Page 39 of Shadows of the Crown

“And you?” Marek questions softly. I breathe deeply before looking over my shoulder.

“The person behind this is bound to slip up when they realize I’m not easy to kill. And when they do slip, it’s my blade they’ll fall onto.” He nods, dismissal enough for me to rush through to the front doors, ignoring the way a group of students quiets when I pass.

My chest heaves as I step into the cooling air, droplets of rain beginning to fall. My head tilts back, and I allow my shoulders to slump.

I’m not frustrated that he called me beautiful…I’m frustrated because of how closely he’s had to watch me to notice.

He already fucking knows of my unreported essence, which blares the question:what else is he seeing?Does he know of my plans to kill him, and that is the rationale of why he’s as preoccupied with me as Gavriel claims?

“Shit,” I groan, pushing my feet forward to hurry back. I dropped him and stalked away when he complimented me—that rejection could be enough motivation for him to run off with my most closely held secrets.

My mind slows as I breathe in the distinctly appeasing smell of the rain. It is easy to feel watched by every eye under the Angel’ssun, but when it rains like this? It’s as if I am encased in my own little realm, where I am invisible and untouchable.

It’s freeing.

I turn into an alley—a shortcut and refuge. Despite the night just beginning, the shadows are heavy and meager light creeps into the space. I tug on my umbral strand and call the familiar tendrils to my hand, the hint of a smile forming when they emerge. They are like an extension of me. I need only call to the strand once, and they are mine to control without additional weaving. That is not how the other strands behave—

Something pierces my thigh as I walk, and in the next heartbeat my blade is across the alley, sinking into the assailant's heart. I have but a moment to look at the arrow jutting from my leg before another whizzes past my face—so close the end brushes the tip of my nose. I pull the shadows over me and step back to the sleek brick wall.

“Where did she go?” one shouts over the pouring rain, squinting his eyes at three of his friends entering from the other side. I cannot help the giddy laugh that bellows out of me, causing the remaining six attackers to pause.

It doesn’t matter if they witness my use of forbidden essence…their mouths will no longer work by the time I’ve had my fun.

And thiswillbe fun.

I run to the left, only letting the shadows go when I maneuver up against the wall, pushing off and swinging my foot into the closest man’s head. The hit sends him careening into the brick, where a distinct crunch overpowers the rain, followed by his brain matter draining through the cracks.

My eyes find the one who shot the arrow, giving him a maniacal smile as I practically bounce on my eager feet. Grabbing the intrusion in my thigh, I rip it out and toss it to the side. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Their eyes widen before battle cries sound, all five charging in my direction. I duck as a sword aims for my neck, kicking the knees out of another, forcing his body into the path of the sword. He screams when it separates his torso and hot blood slaps my face.

I unsheathe a second blade, planting my feet to take the blow of a shoulder to my abdomen. The man slams me back against the wall, my legs wrapping around his waist to hold my body steady. It proves difficult, as the fabric of his thick pants does not soak in water properly, making them slick.

I cannot see his face, but his panting breaths graze my cheek as I bare my teeth to his ear. “All this trouble just to get between my legs?” He stiffens, gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. “Though I think you’ll find I’m too expensive for you—because the price is your life…and I collect payment up front.” Strangled noises abandon his throat when I shove my blade into the base ofhis spine and clench my jaw as I drag it up through as many vertebrae as I can manage before the three remaining men yank his body from me.

My feet are quick to catch me, and I throw my arms in the direction of their gurgling friend. “Oh, come on, boys! Can’t a girl have a little fun? I was almost at the top!” I cackle, noticing for the first time red masks covering their faces.

The bulkier man looks to the others as they stalk closer. “Let’s just go! She’s dead, anyway!” They hesitate.

“Oh, I’m not the one dying here tonight,” I purr, taking a single step forward, smiling sweetly. “But it’s cute you think I’ll allow you to live.”

The man to my right swings, his arm blocked by mine as I tilt to kick the one to my left. I do not watch his back meet the ground, instead grabbing the wrist touching me and twisting sharply. He cries out, his shoulder following the movement. One moment he’s whimpering in pain, and the next he wears his head backwards.

From my peripheral, the man I kicked scrambles to stand, slipping repeatedly. I spin and thrust my fist into the last assailant, rendering him unconscious. I’ll deal with him later.

I tug on my psionic strand, intending to stop the attacker running down the alley. Nothing pulls.

I try my umbral strand. My brows furrow—no pull. I cannot grasp any strand.

The squeak of his boot grabs my focus once more. “Fuck,” I mutter as I reach down to pull my blade from another’s spine, twisting to fling it into the neck of the last one standing. He grunts, falling forward, and I frown as his skin slaps against the puddle.

Impressive, actually. He made it to the head of the alley before I got him. I almost allowed this pathetic excuse of a life to slip through my fingers.

Unacceptable.

I reach him, rolling my eyes when I hear his violent sobs. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I reach for his jacket and pull him back to his knees, stepping around his shivering body to crouch before him. “You’re seriously going to cry during your last moments in this realm?Youattackedme…that’s fucking pitiful.”

He attempts to hold back, his lip quivering from faltering breaths. Saliva begins foaming around his mouth, and my nose scrunches hard. I shake my head, waving a hand in his direction. “Actually, cry all you want. That’s disgusting.” His eyes begin to gloss over—I’m running out of time. “Who sent you?”

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