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“Magic always has a work around. Always. How do you think I am here? Do your kings not tell you that the wards put in place to protect you are impassable? Yet here I stand,” Sorin answered.

Cassius returned his attention to the map. Sorin saw him swallow, keeping his emotions in check. “I should go to the manor. Lord Tyndell will be wondering where I am.”

“I need to report to the castle,” Sorin said.

“And I shall stay here with Scarlett, planning Prince Callan’s visit,” Nuri sighed.

Cassius’s head snapped to her. “What?”

“Did I forget to mention that? Prince Callan is coming to visit in three days.”

CHAPTER 25

SCARLETT

The moon was bright as the girls prowled through the night, skirting down alleys and side streets. They were following a lead about their missing orphans, and it had led to the docks where they were now heading. They crouched behind some cargo pallets and watched as a ship was being unloaded.

“Do you think they are taking them off the continent?” Juliette whispered from between Nuri and Scarlett.

“It seems the most plausible, if they’re taking them to the docks,” Nuri replied.

“But why?” Scarlett asked.

“And why only children from our Syndicate?” Juliette added.

“Shh,” Nuri hissed as a lone figure emerged from the ship. He carried no luggage or bag, and he was dressed elegantly for someone who had just spent weeks at sea. “Oh gods,” Nuri hissed, practically gagging. “The reek.”

They possessed excellent senses. In fact, they all seemed to have extraordinary senses even for assassins. The girls all pulled their masks up over their noses, tears pooling in their eyes from the stench.

“That cannot be from him,” Juliette whispered. “Look at how well he is dressed.”

The man stepped onto the docks from the unloading plank and looked around,almost like he was expecting someone to be waiting for him. A worker made to move past him to continue unloading the ship, and the man gripped his arm, asking a question. The worker shook his head, pointing to a street that led into the heart of the capital.

The man began a leisurely stroll, and the girls set into motion. Nuri scurried up a drain pipe to the top of a cargo building to monitor from above. Juliette and Scarlett moved in the shadows below. As the man walked, he pulled something from his cloak and took a drink, shuddering.

“Must be strong stuff,” Juliette commented. She cast a glance at Scarlett. “Are you all right?”

“I’ll be fine as long as we’re home by sunrise,” Scarlett whispered back. “I have a vial with me.”

Juliette nodded in approval. “The smell seems to be lessening. It must have been something on the ship.”

The man turned down a forgotten side street and stilled as a figure dropped into his path, seemingly from the night. Nuri. Scarlett and Juliette split up, each taking a different side of the street to monitor.

“Well, hello stranger,” Nuri purred. The man’s body somehow went fluid and rigid all at once. Nuri always seemed to have that effect on people. The man looked her up and down. “Don’t mind the steel,” she continued, her voice sultry. “A girl’s got to protect herself.”

“Something tells me you do not need a blade to protect yourself.” The man’s voice was cultured and smooth.

“You’re right. I don’t,” Nuri replied, stepping towards him. “But I do need something else tonight.” She ran her hand along his chest as she came to stop in front of him.

“And what would a Daughter of the Night want from me?” the man purred in response.

Nuri seemed to tense, and she took a step back from him. “What did you say?”

Something was wrong. Nothing ever riled Nuri.

Scarlett glanced across the street to where Juliette was hidden. She couldn’t see her though. The shadows were too thick. She crept closer. There was an alley just ahead that veered off the quiet side street they were currently on. That was where Nuri had been planning to lure him, but it seemed they might end up hauling him there instead.

“Tell me,” the man was saying, “where do you feed here?” Nuri stepped back again. “Going so soon? I assure you, I can help in whatever way you are needing.” He took a step towards Nuri, but Juliette appeared at her side.