by Ashley Nixon
“Well, for one, I’m alone with an engaged woman and to make the situation a little more compromising, I’m dancing with her.”
She smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “I miss when this wasn’t considered compromising. I miss how it used to be.”
Cove grimaced. “This is what happens when we grow up, Sara.”
“Does that mean I lose you?”
In reality, it did. He had lost her the day he returned from sea, and to a man that hated his very existence. There was no way Ben would allow her anywhere near him. And really, it wouldn’t be appropriate. The public loved scandal. They had already gobbled up rumors involving the two, and when news of Sara and Ben’s engagement broke, rumors circulated of betrayal. They would have to tread carefully with their friendship.
Given all that, he still said, “You won’t lose me.”
She interrupted their dance to hug him tightly, burying her face in his chest. She inhaled, as if she missed him. He returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around her, repressing his guilt and his sadness. Deep down he knew if Sara ever glimpsed him as he was outside of Arcarum, as Albatross, she would hate him.
And that thought was completely unbearable.
***
Larkin hurried through the night, feeling like an escaped prisoner. Her stomach was knotted with feelings of guilt and nervousness. She had debated about meeting Ben, told herself they would be leaving soon and whatever information Ben Willow had on her, it wouldn’t matter at sea. But now she’d gotten Cove involved, and he seemed more than willing to let her continue this arrangement.
She wasn’t all that familiar with Arcarum. She’d rarely been anywhere else but the courthouse and Cove’s mansion. In the dark and with the weight of fear upon her, everything seemed a lot more confusing, but the shadows Cove had promised did follow her, and when she felt lost, she’d catch a glimpse of someone in her periphery.
Finally, she came to the building and the back entrance to a pub called Onyx Hall. She was familiar with the name only because the men she'd kept society with here frequented this place. Women of her level didn't. As she reached for the door, she found a red ribbon tied to the handle in a bow.
She swallowed and the knots in her stomach turned to knives. She pulled the ribbon from the handle. This felt like a horrible omen. When she tried the door, she found it was locked, so she knocked and waited in silence, pulling her hood farther over her head and praying no one recognized her, or worse, that this was a trap.
At last the door opened and a young man appeared in the doorway. He took one look at her and stepped aside. She wanted to ask him questions but decided it was best to keep silent. She didn’t know who he thought she was, but she wasn’t going to reveal her identity willingly.
“Stay,” the young man said and left her in the dim light. She felt heat touch her cheeks. She was angry that he felt he could treat her in such a way and she wanted to say so, but again she kept quiet. She didn’t like being vulnerable. Strange that with so much power coursing through her veins, she still felt helpless. But that’s how this world had taught Lyrics to think of themselves, as sources of power, not powerful beings. The thought made her fingers clench, and she wondered for the first time if she might change that.
The young man returned. “Follow me.”
Larkin was beginning to think his vocabulary wasn’t very extensive. He led her up a dark set of stairs. At the top of the stairs, the young man just stood. She looked to him and he nodded in the direction of a door which stood ajar, light escaping from inside the room.
She moved forward and heard feet shuffle as the young man left. So she was by herself now with whoever or whatever lay beyond that door. She tried to slow her breathing. She’d hoped Ben was at least a little honorable and would stick to his word.
The door opened with a creak, and she found Ben sitting in a cushioned chair near the window. It likely overlooked the street she came down and she suspected he’d watched her approach.
He looked up from his paper as if he wasn’t expecting her.
“Ah, Lady Lee,” he said, folding the paper. She tightened her jaw upon hearing the title used in mockery. “What a pleasure. I presume you’ve brought what I have asked for. The compass,” he held out his hand, and it irritated her that he felt she would be so obliging.
“No,” she said, and Ben’s face immediately fell. She began to think of ways she could fight him, where she’d placed all her weapons. “If I am to deliver you the compass, I will do it on my own terms.”
“That was not the agreement,” he said curtly, and a fire lit his eyes that instantly alarmed her.
“It will have to be,” she said evenly. “I will have it no other way.”
“Spoilt girl!” he spat and dared to move toward her. Part of her was surprised, which was why her knife found his face so quickly. He stumbled back, a large gash on his cheek. The blood that ran between his fingers made his eyes look like fire. She stood her ground. That was the only way she was going to take the upper hand here. Ben couldn’t think she feared him, otherwise his power over her would be too great. “Wench! You don’t have control here, you are nothing!”
“Do you want the world to know you are the leader of the Commonwealth?” she asked. “I can go back to Maris at any time. My father has made a place for me, and with my return, I will have your secret. I can bring you down swiftly. You may think you are safe but Tetherion wants your head.”
“No one would trust you. Your reputation precedes you.”
“For all they know I am playing the same role the princes once played. Pretending allegiance to a pirate to steal his secrets,” she said.
Ben hesitated and she smiled. While the Commonwealth was growing and becoming more popular, a sign of their instability was the fact that they were unable to go public. If Ben was exposed now as the leader of the group, everything they’d work so hard for would be gone in an instant.
