Death Marked (Death Sworn #2)(36)

It was one of the master’s sayings—one she had heard from Sorin—and she heard her voice drop into the rhythmic, reverent tone he always used when quoting the master. Arxis heard it, too. He regarded her intently.

“All right,” he said finally. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll arrange to go into the city with Evin. Get yourself invited along. After that, you stop interfering with me. Because if you prevent me from fulfilling my mission, I truly will kill you.”

He strode down the stairs, brushing hard against her—deliberately, she was sure; in all her time in the caves, she had never seen an assassin make a clumsy move. She couldn’t help shrinking away, even though she knew it was what he wanted. He could kill her as easily as he breathed.

But he probably wouldn’t. Not as long as he thought they were on the same side.

Which, she reminded herself, they very well might be.





CHAPTER

12

The next morning at breakfast, Ileni tried to figure out how to get Evin to invite her to the city. This endeavor was complicated by two factors: one, that Evin wasn’t saying anything about going to the city, and two, that he wasn’t saying anything to her. His remarks, which were solely about the food, were directed at Lis. Lis was in one of her rare good moods, which seemed to often follow close on the heels of her truly horrible ones (or upon Arxis’s visits to her room? Ileni tried not to think about that). Evin was teasing her because she was already on her third bowl of spiced lentils.

“Don’t look so intense,” Cyn said, and Ileni blinked at her. “I’m going to be your only sparring partner today, and I find it intimidating.”

Ileni tried not to appear pleased. It had been a long time since anyone had been intimidated by her. And here was her opportunity, practically dropped into her lap. Thank you, she thought at Cyn, before saying, as casually as she could, “Why will I be your only partner?”

“And now you’re overwhelming me with your enthusiasm.” Cyn propped one leg up on the bench. “Lis is . . . busy. And Evin’s going into the city with Arxis.”

Ileni looked at Evin—calm, mild interest, she coached herself—who shrugged. “Arxis has business in the Merchants’ Triangle. He needs someone to show him around.”

“Can I come with you?” Ileni said.

Everyone stopped in mid-motion and stared at her.

“I’ve never seen a city,” Ileni added, and watched Cyn’s suspicion fade into superiority. “I was thinking I’d like to.”

“Sure.” Evin shrugged and took another bite of fruit. “Cyn, you get the fun task of explaining to Karyn why we’re not at practice.”

“Don’t expect me to try too hard,” Cyn said. She pushed her bowl away. “By which I mean, at all.”

“Why don’t you talk to Karyn before you go?” Lis said. There was something smug and knowing in her expression; even when she was in a good mood, Lis always managed to be irritating. “I’m sure she’ll permit it. And then you get the job of keeping Ileni and Arxis from killing each other on the way down.”

“I am,” Evin said, “almost sure I am up to the task.”

Ileni fought to keep her face calm. Everyone was still convinced that she and Arxis had been in a torrid, dramatic relationship. Ileni wondered if Lis thought so, too, if she saw Ileni as some sort of rival for Arxis’s affections.

It would have been funny, if its conclusion hadn’t been so inevitably tragic. Eventually, everyone would know Arxis’s true, terrible purpose here. And then they would realize that Ileni had known it all along and kept it hidden.

Lis laughed, softly, as if she was the only one in the room who understood the joke. “If Karyn is letting you go, Evin, she’ll let anyone go.”

“I didn’t say she let me go, precisely.” Evin swung his legs over the bench. “But I bet she will. She’s probably in the Mirror Chamber now.”

“Wait—” Ileni began. But Evin was already halfway to the door, and she wasn’t sure what she had been going to say anyhow.

Arxis was waiting for them outside, standing close to the outer edge of the path, with the same careless lack of concern the advanced sorcerers showed—even though he, surely, didn’t have enough skill to fly. But a trained assassin would never fall. He glanced at Ileni with cool disinterest.

“Slight detour,” Evin said. “Ileni wants to come, so we have to check with Karyn.”

Arxis blinked. “I thought the idea was to avoid Karyn.”

A faint pink touched Evin’s cheekbones. Ileni hadn’t realized he was changing his plan so she could come, and judging by the irritated look he shot Arxis, he would have preferred that she didn’t know. “Ileni’s a bit new to be breaking rules the way I do. But I’m sure Karyn will say yes.”

“Are you?” Arxis stared hard at Ileni, then stretched his arms over his head, a sinuous, almost feline movement. “Let’s go, then.”

The two young men strode along the ledge. Ileni followed at her own cautious pace. When she finally caught up to them, they were waiting for her at a stone door in the interior of the mountain—Arxis with exaggerated patience, and Evin, as usual, looking like he had nothing better to do.

Ileni felt the by-now familiar shrinking in her stomach. Once she had been in the lead, not the one holding everyone back.