Mask of Shadows (Untitled #1)(73)

Ruby shrugged. The door swung open, slamming into the wall next to me. Five stomped inside, blood dripping down his boots, and a frazzled Dimas followed him. Ruby danced back to his spot with the Left Hand.

“Done.” Five dropped his slip of paper onto the table next to Emerald.

Ruby shrugged, flicking the paper aside. “Proof?”

Five pulled a severed hand from his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

Emerald picked it up by the thumb. “Well then.”

“They won’t question why it’s missing.” Five shifted, shaking out his filthy cloak. “They won’t find all of him, and they won’t know what to make of it.”

I sucked on my teeth. Given his history and the memories he chose to keep, I’d have been suspicious if I were Ruby. Five’s head snapped round to me.

“Evening,” I said with a fake smile. Three’s empty face flashed in my mind. “Nice night for a repeat of your shadow performance.”

I nodded to the hand. Amethyst looked at me.

“Thief girl’s here then?” Five asked, full lips pulling up into a sneer. He snapped at Dimas. “Towel.”

I scowled. I wasn’t “she,” and he was rude. Lady bless, I’d gone to dinner practically styled as Ruby, and I looked more like Five than anyone here. I didn’t want to deal with this, not when I was so close to having everything I wanted. I lurched off the wall.

“You can call me Twenty-Three or nothing at all.” I handed him a plain handkerchief—stolen from Pau and still bloody.

Five shoved me away with one hand, not paying a lick of attention, and I slipped his bracelet off. He wanted a thief, then I’d give him a thief.

“So touchy.” I held up his bracelet and grinned. “I’ll keep an eye on you then, little bird.”

Five moved toward me and Ruby stepped between us. Five flinched away from him.

Dimas broke the tension with a towel on one arm and Two on the other. He handed the towel to Five. Two slumped against the wall.

I took the only open seat, tapping my nails against the wooden arms. I was too anxious to be tired but too tired to think clearly. I shouldn’t have antagonized Five.

“Stop.” Emerald laid her hand over mine. “It’s annoying and noticeable, two things you’ve neglected to be until now.”

I stilled—best I obeyed.

“Proof?” Ruby asked Two, beckoning her forward.

“Here.” Two tossed a sack at him. “Unfortunate carriage accident by the river.”

A head covered in matted hair and blood rolled out of the bag. I hid my grin behind a hand. I’d toss stuff at him too if I was tired and he was snappy.

“Perfect. That’s what I like to see. So glad you all are so punctual and efficient.” Ruby grabbed Two’s mark and set it on the table next to Five’s spare hand. “Although, I don’t know why you keep tossing your proof of death around. You’re going to need it.”

“The night is yours. The competition is done.” Ruby shooed Dimas from the room. “You may no longer attack each other, and there will be no more tests.”

Amethyst stood. “The security around your rooms and grounds has reverted to normal. No more sneaking around. You will be caught and you will be escorted out of Willowknot and the running for Opal.”

I couldn’t see her eyes, but I swore she looked at me.

“You will meet the Queen before breakfast. Bathe, rest, and look presentable. A wardrobe will be provided, but it’s up to you to choose appropriately.” Emerald examined her brass nails, crossing her legs till her own green gown flared out around her like a sea of grass. “Do you understand?”

We all nodded.

“Good. Take these.” Ruby gestured to the head and hand on the table. “Go clean yourselves up.”

I followed Two and Five out of the room. Five kept his head turned with one eye on me, and I darted around him with a grin soon as I could. Maud and another servant walked toward us from the old archery courtyard, and I paused so Five could leave without me. His gaze followed me till he vanished around a corner with his servant. Two glanced at me.

“What was that?” Two asked as she shifted the severed head from hand to hand, jagged edges of spine scraping her skin before stuffing it back into the sack. “With Five?”

“He’s an ass. Angry I messed with him a while back.” I nodded to the scratch on her arm. “You’re bleeding.”

“Am I?” She didn’t look at it, didn’t even flinch, only hummed and stared at her approaching servant. “I’ll see you at breakfast then?”

I nodded. “See you at breakfast.”

She didn’t turn her back to me when she left. I shook my head, going to meet Maud. Honor and trust were worthless when you were surrounded by folks like me, but I’d found Maud and Elise. They were nothing like me in the best ways.

“Twenty-Three?” Maud, hands clasped behind her back, bowed to me. “Ready to return to your room?”

“Lead the way.” I scratched at the stitches running down my side. “So now that we’re all tested out and corralled, what’s the security like?”

Her lips twitched. “You’re not to leave your room tonight.”

Dropped security at a time like this—no wonder rumors about auditions were wild and untamed. It kept the truth quiet about what really happened and how unguarded the noble grounds were.