“Now we’re one for one,” said Larkin. “Let’s see who can get two for two first.”
“You think you’re smart, but anyone who meddles with Barren Reed is ruined. Even if you were to go back and reclaim your spot beside your father, you would never be looked upon the same way.”
“I’m not worried about falling into ruin.”
“You think that now,” he said. “You’ve no idea what it’s like… to be rejected by society.”
She raised a brow. “And you do?”
They glared at each other in silence.
“Two weeks,” he said at last. “You have two weeks.”
“Or what?”
Ben smiled, and her skin crawled. He was poison. “There’s more to me than meets the eye, Lady. Bring me that compass in two weeks or I’ll wage my own war against the pirates. I’ll start with Silver Crest. I’ll burn every building down. I’ll kill every man, every woman, every child. Do you understand?”
She started at him. She wanted to believe this was an empty threat, but she knew it wasn’t. It was part of the Commonwealth’s goal to eradicate pirates.
“I said, do you understand?” he gritted out.
“Yes,” she breathed, her gaze did not waiver.
“Good.”
She turned to leave, but Ben stopped her. “Have you asked your lover about Éire?”
She did not respond.
“Make him tell you,” he said. “It is important.”
Barren had walked all the way to the courthouse, fighting with himself about hurrying back to Cove’s mansion and locking himself in a room somewhere. He knew what he has about to do was a horrible idea, but the things he’d learned in the meeting with the Network were too troublesome. He couldn’t let Aethea Moore get beyond his reach. He was going to have to free her. He couldn’t bring himself to say rescue, because it was hardly that. It was more of a kidnapping. And as it turned out, he wasn’t so good at those. But he needed her. She was the link to the bullets, to the magic. Cove was silly to think he could wait for the Network when it was obvious that Tet
herion and Datherious were not idle.
Barren watched them from the shadows. A black carriage sat at the end of a wide staircase leading into the courthouse, an ominous building that rose into the night. Lanterns highlighted statues that looked like monsters, and Barren found it ironic that this would be their hall for justice. If there was anything he’d learned about politicians, it was that they were all about the show.
There were two guards standing at the door of the carriage and an additional man who would drive the carriage to the port. That meant he’d have to eliminate at least three people to get Aethea into his possession. Barren sighed. This couldn’t be simple.
Barren watched as two men brought Aethea out of the courthouse. She wore the same clothes she’d changed into at the ball. Her hands were bound in front of her, a terrible mistake on the part of her captors considering she was an assassin. They probably felt her harmless because she was a woman. Barren knew their logic. She’d tried to use a gun to kill the king and couldn’t even hit him. It would be their downfall.
The men shoved Aethea into the carriage and settled in after her. Damn. That made a total of five men he’d have to take down. He groaned inwardly. He had a decision to make. Did he kill them? Or did he leave them unconscious to wake and speak of what they’d seen? It wasn’t like they had his best interest in mind. Then again, he shouldn’t even be doing this. And when he was found out, he’d be in trouble with everyone, not just Larkin.
The carriage was off and Barren pulled his dagger from his boot, cursing as he hurried along. He kept telling himself he had to do this—for Cove, for his brethren.
The carriage bounced as it rolled down the road. He kept within the woods surrounding the courthouse at first, tripping over foliage and dodging limbs as he went. The two guards who had stood outside the doors hung onto the back of the carriage, riding along. They were the most vulnerable and would be the easiest to take out. He turned and looked back, taking care to see that no one was watching, but also that the courthouse was far enough away that no one noticed the carriage holding their prisoner had been attacked.
The carriage bumbled around on the wild roads leading to the port. Barren pulled his hood over his head and made his move as the carriage turned a wide corner and was finally out of view of the courthouse.
He jumped, latching onto the back of the carriage. The two guards on either side hadn’t been prepared for someone to actually try to free their captor. With one hand clinging to the carriage, they tried to draw their weapons, but Barren moved fast. Kicking the one on the right, he sent the guard tumbling to the ground as the carriage kept moving forward. The other managed to draw his gun.
Damn.
Barren had to move fast. His fingers hurt from holding onto the carriage so tightly, but he was able to jump up and kick the man free of the carriage before he could fire his weapon. Barren swung for a moment, his boots dragging against the ground as he tried to regain his footing on the rungs. His next course of action would have to be quick because the men inside the carriage with the prisoner would know something was wrong, and the ones behind him would hurry to catch up.
Barren lifted himself up and sprung into the carriage driver’s seat. He hit the driver on the head with the hilt of his blade, knocking him unconscious. Barren pushed him aside and took the reins, halting the horses. He was surprised, however, to hear nothing from inside the carriage. He hopped down from the driver’s seat and approached the carriage door carefully, blade drawn, when suddenly, it was kicked open.
One of the soldiers who’d climbed in with the prisoner fell out onto the ground, dead. After him came Aethea Moore. Her hands were still cuffed before her.
“Did you strangle him?” Barren asked, meeting her gaze. Her eyes seemed alight with a vitality he didn’t find inviting.
“They practically put the weapon in my hands,” she said, smiling.
