Shadow

“You did what?!” Aremin asked her and chills ran down her spine. “You forgot your assignment.”

“No I didn’t.” Freya replied.

“Then tell me why.” He demanded.

He was outwardly calm but she knew his tells. His left eye twitched as evidence of his fury and he spun the gold ring on his index repeatedly. He was very upset and that meant she was in danger.

“Speak Freya, and you better have a damned good reason for fucking up the most important assignment I ever gave you.” He gritted out.

She couldn’t kill him because he was her mate. As she stared at her master, her tongue was unable to form those words. Her palms sweated because she never kept a secret from him, not even one. This man had seen her totally naked, had been the one to pick up her pieces and put her back together when the trainings nearly took her life, he had tattooed the marks on her body, and he knew everything about her, down to the last meal she ate and how long it would take to come out of her system. For a while, she had thought of him like a father and now he was her master so why wasn’t she telling him that she found her mate?

He stood suddenly and she stiffened. She watched him stride to the wall and unhook the iron bracelet and she rocked on the balls of her feet, stunned. He hadn’t touched that thing in years!

He turned back to her with a smile, so cold and reptilian.

“On your knees.” He commanded and she stiffened. The iron bracelet reached between them and pressed his command into her head. She shook her head and staggered back, disoriented.

“On your knees!” He snarled, stepping forward.

She screamed as the charmed bracelet drilled the command harder and blood leaked out of her nose as she resisted. She shuddered, her knees heavy with the need to collapse.

“I said, on your knees!” Aremin commanded and her knees slammed into the ground painfully. She was sweating and panting as she glared up at him.

“Is this necessary?” She hissed.

“It is. You are keeping secrets from me Freya.” He circled her and she shuddered, unable to get over that fucking bracelet overriding her wishes. She hated the stupid thing with all her heart!

“I’m not.” She gritted out.

“But you are.” Said Aremin, coming to a stop in front of her. “I’ll ask you again, and think carefully before lying to me. You did not kill Riordan, why?” He asked her.

The bracelet vibrated on his wrist and she screamed and gripped her head as the truth forced itself to the tip of her tongue.

“He was too strong!” She gasped.

She was fighting his hold on her with all she had, so much that a vessel burst in her eye and she glared at him with bloodshot eyes. Two could play this game. The magic in the bracelet forced only the truth out of her but she tested her limits, giving him a version of the truth that she chose.

“So why did you kill his bride?!” He asked.

She saw that dark arrow slam into his bride’s chest again. She could have so easily pierced the woman’s heart with it...

“She took the arrow meant for him!” She gritted out and then she pushed back against the magic of the fist.

It hurt like a bitch. She screamed as she pushed mentally and it felt like her insides were set on fire. Her skin smoked and broke open with blisters and yet she pushed, sick of the dark magic. The metallic tang of the magic suddenly disappeared and she fell to the ground panting. When she looked up, Aremin was putting the bracelet back on the wall.

She was up immediately, her dagger flashing out as she held it against his throat.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t open your throat!” She snarled but he only laughed.

“Put that away if you’re not going to kill me.” He said and turned around, ignoring the deadly edge.

She screamed and let the dagger fly, the tip slamming into bull’s eye of the target on the other side of the room.

“If you use that fist on me again, I will slit your throat open myself!” She hissed.

No other person in this Tower would dare to threaten him but he of everyone knew how much she hated that magic.

“I needed to be sure of you.” He said and she glared at him.

“I didn’t know my loyalty was in question.” She replied testily.

“Not anymore.” He replied and returned to his seat while she stewed. “You must redeem yourself. Go back there and finish the job.”

She knew that. She would not spare his life a third time.

“It will be much harder to bring him down now that he knows we’re onto him.” Aremin mused.

“I promised you his head.” Freya snapped. “I’ll deliver it to you. Is there anything else?”

“The entire arsenal is at your fingertips. Let me know if you need anything at all to end him. There’s backup if you need it.” Said Aremin.

