Page 54 of By the Horns (Royal Artifactual Guild #2)

Thirty-Nine

Raptor

Raptor to Hawk: I don’t think I’m cut out for this shit.

Hawk to Raptor: I don’t think any of us are.

Hemmen is dead.

As I lay there in the blissful aftermath of knotting the woman I wanted more than anything, I find out that one of my Five, one of the fledglings I’m supposed to be watching for possible thievery, has been slaughtered in an alley while I fucked around with Gwenna.

It doesn’t matter that hours have passed since that moment. I’m still burning with frustration and anger. I’m still seeing her startled face as I confess my feelings for her and she blurts out another man’s name.

As we stand in the alley, talking to the guild’s enforcers about Hemmen’s violent death, I can’t help but glance over at Gwenna.

I’m obsessed with her, even as I feel like I’ve been had.

The timing can’t be overlooked. The moment I knot her, suddenly someone else dies?

It’s too convenient. She’s distracted me in the best sort of way, my sweet little mate, and I’m the fool who falls for her pretty tears and her caresses every time.

My mate. It’s the only word that fits for what Gwenna is to me. I just never thought claiming a mate would be like, well, this.

Now a young human man is dead. I don’t even know what to think of it.

Hemmen was never my favorite person. He hated hard work and would rather have spent his time inside a library instead of in the tunnels, but I can’t fault him for that.

It’s not a lifestyle for everyone. Even so, I wouldn’t wish death on him.

“Where were you at the time of the attack?” one of the enforcers asks me.

“Inside. With the woman.” I nod over at Gwenna.

He eyes her, no doubt noting the blanket she has wrapped around her, and the borrowed dress.

Naiah lent a gown, since I’d torn Gwenna’s clothing in my haste to fuck, but Naiah is nowhere near the same size, and the gown that hangs loosely on Naiah’s lean form fits rounded Gwenna like a sausage casing.

Now I know what the sausage feels like when the cook stuffs it.

She’d made me laugh, made me feel so mucking good.

Like us being in bed together was as natural as air, as natural as breathing.

That it didn’t matter that I have a permanent knot, or that I’m Taurian and built differently than her.

She never blinked an eye at any of it, and I wonder how much was pretending.

“Can you think of any enemies he might have had?” asks the enforcer, scribbling notes in a small notebook.

“No,” I lie. I’ll have to talk to Rooster and Hawk about this. I’ll tell them what I know—and how Gwenna distracted me at just the right time. “He’d mentioned he was meeting a friend, that’s all.”

“Some friend,” the enforcer says.

I eye the sheet-covered body in the alley.

Even now, a thin line of red is bleeding through the fabric, right where his neck is.

His throat was cut, just like in the other murders.

The murderer isn’t Gwenna—as I was knotted in her at the time of the killing—but she knows something about this. And I need to find out what.

Master Jay rushes forward, having arrived on the scene after being alerted by the enforcers. A look of horror is on his face as he drops to his knees next to Hemmen’s corpse. “My—my student. What happened?”

Jay looks up at me, and I don’t have answers for him. I look over at Arrod instead. They’ve been questioned by the enforcers already, with no leads.

Arrod takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “We were drinking. Hemmen said he was meeting a friend to exchange books. He was nervous about it. Kept slicking his hair back, you know? Like he does.”

Is that something he does? I had no idea. I haven’t paid enough attention to Hemmen. I’ve been too obsessed with Gwenna.

Arrod crosses his arms tightly over his chest and continues.

“He got up while me and Kipp were drinking and said his friend had arrived, and he was going to meet him in the alley. Went out front, and me and Kipp finished his beer. We figured that’s what he deserved for leaving it unattended.

” His mouth crumples a bit and then he goes on.

“It wasn’t until someone started screaming that we realized what had happened.

They found Hemmen outside, and his throat… ”

He trails off, then shakes his head and walks away. Kipp moves to his side, patting his pant leg to comfort him.

“We’ll need to ask you some questions, Master Jay,” the enforcer says in a polite tone. “I’m sorry about the timing, but it’s important.”

Jay’s expression is hollow, but he nods.

I feel bad for the man. He has no idea of the shit that’s been going down—Rooster wants to keep it as hushed as possible—and now a fledgling is dead.

His grief is obvious, and even though I don’t always agree with his teaching methods, it’s clear that he feels responsible.

Rooster needs to tell him what’s going on.

It’s not fair for Jay to blame himself. Whatever happened with Hemmen, he was involved with the smuggling ring, and now he’s paying the price.

Jay looks over at Gwenna, and then at me. “Will you take Gwenna out of here? I don’t think murder is good for a young lady’s sensibilities.”

I want to point out that Jay is training that “young lady” and making her sleep in the same room as four men, that she can drink and belch with the rest of us and knows more dirty jokes than Arrod.

