Page 5 of Shadows and Flames (Twin Blades #2)

Chapter Four

Tomás

T hryx, give me the wherewithal to withstand this grumbling , I chanted to myself. Not that They would really care about this particular situation, but I found myself praying to the Godyx every time I had to deal with him and this rubbish.

The closer we got to his female’s apartment, he became more and more of a complete arse.

Granted, he was a complete arse a lot of the time.

But this past year had been a nightmare to witness.

I hated to admit that I was truly afraid there for a moment.

The lingering stench of drink and self-loathing had been like a cloud around his body, to the point that the others hadn’t wanted to be around him.

For the entire time I’d known him, my best mate was a quiet and respected member of our little group. Some were wary of him and his Fire, but if I was still walking around and not a smoldering pile of ash yet, they had nothing to fear.

But while he’d been despairing over her , he had scared me.

I shook my head and cleared those thoughts.

Nethras was an all right city—reminded me a bit of where I’d lived before being swept up into The Shadows, actually.

The towering brick buildings close together, the mix of races walking past us in varying dress and speaking several languages settled something inside of me.

Those at the Well had been born all over, and though we could mostly dress however we liked there, we’d all been around each other too long.

The same corridors with the same people could be so banal.

I could never understand why my best mate chose to stay there more often than not.

After I’d been sworn in and could buy my own apartment back in Sjatas, I couldn’t pack my things fast enough.

Not that I didn’t like being a Shadow. I glanced over at him, and yeah, he was looking forward and making that face again. The one where he ground his jaw to try and keep the emotions and flames at bay.

Nah, I’d probably have a crude blade buried in my gut and body tossed in an alley a few hundred times over if I hadn’t joined The Shadows.

And it was a life that gave me adventure and the ability to do everything I wanted.

Well, almost everything. I could go the rest of my immortal life without having to teach the squeaking acolytes. But, it was a small price to pay.

“You sure you want to do this, mate?” I asked quietly as we reached a café that was closed for the evening and rounded the corner.

“Yes.” I huffed at his response. Wasn’t quite sure why he was torturing himself like this. Obviously, the female did not want to be found. At least by him. And she would be incredibly stupid, if she was in hiding, to return to her own godyx-damned apartment.

But I didn’t say that to him. He’d groused enough when I demanded to come on this contract with him. I’d used the guise of needing to get out of the Well, but we both knew I could leave at any time. That I had stuck around and stayed at my room there to keep an eye on him.

I also knew that he’d been looking for her in each of the cities he visited, but when I asked him where he was off to next, I saw that this place was going to be different.

Though, not until we’d walked past the stone city gates and dispatched his mark did he tell me that he wasn’t just going to look for her. He was going to her apartment.

We reached a side door, and he pulled a key from his pocket. “If you can’t smell her now, Nogón, I doubt that she—” my head snapped to the street. There it was again. That prickling feeling on the back of my neck. “We’re being followed,” I hissed at him as he unlocked the door and stepped in.

After re-locking the entrance, he began to ascend the steps and shrugged. “Let them follow.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I was supposed to be the reckless one.

But whoever it was, they weren’t close enough to be a problem.

Yet. It was a certainty that I felt in my gut, but I had too much training and had seen too many years to write it off as nothing.

Since we’d finished up with his contract and joined the crowds walking in the mild summer evening, I kept getting pangs of this certainty.

We weren’t in Shadow clothing anymore, but I knew we had an air about us.

Usually it worked to our advantage, but it also made us stick out if you looked too close.

We reached the top floor and stood before one of the four apartments.

Elián’s hair was knotted at the back of his head, though, right now, he ran a hand to clear the few strands that always seemed to escape.

I watched as he made a point to straighten himself and unlock her door, but I caught the slight tremble in his fingers while he fiddled with a different key that let him open the door.

As soon as the air from inside was released, I knew that she hadn’t been here. It was too stale in there. But I didn’t say anything. If this was what he needed to do, I’d keep my mouth shut.

He seemed to realize it, though, because his shoulders sagged a bit.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

And when I made to follow him, I had a harder time, forcing my way through the old barrier that left a sweet lavender taste in my mouth and felt like fingernails scratching at my skin and the inside of my mind. Bloody magic.

Whoever had made the barrier was strong, but years without reinforcing had left it penetrable to someone determined enough. And once I’d crossed the threshold, the uncomfortable sensations began to clear.

And then we were in her home.

It was… smaller than I thought it would be. Not that I was one to want to live in a palace or anything, but this was not what I envisioned the home of a de facto queen would look like.

Though, when I looked closer, I could see the fineness in some of the dust-covered things. When I walked further inside, I saw that the large sofa was expertly built, and when I reached my hand out, I found the fabric soft and no doubt expensive.

The table near the kitchen was of sturdy, dark wood, and the wall of hundreds of books before me surely cost a pretty coin. The drapes covering the large window looked soft and luxurious.

I whistled low. “She’s got good taste.” And I had been about to say more, but I clamped my mouth shut when I focused on him.

He was just standing there, between the sofa and dining area. Glowing eyes moving around, searching, but everything else about him was still. It was almost like he wasn’t breathing.

