Page 77 of A Sword of Shadow and Deceit

“Poison,” he says. “Nightshade, to be precise.”

My eyes shoot to his. “I remember asking for a new poison, but I thought you’d give me something a bit lighter. Why are you giving me nightshade?” I demand, my fingers closing around the capsule and tightening.

“If you want a light poison, you could always use your spiders—their venom should be more than enough for something small,” Regis replies.

“My spiders don’t bite me,” I remind him.

He rolls his eyes. “Then order them,” he snaps and then taps his finger on the grain of the table hard enough for it to tilt slightly before settling back into place. “Nightshade is strong enough so if anything worse happens then it’ll be of use to you. Just take the damn thing.” He’s referring to the caning I’d received and the challenge of making sure I maintained a mortal’s rate of healing. I reopen my hand and stare at the sloshing liquid inside with a sigh.

“How many berries?” I ask, tilting it one way and then another. I’d been introduced to all manner of poisons during my training, and nightshade had been one of the higher concentrated ones. In mortals, it induced vomiting, delirium, hallucinations, higher heartbeat, and eventually … death.

“Ten,” Regis answers. “Enough to kill an adult mortal, but for you … well, I figured you could drain half or all of it depending on your need. If the target is right, you could also slip it into their drink and then kill them when they’re weakened. Even if it won’t kill a God or Mortal God, it will weaken them for a time.”

I consider his words. He’s right, of course. I myself had tried this before and though I hadn’t died, I had been weakened for several days following. “Thank you,” I say, closing my fingers around the vial once more. I hold up the leather twine attached and slip the poison over my head, tucking it firmly between my breasts beneath the new tunic I’d retrieved from my room since Theos had shredded my last one.

Standing up, I push the chair I’d been sitting on back beneath the lip of the table. “I think it’s best if we get our client to send the name of our target sooner rather than later,” I state.

Regis eyes me, and for once, I don’t want to look at him. He’s known me as long as anyone and so I know how easily it would be for him to dive into my thoughts and guess what they are if I gave him the chance.

“I’ll let Ophelia know,” he murmurs. “I’m sure you don’t want to be around those pretentious Mortal Gods any more than necessary.”

I hide the wince his words cause and merely offer a nod of agreement instead. Pretentious. Arrogant. Cruel. These are all things I expected of the children of the Gods. Since actually being around them for weeks, now, though, I’m starting to wonder if they’re not more like us than I ever wanted to admit.

It’s a rather cold realization and one that does not make me feel good. At the end of the day, it won’t matter if they’re good or bad—my target will inevitably fall and someone’s blood will stain my blade by the end of this mission.

Chapter 33

Kiera

The first person I run into upon my return to the Mortal Gods Academy is a surprise. With soft features that are dainty in their faux fragility, Niall’s ward, Maeryn, blinks back at me as I round the corner of a building and stop a few feet from where she stands. The permission I received had only been for the day, but I’d taken full advantage and now the sky is tinged with a mixture of colors announcing the arrival of night amidst its twilight hue.

“I apologize, Miss Maeryn,” I say quickly, bowing slightly even as my bones practically vibrate with the need to hurry back to my room. “I didn’t see you there.” A mistake on my part. I should’ve sensed her presence before ever rounding the corner. I’d been too hurried to return to the tower, too full of thoughts of whose bed I’d slipped from earlier that morning, and what my actions last night might cause in the near future.

The flower she’d been in the process of plucking from a bush to the side of the walkway in the courtyard I now regret choosing slips from her hand and flutters to the ground. In response, Niall’s ward blows out a breath. “You don’t learn easily, do you?” she asks without any heat or irritation despite the words.

I lift my head, confused. “Excuse me?” As the words slip from my lips, though, I recognize this very courtyard as the same one that she’d … well, I hesitate to say ‘rescued’ considering that I could have very well saved myself from Rahela’s temper tantrum—but not without consequence.

Maeryn closes her eyes and shakes her head. In this low light, her skin appears darker than I know it to be. Her freckles stand out and the long ringlets of red curls that descend over her back and shoulders shift with the light breeze that flows through the buildings.

“I distinctly remember the last time you were in this courtyard, you were in a bit of trouble. Did you forget that this was a Mortal God only courtyard?”

I stare back at her and then take a quick glance around, ensuring that we’re alone before I return my gaze to hers. “Does it matter if you’re the only one here?”

She stiffens. I watch with interest as the hands at her sides turn to fists. “I’m not sure exactly what Niall has told you about me, but even if I’m not so inclined to have you imprisoned or punished for that blatant disrespect, you should know better.”

Touchy. I suppose she doesn’t like being seen as weak then. Good to know. “I meant no disrespect,” I reply. “I merely meant that if you were to be kind enough to let me go, then no one else would know.”

Maeryn’s jade green eyes watch me with a curiosity I know I should avoid. Even if she’s no more than a Second Tier Mortal God in this Academy, which is damn near close enough to Terra treatment, I like that she doesn’t shy away from putting someone in their place. Even if that someone is me. A beat passes in silence and then another and another until I wonder if she’ll ever respond.

After what feels like an eternity and, of course, knowing that I’m unable to leave her presence until permitted, she finally bends down to retrieve the fallen bloom. The muscles of my back tighten beneath my cloak as she rises again, takes a step towards me, and holds it out. Frowning, I look down at the strange-looking flower. It’s white with red tips, but its petals are skinny and far apart, and though the filaments are the same color as its petals, they stick out farther as if screaming to be noticed.

When I still have yet to take it, Maeryn chuckles and reaches down, grabbing my hand and lifting it. She pushes the stem into my palm and forcefully closes my fingers around it. “Be careful, Kiera,” she whispers. “This place is just as dangerous to Terra as it is to Mortal Gods.”

A rather tumultuous emotion rumbles through me as she bows her head and slips around me. She doesn’t say anything more—not that she’ll keep my use of the courtyard a secret but not that she won’t either. I stare down at the flower she handed me as her steps grow farther and farther away. This Academy is growing more and more peculiar by the day and I’m starting to wonder if Regis’ concern isn’t more warranted than my abilities presumed.

I gather myself quickly and tuck the flower into my cloak as I finish dashing across the courtyard to the other side. As I do, I lift my head, looking up to the north tower that is my destination. The arching wide window at the very top of the tower is illuminated as the sun dips beyond the horizon, bathing the sky in indigo. I’m sure the other Darkhavens have returned to their chambers after last night. The memory of Theos and I still sits heavy within my flesh.

With a shiver, I drag my cloak tighter around me and keep going. Regis managed to buy me some time when Carcel arrives, but who knows how long I can keep away from that bastard or what he’ll expect from me when he comes. I’ve been on more than my fair share of missions with him and I do not doubt that in spite of the exacerbated danger of my current job, he’ll expect more work outside of the Academy from me if it’s even partially feasible. He always is one to push the limits.

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