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Scarlett rolled her eyes now as she unbuttoned her jacket and tossed it to the side. “I know. Maximus headed him off before I turned down the roads to the Syndicate.”

She took a deep breath. This was the first time she had been inside the Fellowship in over a year. The familiarity of the place both calmed and ignited her nerves.

A young assassin sauntered by, giving Scarlett and Nuri appreciative glances up and down. The women were in loose pants and fitted sleeveless tops. She was here to practice her tumbling, and he was apparently just finishing up his own practice, judging by the slight gleam of sweat on his body. She had never seen him around the Fellowship before, but that didn’t mean anything anymore. He easily could have shown up in the last few months. He, apparently,did not know who they were either as his gaze lingered, and he asked with a cocky grin, “Need a spotter, girls?”

Before his next breath, Nuri had him on his stomach, an arm pinned behind his back. Her knee was on his neck, digging in as she murmured sensuously into his ear, “The next time you look at either one of us like that, I’ll rip out your fucking throat.” The young assassin was gagging and gasping for breath as she dug her knee in a little harder. “Then I will let His Lordship have the rest of you.”

She pushed off of him and the young assassin sprang to his feet, his face white with rage. Nuri stared him down, and Scarlett smirked at him as she said sweetly, “You must be new here.”

“Who the hell are you?” the young assassin snapped back, rubbing the back of his neck.

“They are mine,” came a low, rough voice from behind them. The young assassin’s eyes widened in fear as the Lord of the Assassins appeared. His hood was up as usual, hiding his features from view.

The young man’s eyes dropped to the floor and his head bowed. “My deepest apologies.”

“Get the hell out of here, Marcus. You are lucky she did not break a bone before she let you up. She must be in a particularly good mood today,” the Lord growled. Marcus didn’t need to be told twice as he disappeared out the door.

Nuri snorted in disgust. “You seem to be letting any filthy piece of trash into the Fellowship these days, Father.”

A deep chuckle came from the hood. “I suspect he won’t last long, but everyone deserves a chance if they wish it, Nuri.” He turned to Scarlett. “You are going to see Prince Callan tonight.”

It was a statement, not a question. She wasn’t surprised by his words. Some might have expected something else to be the first words exchanged between them after the tumultuous relationship they’d had this past year. Some might have received a soft tone or a gentle touch at the reunion with the man who had practically raised them.

Scarlett expected none of that.

She slid her eyes to Nuri in question. Nuri subtly shook her head.No, she hadn’t told her father what they were planning. The Assassin Lord chuckled darkly again. “You two think I do not know what is going on in my city where my Wraiths are involved?”

“Will you forbid it?” Nuri asked quietly.

He sighed. “It would do no good. You would distract anyone I sent to keep it from happening, and Scarlett would go anyway.” Nuri and Scarlett fidgeted nervously. He wasn’t wrong. “You will need to take care of the general, or he will get in the way.”

“I am aware,” Scarlett answered.

“Are you?” he questioned, his voice going hard. Scarlett stilled. That tone meant violence could quickly follow. “Are you aware that I am still waiting for you to complete your assignment? Or is retribution for your mother’s death no longer enough motivation for you?”

“I would prefer to knowwhyhe is my target before I take his life,” Scarlett answered.

Nuri stood quietly, looking between her adoptive father and her chosen sister. She did not know who her target was. No one else did.

“You question me still?”

“I will always question you,” she retorted. “I will question you until you agree to go after Mikale.”

Without warning, the Assassin Lord’s hand shot out and gripped her elbow hard. He dragged her away from Nuri and out of the tumbling room. Nuri did not follow.

“Leave,” he hissed at a couple of people coming down the hall as they rounded a corner. They disappeared in seconds. “You still push for this? You still question this? I thought your acceptance of this assignment meant you had finally given up on this matter,” he growled, shoving her against a wall.

“You assumed wrong,” she seethed. “I will never understand why we have not sought retribution for her death. I will never understand—”

She felt the sting on her cheek before she processed the speed of his hand as it slapped across her face. “How can you not understand?” he seethed. “How can you not understand that this is to protectyou?That this is to protect what has been built here? What you will inherit?”

“I do not want it,” she cried, her voice rising. “What I want is retribution for Juliette’s death!”

“You will not get it,” he replied coldly. As he turned to leave, he said, “Complete this assignment and come home.”

“This is not my home,” she snarled.

The Assassin Lord paused and turned back to her once more. “You consider Lord Tyndell’s manor your home now?”