I want to point out that Gwenna already knows Hemmen’s been murdered and might be in on it. I want to point out that the last thing we should be worried about is a “lady’s sensibilities” when people are dying and the guild is being robbed.

But I want answers from Gwenna first. So I just agree and turn toward her. She seems dazed, her expression unfocused. The thin blanket wrapped around her figure covers the immodesty of her dress. “Come on, Gwenna. Let’s get you out of here.”

She comes along quietly, and because she seems just as upset as any of us, I put a hand on her neck as I steer her through the streets and back toward our quarters at the heart of the city.

Her steps are brisk enough, but I can feel the trembling in her body.

She’s shaken, perhaps at the thought of getting caught.

She still smells like sex, too. It’s making the possessive, rutting-bull side of me go wild. I want to fling her down on my bed and take her again, but I’m not going to let myself get distracted by doe eyes and pretty tits.

I hold my questioning until we get back to the nest, because I don’t know who might be listening in. The streets of Vastwarren City are never empty, and gossip spreads like wildfire.

As we step inside the nest, there’s the clink of dishes from the kitchen. Gwenna heads there and I let her, releasing my grip on her neck.

“Oh,” the woman at the hearth cries, jumping with fright as we enter. Her eyes are red with tears, and she dabs at them. “I’ve just heard the worst—is it true?”

“I’m afraid so, Marta. Gossip travels faster than we do, it seems.” Gwenna’s tone is soft and sad. She moves to the other woman’s side and gives her a hug.

Marta is startled by the embrace, but quickly puts her arms around Gwenna in return.

“I was just making some soup. I thought I’d stay busy…

.” She pulls away and dabs at her eyes with the corner of her apron.

“I was going to make pork stew because that’s Hemmen’s favorite, but I guess I don’t need to now… .”

She starts weeping again.

“Hush,” Gwenna tells her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Why don’t you get your things and head out for the day? We can fend for ourselves. I don’t think anyone’s in the mood to eat tonight anyhow.”

The nestmaid nods and grabs her heavy pack from its hook by the door. Gwenna quickly sweeps the half-chopped onions and veg into a bowl, clearing the counter. She tidies up the kitchen, not looking at me, until we hear Marta leaving, with the side door shutting behind her.

Gwenna wipes down the counter. “His books were missing. They weren’t in the alley. Did you notice that?”

“I noticed that you keep lying to me,” I point out.

She stiffens, her shoulders going back.

“First the artifact, and now Hemmen’s death.” I stride toward her, putting a hand on the counter that she keeps on wiping even though it’s clean. “I’m tired of the games. I want to know who you’re working with.”

“I’m not—”

“You keep distracting me during crucial moments,” I growl. I’m just as furious at myself as I am at her. “Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t turn you over to the guild right now and let them prosecute you as the mastermind behind all of this.”

She jerks in surprise, staring up at me. “I’m what ?”

“The thief. A murderer. Take your pick. That’s three repeaters who have been murdered now, and an artifact found in your bag. And one in the caverns, along with another body. All of these coincidences keep adding up, and I can only fall for a pair of pretty eyes so many times.”

Her mouth drops open.

“Who’s your contact?” I press, sensing she’s caught off guard. “You’re not working alone. Who’s doing the dirty work?”

“What dirty work?” She shakes her head.

“Murdering—”

“Murdering?!” She gasps, shocked. “Me?! Are you insane?”

“No, but apparently you are.” I lean in close, determined not to be fooled by her false outrage.

“Your crew is using students to steal artifacts and then murdering them when they’re no longer of any use.

We’ve been keeping tabs on you for a while now.

The more you work with us, the easier it’ll be.

Right now, though, things are looking very grim for you. ”

She shakes her head again, more vigorously this time. “No—you’ve got it all wrong. I’m no thief.”

Another lie. “Then prove to me I’m wrong. Produce the real thief. Are you just passing information on to them? Are they holding something over you and forcing you to work with them?”

“I’m not working with anyone . And I don’t know anything about any of this!”

“Yet you were targeted in the books, remember? Gwenna is a thief. And an item was found in your bag. And now Hemmen’s books are gone. All of this is happening right on your doorstep, and it’s obvious you have a secret you’re keeping. You’re a good liar, but you’re not that good.”

Good enough that she’s had me fooled for quite some time, though.

I’m fighting back the ache of betrayal, but I want to shout at the unfairness of it all.

To think that I was so mucking delighted and relieved to find out that Gwenna and Sarya were the same person all along.

That all my problems had been solved. What a joke.

I grab her chin and force her to look up at me. “Tell me your secret.”

Her eyes fill with tears, and her entire body shakes. “I can’t. I’ll be killed if anyone finds out.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. I fight the surge of triumph I feel, because it’s paired with the despairing realization that Gwenna has lied to me all along. “Finds out what?”

She closes her eyes, and then opens them again, resolve on her face. “That…I’m a mancer.”