Though I’d had many trysts and lovers in my two hundred and forty years, I hadn’t been in love like that . I’d never been heartbroken like he was.

I wasn’t stupid enough to offer kind words or a comforting embrace, though I would have given it if he’d asked.

But nogón needed me to keep him moving. To bear witness to this while also not make him think I saw him as weak.

And, yeah, okay, I’d laid it on a bit thick when he was drinking himself sick every night.

But tonight, he was as sober as I was. He was making himself feel this, and I wasn’t going to stop it.

We stood in silence while I let him sort this out.

Let him work through the emotions surely surging through him like a hurricane while I listened to the steady noise of the Nethran people outside.

After a long time, though, wherein he still hadn’t moved, I cleared my throat and tried, “Is there anything that I should be looking for?”

He flinched but collected himself almost instantly.

His eyes had startled me the first time we met.

Even as a children, I could sense the enormity of his power, and though he could hide almost everything else, there was no denying those .

Now, they were shining miserably in the darkness of the apartment.

Where her spicy scent that somehow had the faint saltiness of sea air was stagnant and heavy.

We could both tell that she hadn’t been here for years.

But if he wanted to turn the whole place upside-down, I’d help him empty her cabinets and flip back the sofa cushions. I’d search the page of all the books if he needed.

“No. I…” he swallowed and shook his head before fiddling with one of the golden rings in his ears.

I shrugged easily, “Well, let’s have a look to see if we find anything useful.

I can take in here if you want the bedroom?

” Because I knew that he needed a moment to himself.

And while I wasn’t going to leave him completely alone, I could give him that.

Not to mention, I knew he wouldn’t want me in there, anyway.

Elián nodded and crossed to the closed double doors, but I didn’t miss the look of gratefulness that swept his face before all emotion was erased.

We wouldn’t find anything.

At least, anything that would point us to where she went.

I could scent the various lands she’d traveled to on the little trinkets on her bookshelves.

There was even a little Sjatan puzzle cube sitting amongst the books.

I smiled to myself as I worked the little silver toy between my fingers, twisting and shuffling until each of the differently textured pieces all stood on their same sides.

These little things were tricky, but I’d made enough wagers on—well, okay, everything—my ability to solve them with almost impossible speed.

I put the solved puzzle back on the shelf and bided my time by slowly walking around the large room that was like three in one.

There was a vase full of long dead… begonias?

Is that what they were called? I tried to think back to visiting Noruh’s little cottage and her going on and on about her flower garden. Yeah, I think that’s what they were.

For some reason, I swept up the fallen petals in my hand and dumped them in the waste basket I found in the kitchen.

The cabinets were fairly bare already, though she did have a few canisters of tea leaves just above multiple shelves of mugs and teacups. Some were delicately crafted and painted, others were made of thick ceramic with rich color and heavy handles.

I stopped before a framed drawing above her stove.

Her, I knew. She was the one on the end, looking like she was trying to temper her amusement at the other three.

They, all smiles, were no doubt having a good time.

I chuckled softly. Most of what I learned about her proved more and more why she infuriated him.

Though markedly different, they were so similar in other ways.

The one next to her, I assumed, was that witch Elián had mentioned. She looked like she could be the queen’s sister. And that would mean the other two… were those the ones that the Vyrkos had killed?

After he’d cleaned himself up, Elián spoke about her a bit more.

Each time he’d dropped a bit of information, I acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, lest he catch himself and refuse to say more.

And a month ago, he mentioned that she’d returned to Versillia because her friends had been murdered.

I’d put good money on that being them. Shame.

I made my way back toward the front door at the same time he came back out of her bedroom. His face was locked down, but I noticed that the pockets of his trousers looked a bit heavier.

I didn’t comment on it, though. “What else?”

He shook his head, and more of his hair fell out of the knot. I was glad for my own locked hair—those slippery strands of his would irritate the shit out of me. “We can go, now.”

I nodded, and on our way out of her apartment, I clapped my friend, my silver rings undoubtably heavy, on the back. I couldn’t resist trying to offer a bit more comfort, and he was in need of it by the way he didn’t stiffen at all.

When we walked back out onto the city streets, there was a clamoring of some summer festival a few streets away, so we made our way in the opposite direction.

That prickling feeling was stronger now, but I kept my gait easy, lazy smile on my face.

Elián didn’t show alarm—he was probably itching for someone to attack so he’d have an excuse to take out some of his frustration.

“Shall we go find something to eat?” I called over the noise.

He nodded, and when I pointed out a restaurant on the other side of the upcoming intersection, he nodded again.

But just as we were about to cross, I shot out my arm behind us and grabbed a handful of fabric. There was a surprised squeak, and I turned into an alley just beside us.

A few around us definitely saw, but they did nothing, which was expected for a city of this size. Elián followed without protest, and I dragged our pursuer into the darkness while they tried to dig their heels into the ground.

When we were safe to question the idiot, I shoved them against the brick wall and crossed my arms. A glance to my left, and I saw Elián doing the same thing, miserable longing gone from his gaze. The shifting colors now revealed something… amused? And annoyed.

“Why have you been following us, boyo?”