Page 23 of Heir of Illusion

Mercy.

“Impressive.”

I jump as a deep voice cuts through the silence. Turning around, I raise my sword defensively, only to find the reaper watching me from the other end of the alley.

“Fuck off.”

“I spoke too soon,” he says blandly as he saunters toward me. “It seems your vocabulary is rudimentary at best.”

Painting on a patient smile, I speak in my most saccharine tone. “Dearest Reaper, won’t you please promptly vacate the vicinity? Or in other words,fuck off.”

“No, but thank you for asking so politely,” he mimics my sweet tone, stopping only a few feet away.

I can hear my bones grinding against the pommel of my sword as I squeeze it in frustration. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”

“It’s dangerous to walk around this part of the city at night,” he admonishes me.

I bring my sword up to his chest, letting the tip sit over his heart. Instead of stepping back, his gaze falls to the weapon with amusement.

“Is that why you continuously seek my company?” I ask. “Because you’re afraid of the dark?”

His eyes widen innocently. “There’s safety in numbers.”

I arch a brow. “You just watched me kill a man.”

“Eh.” He shrugs, waving off my recent homicide. “Three’s a crowd.”

I apply slightly more pressure against his chest, causing a tiny bead of blood to appear on the tip of my blade. He catches it on his gloved finger before bringing it to his mouth and my lips part as I watch his tongue dart out, licking it away.

“Vicious,” he chides.

“What do you want, Reaper?” I ask, my voice strangely breathless. “Why are you following me?” He opens his mouth to offer what will surely be another deflection, but I cut him off. “And don’t say you aren’t.”

He sighs. “I need your help.”

A laugh bursts from me at the simplicity of his answer. “I’m not interested.”

“You know who would be interested?” Fire dances in his eyes, making him resemble a cat playing with its food. “King Baylor.”

My amusement dies as I note the seriousness in his tone. Using two gloved fingers, he easily pushes my sword away from his chest and takes a few steps back.

“I bet he’d be extremely interested to learn about your activities tonight.” His gaze flashes to Lynal’s dead body before returning to me. “I imagine he doesn’t know you’re dismembering his citizens?”

I move one hand to my hip as I shrug my shoulders.

“What makes you think I’m not acting on his orders?” I bluff.

He gives me a flat look.

“You’re saying this was a sanctioned kill?” He points to the messy crime scene. “See, I have a theory that the king’swraithhas gone rogue. And I’d be willing to bet it’s not the first time.”

My breath catches at the implication in his words. “You have no proof.”

“Charming little note you left behind.” He gestures to the message I wrote on the wall. “Memorable. Should we go visit the king right now and ask him what he thinks of your penmanship?”

I scoff. He said that as if questioning a monarch is a simple matter. “You think you can simply walk into the palace and ask for an audience with the king?”

He nods. “I do, actually.”

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