on his features, and even in death his wide eyes still looked up at Nero.
Chapter 7
The screaming from the restaurant faded as Nero made his way through the city. He’d escaped before anyone else had time to answer the waitress’ cries for help. Only she had seen him— at least, as far as he knew. He could still make it out of this.
Not that he deserved to after what he’d done.
He pushed open the door to the inn and closed it behind him. Leaning his shaking body against the wall, he wiped the sweat from his brow and gasped for breath.
“Nero?”
He gripped a table next to the door for support and looked up the stairs. Neryssa stood at the top landing in a long dressing gown. Her curls dangled untamed around her face, matching her appearance to her wild expression.
