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Short arms suddenly wrapped around her. Khalani barely kept herself upright as Winnie crashed into her, squeezing her for dear life.

“Khalani, girl. You look so beautiful. Too beautiful to be going to a dangerous place like this. Let Winnie go. She can’t stand for you to go without her.”

“You know I have to go, Winnie.” She hugged her back with all the strength left within her. “But I’ll come back to you.”

“Pinky promise you’ll come home,” Winnie insisted, her eyes shining with unrestrained fear as she held up her right pinky.

“Pinky promise?”

“It’s a binding contract,” Winnie explained. “When you swear on a pinky, it means your life is on the line. If you break that promise, bees will come and sting your eyeballs.”

“What’s a bee?” She frowned.

“Khalani, give Winnie your pinky,” Winnie commanded firmly.

There was no arguing with that tone, so Khalani complied, wrapping her pinky around Winnie’s weathered finger. Winnienodded and cupped her face, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Give ’em hell, child.”

“Andyou.” Winnie whirled on Takeshi, jabbing her pointer finger into his chest. “You bring her back to Winnie alive. Winnie likes you, but if there’s one scratch on her, she’ll skin you alive and make a cloak out of it.”

Everyone’s jaw hung open, but Takeshi didn’t even flinch at her words. He bowed his head as though Winnie’s threat and the responsibility she entrusted to him weighed heavier than gravity.

“You have my word,” he swore, his voice firm and unwavering. “No one will touch her and escape death.”

Khalani momentarily forgot how to breathe.

Repeat after me: Your enemy threatening to maim others on your behalf is psychotic and troubling.

Winnie seemed satisfied with Takeshi’s promise and nodded, as though anything less would’ve been unacceptable.

“A couple last things.” Raziel stepped forward, the black mask still covering his nose and mouth as he held a strange, thin metal device. “I’m going to administer a shot in your arm. It’s the tracker that will inform us of your location. It’s undetectable and will guide us right to you in a week.”

Raziel approached Takeshi first. Takeshi shrugged out of his jacket and lifted his shirt, exposing the veins in his muscular forearm.

If the shot hurt, he didn’t show it.

When Raziel turned to Khalani, she tensed, but the sting was nothing compared to what she’d experienced in Braderhelm. The tattooed number on her wrist was a testament to her pain.

“You’re ready now.” Raziel nodded. “Let’s go.”

***

Khalani, Takeshi, and Raziel passed numerous shops and bars, their vibrant, pulsating lights drawing her attention as she struggled to maintain her balance in heels on the uneven cobblestone street.

Men openly leered at Khalani, some daring to venture a little closer, but when they caught sight of Takeshi and Raziel’s towering forms, they quickly backed off.

She didn’t miss the way every woman eyed Takeshi with ravenous desire, but he stared straight ahead, ignoring them all.

Raziel prowled forward in his black cape with deadly confidence, and it only took Khalani a few minutes to notice men and women ducking their heads or speeding away at the sight of him.

“How long have you been part of the Aces?” she asked, her eyes narrowing on Raziel.

“My whole life.”

“And what exactly do the Aces…do?”

Raziel paused, looking up as if he were deciding the best way to answer. “We dabble in different business ventures. Trading goods. Collecting payments. Providing assistance around the city. Things like that.”