Page 37 of In The Dark

“You will do it. And you will tell him that you need to bury me. Tell me you understand.” His tone is now serious, but he sees my doubt. “I’ll be fine, I promise. I’m the king of Aurelia. I can’t die by a simple blade, and I’m not alone. I brought another with me and will not leave without you again. I promise.” He glances behind me again, hearing Ren just around the corner. “He’s almost here—put that mask back on,” he says, and I know exactly what he’s asking of me.

My mouth falls open, but before I can protest further, his form ripples, shifting into a completely different person—AlecThorne. A much shorter male with shaggy auburn hair, features resembling someone a little older.

Then Ren’s behind me.

Quickly masking my panic, I adopt the facade of the lethal assassin and slowly turn in the direction of Ren with my daggers outstretched. A smug grin tugs at my lips.

“Look who I found, Ren. Looks like the note at the Silver Lily was right. Alecwashere after all.” My gaze flicks up and down as a snarl escapes me. “Did you take a nap, brute? I needed help.”

He turns to me with a glare—a lethal calmness. If looks could kill, I would be dead right now. His eyes curiously dart between us as I hold my composure, using every ounce of confidence I have left so as to not make him any more suspicious than he probably already is.

“Please, I didn’t do anything,” Alec gets out.

Our attention shifts to Alec with his palms up, appearing confused as he backs up in surrender. Ren chuckles, a low, menacing sound, stalking to where Alec stands.

“Look what we have here.” Ren tilts his head, his black hair falling to the side. “The king will be pleased that we found our target, won’t he?”

My understanding of why King Elion has Ren in the brotherhood suddenly jolts through me as I watch him. His brows lower as he strides forward with a steady calmness, gray eyes sharp and calculating, as if he’s looking right through Alec. His wide shoulders steadily sway with each step, like he’s the hunter and Alec is his prey.

He’s absolutely terrifying.

Alec glances at me just as Ren lunges, swiping with his blade. Alec lifts his arm to protect his face with a loud cry, only to be sliced from his wrist to his elbow. My breath stalls as I watch it play out before me.

Ren darts behind him and kicks his knees in, forcing Alec tofall to the ground. He catches himself with his hands, blood dripping, when Ren comes up from behind him to grab a fistful of auburn hair, exposing his neck with a knife to his throat.

“Are you going to tell me how you’re alive, or did Isa really fail this time?” Ren grinds out, his mouth grazing his ear while meeting my gaze.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Alec growls in pain, wincing as the knife nicks his throat, blood dripping to his collarbone.

Ren snarls, gripping tighter. “Back at the Silver Lily. How are you alive?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alec stutters, tears streaming down his face. “I-I’m just a simple businessman in the area to visit my niece.”

He’s so persuasive that, for a moment, I almost forget who he really is, especially with him gasping for air as Ren tugs his hair.

“I’ve never seen either of you before, I swear!” Alec pleads.

“Well, it looks like Isa really did fail then. Too busy with her own affairs, it seems.” Ren sneers, and I know what he’s implying by what was found at the Silver Lily. His assumption of me. “The king will be thrilled to learn that tidbit, won’t he?” Ren’s words are sharp, but I maintain my composure with a small grin.

“He’s lying,” I interject softly, stepping forward to stand in front of Alec as he kneels on the ground, a sneer plastered to my face. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? We’ll be finishing the job tonight and then bury you after,” I say, keeping my tone icy.

Ren chuckles menacingly low in agreement, dark hair falling over his brow. My gaze locks on Alec as I look down my nose, noticing a hint of pride shining through his blue eyes. Resignation settles in my chest when Ren gives me a small nod, exposing Alec’s neck to me. My lip curls, and within a second, I sweep my dagger across his throat with a sudden movement of my right arm. Life drains from Alec’s face, so similar to theinn, leaving him slumping forward into the leaves as Ren steps off to the side. Then I let my fury build, my eyes swiveling to Ren.

I whirl to him. “Where were you?”

He shoves a hand through his dark hair, slicking it back. Anger shines beneath his gaze as he takes a step forward. I can’t help but step back out of caution, recalling Rydian’s memories. Then I shove him—hard. He stumbles back with a growl, his hair falling to his brow once again.

“I thought you were supposed to be my watchdog tonight, but you didn’t show, and I was left to handle this myself,” I growl, and the accusation is sharp in my tone as I tilt my head to the side.

I do my best to have him believe it’s his fault that he wasn’t here when I needed him. That he abandoned me to do it all on my own. And despite the anger still etched on his face, something unreadable crosses his features before he turns to me. He strokes his jaw, dismissively replying in a calmer tone, “Since when do you need help, wench?” His eyes flash with anger. “You know what? Whatever. It doesn’t matter now—the job is done. We’re leaving at dawn.”

He strides over and nudges Alec in the ribs with a boot, ensuring he is truly dead. My breath catches, and I can’t help but flinch, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“I say we leave him here for the Grokees to devour,” he mutters, spitting on Alec’s lifeless body.

“We need to bury him like we usually do, or the town will come searching for us,” I say.

“Let them. We’ll take care of whoever gets in our way.”