“And the other man?” Barren tried to peer behind her. “Two guards entered the carriage with you.”
“I wouldn’t look if I were you,” she said. “His demise was much more…brutal.”
Barren just stared at her.
“Oh, don’t look so stunned, Barren Reed. I had a decision to make. I either kill them both, or let one keep me as a hostage.”
“What makes you think I’m not taking you hostage?”
The woman smirked. “Better in your care than theirs.”
Barren shuddered. He most certainly wasn’t going to be taking care of her.
A gunshot rang out and Barren and Aethea turned to find that the soldiers Barren had thrown off the carriage were on their feet again, hurrying toward them.
“You didn’t kill them?” she seethed.
“It’s not as easy as you think!”
She glared at him and then turned toward the soldiers, putting up her hand in surrender. “Please don’t hurt me,” she whined, walking toward them. One soldier kept his gun pointed at Barren as the other went to take Aethea into custody. Barren wasn’t sure what was happening here. Was Aethea walking right back into her captors’ hands? Did she intend to have Barren captured? His hand tightened on his knife.
As the soldier reached for Aethea, she made her move. Using her shackles as weapons once again, she slammed them into the hands of the soldier who held the gun. He dropped his weapon, and Aethea turned to hit the other soldier across the face. They were both on the ground now and Barren hurried forward, knowing she would kill if given the chance. Enough damage had been done here in this moment without more murder. He had to get the assassin sheltered, and the only place he knew to do that was Cove’s mansion. It was big and it was dark. He just hoped there were no eyes on it this evening.
He grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the fallen soldiers. “Into the woods!”
Surprisingly, she didn’t protest and the two ran into the growth, allowing it to swallow them whole. They didn’t stop running for what seemed like an eternity. It wasn’t until Barren could no longer draw breath into his pained lungs that he halted.
Behind him, he heard the scrutinizing voice of his prisoner.
“You couldn’t even kill those soldiers,” she said. “What’s so great about you?”
“Because I have killed, nothing is great about me,” he said drawing in a breath.
She almost choked on laughter, taking in deep breaths as she moved about the small space where they stood. “And is it because of that girl that you suddenly changed your ways? Larkin Lee—is that her name? Has she reformed you?” She was mocking him and Barren glared at her. “So it is her!”
Silence followed and Barren started to look about, attempting to get his bearings straight so he could get to Cove’s house quickly.
“So where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere we can hide,” he said.
“Am I so important to you that you would risk your life for me?”
“I don’t think you’re important, but what you know might be.”
“You realize I do not offer knowledge freely.”
“You don’t,” Barren said. “But you will.”
“Last I recall, I was the one with the advantage.”
Barren turned to face her completely. “Yes, leverage, as you called it. Where is my compass? Give it to me!” He extended his hand as he stepped forward, but Aethea just laughed.
“You think I have anything I was arrested with? Your compass was confiscated. It’s in Tetherion’s hands now.”
Barren’s face fell, but his disappointment quickly turned to anger.
“There it is. That rage so unique to you,” Aethea said, and her eyes gleamed with delight. She seemed to want to bring the worst out in him. He scowled.
“So much for your leverage,” he spat, turning from her.
Aethea laughed, truly humored, and the sound echoed throughout the woods. “I got exactly what I intended.”
Barren might have turned then to end her life, but a rustling sound caught his attention.
“Shh!” h
e commanded, and he heard the rustling again. He moved behind a tree, and peered out into the woods. The rustling was growing louder. Someone was running. He rushed out from behind the tree and tackled the cloaked figure, assuming it was one of the guards from the carriage.
What he got was much different.
He rolled with the body and found that it was soft and lithe. A woman. She was fiery and angry, and once she was on top, she reared her head back and hit Barren in the face. She rolled off him and stood, picking up his sword before his name spilled from her mouth.
“Barren?”
It was Larkin.
His head pounded from the blow to his face, and he felt blood gushing from his nose. He got to his feet.
“Larkin? What the hell are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same!”
“Well, this is amusing,” Aethea’s voice joined the mix, and Barren knew Larkin was cutting Aethea up piece by piece with her eyes.
“Why is she here?” Larkin demanded.
“Yes, Barren, tell her why I’m here,” Aethea joined in.
“I don’t have time to explain!” he said. “Let’s go.”
Barren grabbed his sword from Larkin’s hand before she could use it against him and moved toward Aethea. “Go,” he commanded and she did, walking along steadily through the dead leaves. The whole way back to Cove’s house, he felt Larkin’s eyes burning into him. He looked back periodically to make sure she was still there. For some reason, he worried she might disappear. He knew he had to explain, but so did she. What was she doing in the woods in the middle of the night?
Barren finally managed to get Aethea into the stables, but once he was there, he wasn’t sure what to do with her.
“Get down,” he said.
“You expect me to wait here?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Larkin, and without another word, she hit Aethea over the head with the hilt of her blade.
“Why did you do that?” Barren demanded in a hushed tone.
“You weren’t going to do it!” she replied fiercely. “Besides, I might not have a chance to do it again.”
