Page 78 of Kept to Kill
Mal nodded at them and took his customary spot by the wall. Bastian and Lily stood behind Quin. Drake, Krase, and Vane’s eyes followed her, though they did not speak to her directly.
‘There is a celebration tonight close to the palace. Our Fourth must be in attendance. She’s here to kill—’
‘We can guess,’ Drake interrupted with a sneer. ‘But we would perhaps wonder why we weren’t given the task.’ He looked Lily up and down and snorted. ‘How is this girl going to kill any man regardless of how much wine and women he’s had?’ he asked, his manner mocking.
‘You don’t know me,’ Lily growled from behind Quin in a tone he’d never heard her use before. She was holding her own against these men and he was pleased, proud even.
‘It doesn’t matter how she’s going to do it,’ he said to the Brothers. ‘She’s going in disguised as a courtesan, but she needs to go in later, after the others.’
The three of them looked at each other again, something more passing between them that made Quin wary.
‘This is a foolish plan,’ said Drake. ‘If anyone finds out you have gone against the king’s edict, all of our lives will be forfeit.’
Quin stood. ‘I’ll worry about that. Will you help your Brothers or not?’
‘It is our duty as members of the Dark Army,’ Drake said after a moment, but he didn’t look happy about it. ‘You’ll receive details of where to be before the celebration begins,’ he said to Lily, standing. ‘But if you are caught, we will not be able to help you.’
‘Understood,’ Quin said, looking back at Lily. She nodded once, deliberately not looking at him, which didn’t go unnoticed by Krase, who smirked at him.
The Brothers left without another word.
‘They have gifts,’ Mal muttered after they’d heard the outer door to the house slam closed.
Quin’s head shot up as he regarded Mal. ‘What can they do?’
‘Not sure. Odd unit.’
‘Agreed,’ Quin said thoughtfully. Hiding a gift wasn’t odd outside the Army, but within, Brothers tended to know what their fellows could do. This unit was strangely removed from that life. He would have to deal with them before they turned into a problem as well, he thought, adding it to that ever-increasing list in his mind.
‘They may be loyal to the Army, but they have other allegiances as well.’ He turned to Lily. ‘Are you still of a mind to continue?
‘Yes,’ she said, not looking at him.
‘Good. If you see them tonight, don’t let them know about your curse. Mal will bring you the information they send to us later, and we’ll show you where you need to go. We will be close by, but this is the closest safe house to where you’ll be. You must know your way back here just in case.’
‘I know the city well enough.’
Quin nodded and glanced at Mal. ‘Do you have sufficient time to get everything together?
He nodded.
‘Good. We’ll reconvene here before the sun sets. I will go with you to ensure you get inside without incident,’ he said to Lily, and he could have sworn he saw her lip curl in disdain for a moment before her expression closed. ‘Mal will be waiting for you when you come out. Bastian and I will be watching the building to ensure we know where you are.’
Fine,’ she said and then, without a backward glance, left the room.
As soon as she was gone, both Mal and Bastian simply stared at where she had been standing.
‘She’s upset,’ Bastian said quietly. Mal nodded in agreement.
‘I know,’ Quin said, ‘but it’s for the best.’
Mal practically bared his teeth as he left the room as well. Bastian let out a sigh. ‘Best for whom?’ he asked quietly before following on Mal’s heels, more loyal to Mal than he was to Quin at the moment, Quin suspected.
He put his head in his hands, for once praying to the gods that he would be able to sort out this mess that seemed to be getting worse with each passing moment.
* * *
Lily shiveredin the dark as she stood next to Quin in the alley. It stank of rotten vegetables and piss, which was an aroma she found familiar and somewhat comforting as odd as that was. It seemed to her they’d been waiting out here for hours, though it hadn’t been too long since the sun had set and the revelries had begun.