“I have everything I need.” She said and strode away.

“Freya...” Aremin called when she was at the door and she turned back with a questioning glance.

“Yes?”

She couldn’t read his thoughts, she never could no matter how much she tried. He peered at her through thick lashes and seconds ticked by.

“Nothing. Let’s talk after you finish your assignment.” Said Aremin.

She gave him a clipped nod and left. In the hall, eople took one look at her and scrambled out of her way. Too bad, she could use an outlet for her aggression. Her long legs quickly covered the distance as she headed for the training ground.

...

Riordan paced, hours after the grey-eyed enchantress turned his life upside down. Mira’s family had taken her body but everywhere was still in an uproar. Investigators were running helter-skelter to uncover the mystery of her assassination but Riordan knew that arrow was meant for him. An arrow that left no mark, no evidence other than the eye witnesses of the entire hall present. The mystery left the investigators stumped but Riordan was conducting his own investigation.

“We need her.” Phen, his wolf growled for the umpteenth time.

“We do not.” Riordan snarled. He’d had a carefully thought-out plan, a well-executed one that involved marrying Mira and gaining her father’s support. He did not have the luxury of caring for a mate, the entire monarchy had depended on that goddamn marriage, and she ruined it.

He could see her in his mind’s eye as clearly as if she was still in front of him, could remember her intoxicating scent as vividly as if he had his nose buried in her hair. His wolf grew excited and his body came alive. He could so easily picture her sparkling green eyes spitting fire at him and his cock thickened and raged with the need to have her pinned underneath him again.

With a roar, his fist crashed into the wall and dented it. The pain was good, it helped his mind focus.

A knock on the door made him straighten and Fellin, his second in command entered. He took in the dent without missing a stride.

“Do you have it?” Riordan asked.

“Yes. As you asked.” Fellin replied and handed the sheets of parchment to him. “Who is she?”

“The woman that murdered Mira.” He replied and Fellin whistled.

“I thought as much. Not much information is as guarded as hers was.” Said Fellin as he advanced on the dented wall and studied it.

Riordan went through the information and his lips curled with distaste.

“A Spider!” He spat. He saw the mark on her wrist but he had hoped he was mistaken.

“Yes. They are basically the most ruthless team of assassins in the world, led by Aremin that undying bastard.” Said Fellin, dropping into a seat. “And top of that team is your woman. They call her Shadow, for her methods of killing are dark and she never leaves a trace. She also never misses her target. If we have Shadow on our asses, then we would have cause for great alarm.“

Riordan devoured the information on her, so sparse it was infuriating. Reported to have no parents, no familial relations, nothing else known about her at all other than that she was Aremin’s favourite protege. It was like she was born killing.

“Mira was not her target, I was.” Riordan replied and Fellin’s choked on the water he had been sipping.

“No way! Are you saying that Shadow missed?!” He asked excitedly.

“She didn’t.” He replied.

Before he turned the second page, Fellin’s hand landed on the sheets.

“The second page is a little sensitive. I wasn’t sure whether to add it.” Said Fellin. Riordan pulled the sheet from under his hand and read it.

“The woman you are looking for is the same woman that killed Winson three years ago.” Fellin said quietly.

The papers crackled in his fist as he digested this information.

Winson has been like a father to him. He took him in and cared for him after his parents died and then he was assassinated. The investigations had hit a dead-end while he resumed his uncle’s life achievement, leading the revolution. She killed Winson, his own damn mate.

“I will kill her.” He vowed bitterly. The Dagger of Ulth throbbed at his waist, one of the only five weapons that can kill immortals. He didn’t know whether she had become immortal yet but he would yank her soul from her body with the dagger anyway. “I will fucking kill her.” He vowed darkly.

Right there, at the end of the page was the information he needed; she frequented a bar downtown. Riordan threw the sheets down and grabbed his coat.

“Get me a horse.” He said and strode out angrily.