Page 102 of A Fate so Cruel

She pulled a pair of picks from her pocket, then kneeled and set to work on the lock. “I’m sure to someone like you, the thought is absolutely abhorrent.”

“Do you realize what could happen if our enemies discovered how vulnerable these villages are?”

“Who’s going to notice? It’s a tiny village on the seaside, and last I checked, there isn’t a continent anywhere nearby.”

“That we know of. This place was built to stand watch. Growing lax is exactly why empires fall.”

She shrugged. “Nothing lasts forever.”

“The Fae do.”

“We fade, but to live even that long would probably be miserable.” The latch clicked and Selina stood.

“I thought every Fae intended to fade.”

She shrugged again. “Maybe. We’ll see. When eternity starts to bore me, maybe I’ll rile up a few of those enemies you think we have.”

Gods help Alec if he was still around.

The first room was simple, with a large wooden desk near the far window, a rich green rug covering old wooden floorboards, and matching dusty drapes hiding the midnight sky. Bookshelves lined both walls, filled with texts and trinkets alike.

He took a moment to observe the space before approaching the first shelf. Selina took the desk.

Rion ran his fingertips along the spines, flipping them and tugging on a few large tomes just in case they revealed a secret room like the one Selina had mentioned. His assignments usually involved killing; leafing through documents and literature was a new one for him.

Selina knocked along the outside of the desk in search of hidden compartments and he did the same to the shelf. No hollow points.

Fifteen minutes later, Selina made a sound of triumph. She held up a thick leather-bound book with loose papers sticking out of the pages.

“Was that in the desk?”

“A false wall within the drawer.”

“Could they be more obvious?”

She shrugged. “I told you, they think themselves clever when they’re not.”

Rion moved closer and peered over her shoulder to read a list of names scribbled in a single column. Dates and abbreviations were separated by a large space. He squinted,trying to make sense of the letters, then Selina shifted her weight to her back leg.

It put her close. Close enough that her wildflower scent drifted off her damp hair.

Rion tried not to move. He didn’t want to pull away or involuntarily lean closer. His heart skipped, the treacherous thing.

Selina had opted to braid her hair to one side today. It left the pulse in her neck exposed. He traced the delicate curve with his eyes and briefly wondered what her warm skin might feel like beneath his lips.

“What do you make of it?” Selina asked without turning.

He swallowed hard, but couldn’t focus. “I’m not sure.”

Get it together, he chided himself. She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. Close. She was too close. “I’m sure there’s more in a journal somewhere.” She flipped through the book. “Or in this book. Do you think it’s worth searching the other rooms?”

Rion tried to clear his throat and finally stepped back. “We’re already here. It couldn’t hurt.” He eyed the desk, remembering how it felt to have her pressed against one.

Not his, not his, not his.

They proceeded down the hall to the next room, then the next and the next. Some held other potentially promising documents, but they all needed a key for decoding. A key they hadn’t found yet.

Selina took everything, stashing it in the bag at her side. Some items were probably personal, but since they didn’t intend to return, it didn’t hurt to confiscate them.

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