Page 74 of First Offense

It turned out I’d been right.

And I’d Fallen because of it.

No,wehad Fallen. Because Sorin and Zian had chosen to follow me instead of carrying out the assassination. I hadn’t even needed to tell them what I knew. They chose brotherhood over warriorship. And they’d paid the ultimate price as a result.

We’d spent the last century blaming Auric, wondering how he could issue such a compelling demand that he knew I would never follow through with.

Death and I were old friends. But I did not kill innocents. He knew that. Yet he’d sent me after a rogue Noir with no propensity for violence, just a need to save his mate.

It’d been the first time I had ever questioned how a Noir truly Fell, because I knew to my very soul that the man I’d been sent to kill did not deserve such a fate.

There were too many inconsistencies, the first of which being that my target lacked a name. All Noir were well known and documented because they were incarcerated. But this one wasn’t in the reform system at all, his identity completely his own.

It had intrigued me enough to want to learn more about him, particularly his name and how he Fell. Most of our assignments were to capture, not to kill. So whatever this man had done must have been horrible indeed to deserve such a sentence.

Yet as I’d watched him, preparing for the assassination, I couldn’t detect a single sinful trait about him.

Which was why I inevitably trapped him for an interrogation and demanded to know how he’d Fallen. He’d responded that not all Noir were born as Nora. And for whatever reason, I’d believed him.

Then I’d helped him locate his mate in a nearby village.A female Noir, I’d marveled. And not just that, but one also free from the prison system. No identity or case regarding her Fall. A mesmerizing situation that should not have been possible. It only further solidified my cause not to act on the order. Because nothing about it felt right.

Sorin and Zian knew my side of the story now, only because I’d felt it was their due, considering the sacrifice we all made as a result of my choice. I suspected they hadn’t believed it all until they met Raven. Maybe not even then. But I knew they believed it now—not all Noir Fell.

And looking at Auric in this moment, I decided he needed to understand and believe that truth as well.

So I told him what happened that day, how I’d met my mark and learned more about his heritage and plight. And I told him what happened after, how my wings turned black. I’d flown back to the Noir, shocked by my deformed plumes.

But he’d already started his journey to the village.

And when I saw what waited for him there, the broken rogue female Noir with her tangled, fiery hair and damaged black feathers, I knew I’d done the right thing by allowing him to live.

Those Nora deserved their fate.

“I’ve always wondered how they maintained their white wings after raping the poor female near to death, yet I Fell for allowing her savior to live.” I looked at Auric, noting the shock in his gaze. “Does that seem right to you?”

He said nothing for a long moment, his throat working visibly over each swallow. I dropped my gaze to Layla, noting her uneven breathing. Her eyes were still closed, her body otherwise still, but I knew she was awake and listening.

Rather than draw attention to it, I met Auric’s gaze again, daring him with my eyes to say something.

“They should have Fallen,” he whispered.

No shit, I thought.

“Noir or not, no one deserves that treatment,” he added. “But all this time, you thought you Fell because I issued an edict to kill him. No, I mean”—he held up his hand to stop me from correcting him—“you assume I knew about what had happened and that I’d demanded the kill to stop him from seeking his mate. And, as a result, my command resulted in your Fall. Like I set you up.”

“Did you?”

He scoffed. “You know me better than that.”

“Do I?” I countered.

“Fuck, Novak. I would never do that.”

“And I would never Fall,” I tossed back at him. Then I added insult to injury by returning his statement. “Youknew me better than that.”

Layla’s fingers curled just slightly, her discomfort at being trapped between two pissed-off men showing in the subtle movements of her body. This time Auric noticed, his brow coming down.

But rather than call her out on her pretending to sleep, he looked at me once more. “I had no idea, Novak. The command came from King Sefid. I gave you that mission because I trusted you to handle it.”