Dawn Study (Soulfinders #3)(85)

He caught my hand and kissed my knuckles. Then he swayed with fatigue, so I pushed him down on the bed. “Sleep.” I shucked off my boots and tunic before joining him. Although he pressed against my bare back, he reclaimed my hand just before falling asleep.

*

Onora woke us...later. Outlined by the lantern’s yellow glow, Onora stood at the threshold. Valek was already sitting up and clutching a knife—where did that come from? Darkness streaked with lamplight flickered against the windows. My stomach roared with hunger. We must have slept for hours.

“I’ve news,” Onora said a bit awkwardly.

“We’ll be out,” Valek said.

She nodded and closed the door. We disentangled, reaching for clothes. Once we were dressed, Valek claimed my hand as we joined Onora in the living area.

She sat in one of the armchairs with her bare feet propped up on the table. I wondered what she’d been climbing—the walls of the Council Hall were too slick. Valek and I sat on the couch opposite her.

“Report,” he said.

“It was pretty quiet at the Hall,” she said. “If Zitora had informed Bruns about us, there would have been lots more commotion.”

So far so good. “Fisk?” I asked.

“Down in the cells, with layers of security around him.” She flexed her fingers as if stretching the joints. “I didn’t know you’d taught him the hand signals.”

Valek tensed next to me. “You talked to him?”

“Yup. I scared the crap out of him. Poor kid.”

“Is he...healthy?” I asked, bracing myself for the answer.

“Yes. He was mostly pissed off and upset about being caught, but when I explained you were safe for now, that calmed him down. He says he’s sorry that Bruns knows everything.”

Poor kid, indeed. The desire to hug and comfort him pulsed through my chest.

“Have they been feeding him Theobroma?” Valek asked.

“No, but they used magic to extract all the information from his mind.”

Oh, no. That was a horrible experience. Now tears threatened, and Valek rubbed his thumb on my hand.

“Can you free him?” Valek asked.

Onora pursed her lips in thought. “If there was a major distraction in the Hall, I could rescue him from the cells. Not sure if we’d escape the Hall, though.”

I tightened my grip on Valek’s hand.

He squeezed back. “What about Bruns? Did you see him or Cahil?”

“I did a sweep and found where he set up his office. He’s staying in one of the guest suites on the third floor. Cahil wasn’t around.”

“Are there layers of security around him, as well?”

“Yes. Not as many, but I think a few are magicians. I recognized Cilly Cloud Mist.” She frowned, probably remembering when Cilly tried to erase her memory.

No surprise Bruns was keeping Cilly close.

“Can you reach Bruns?” Valek asked.

Onora sat up, setting her feet on the floor with a thump. “You mean...?”

“Yes. Assassinate the bastard.”

Her already pale face whitened as she pressed her arms on her lap. “I...” Onora stared out the window.

When she didn’t say anything, Valek asked, “Could I reach him?”

“No. You’d never get inside the Hall without blending in. But if he leaves...”

“I’d rather we target him while he’s asleep. That would give us more time to get away. And I doubt he’ll venture outside knowing I’m in the Citadel. Ideally, we’d kill him at the same time we make our move in the hot season, but this might be our only chance to reach him. You’ll have to do the honors.”

She dragged her gaze to him. “I...”

“Never killed anyone?” he asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

“Yes.”





20





VALEK


Onora confirmed what he’d suspected for a while now. She’d never assassinated anyone. Talk about bad timing for this revelation.

“How can you call yourself an assassin, then?” Yelena asked in surprise.

“I have all the training and skills. I just haven’t...couldn’t...can’t...”

Yelena reached over and grabbed the girl’s hand. “That’s not a weakness. That’s a strength.”

Onora gave her a grateful smile.

“What about with the Commander?” Valek asked. “Do you hide your full fighting abilities like you have with me?”

“No. But like you, he stopped me by doing something unexpectedly desperate. And I was glad, because I already knew I couldn’t finish him.”

That explained why the Commander had been so freaked. She’d gotten closer than Valek, and it had terrified him. “What about now?”

She quirked her lips in an ironic half smile. “We’ve sparred a few times, and I’ve identified his weakness.”

So had Valek, or so he’d thought. Ambrose liked to dangle the bait and see if you’d bite. But if he’d been forced to do something desperate, then maybe she truly could beat him. Not like any of this helped them now. He considered their meager options.

Rescue Fisk, or assassinate Bruns. There was no way they could do both. Either would bring instant attention to them. Plus there was Zitora to consider. She could expose everything. A bone-deep ache of exhaustion throbbed through him. He hadn’t had nearly enough sleep.