Page 15 of In The Dark

“But it didn’t. This is our job, and I failed my mission. I don’tfail,Ezra, and now he’s having you watch me like I’m a child. I’m no better than the newly trained orphans at this point!”

“We’ll find the target, but it’ll be faster if we both go. Plus, I miss working with you. You know we haven’t had a mission together since we were fifteen. It’ll be fun.” He smirks and softly tugs my braid as he studies me, patiently waiting for an answer. Rolling my eyes, I look at him and grin.

“It’s been that long?” I ask and he nods, hope gleaming in his eyes that maybe I’ll allow him to join me without a fight. “Fine. Maybe it’ll be fun.”

We quickly decide to meet at the stables after grabbing a few extra clothes before heading to Alvonia with the horses to scout the inn. I enter my chambers, shutting the door on a click, and bang my head against it with a defeated sigh.

I swallow the panic that threatens to rise at the thought of my failure. Yet there’s one question that sears my mind: what just happened?

Alec Thorne died bymyhands. I know this because I watched him bleed out as he took his last breath, even checking his pulse. It doesn’t make sense. Biting my lip, I replay every detail down to the scent only to come to the terms that maybe Helga is wrong.

Now the only thing we can do is investigate the Silver Lily and find out where this Alec disappeared to.

6

With my luckycoin in my pocket, I arrive at the stables to find Ezra gathering the packs and adjusting the saddle on his horse, Freya, a gray mare with a silver mane. I rub the side of her face and watch as he ties off the saddle from underneath, cinching it at the waist.

Mulling over our conversation with the king and everything that happened this morning, I can’t bear the thought of making a mistake. It’s not in my nature to overlook details like accidentally killing the wrong person and not my target, which I swear I did.

Maybe the king is right—I am too comfortable. I rub my wrist, an effort to bury my emotions, but they’ve been surfacing a lot recently. The feeling of being lost and alone, like there’s more to life than mindlessly killing.

Yet my pulse climbs to my temples, the pressure building behind my eyes and forcing me to close them with a deep breath. I hate feeling out of control, and worse, I hate being a failure.

“Isa,” Ezra calls out. My eyes fly open, catching him staring atme. “Are you okay? I said your name three times.” He reaches for me but catches himself, lowering his hand with a conflicted expression.

We kill for the king, so showing any emotion other than cold indifference is something we all struggle with. He’s better than he used to be though. It took me almost a full year to get him to smile at one of my awful jokes, but I’m glad that I’m the one who gets to see that side of him.

“I’m fine,” I say with a tight smile. “Let’s get going.”

“Okay, your saddle is hanging on the stall over there.” He gestures over his shoulder to where Bjorn stands. “Bjorn is ready to go. He just needs to be saddled.”

I approach my horse and gently rub his face. “Fates, you’re beautiful.”

And massive, around sixteen hands and ebony in color—dark and rich as a blackened sky.

The Aetheri Fae can speak with animals as a part of being a light Fae, the ability to form deep connections. But I have yet to feel that connection with any animal, assuming it’s due to my magic not being strong enough. Unlike me, Ezra can speak to them and understand what they want. With quiet strides down the length of Bjorn, I run my hand down his side.

“Do you think we’ll find anything at the inn?” I ask Ezra while checking Bjorn’s form and coat, ensuring he’s in the best condition for our travels in case we need to track Alec outside of the city. Which is likely.

“I’m not sure. I’m hoping Helga can offer us more information.”

“I know I killed him. I watched him crumple to the ground, choking on his own blood.” I face him with my arms crossed.

He walks over, intently scanning my face. “I believe you.”

“Do you? Because the last time I checked, you can’t exactly survive a plunge to the heart, but I watched him bleed out. I even checked his pulse.” My hand casually pats Bjorn’s shoulder.

Ezra walks back to Freya, looking over his shoulder. “We’ll find answers, I promise. I wouldn’t think much of it. It’s already almost noon, and we need to get to the city.”

With a hesitant nod, I heed Ezra’s advice and walk toward Bjorn’s saddle. The creaking of the stable doors near the back forces my head to whip up just as Ren walks through with a shit-eating grin.

“What are you doing here? On a mission?” Ezra asks casually, throwing me a sideways glance.

“Yeah, yours.” Ren crosses his arms, directing his smile in my direction. Ezra and I straighten, halting our tasks.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

Ren grabs another saddle to mount on a third horse. “King Elion has ordered me to accompany you on your journey to ensure it gets done. I’ll be there every step of the way.” He’s wearing a full grin now.