The Bound (Ascension #2)(77)

Cyrene shook her head. “That’s because you cheat.”

“I take from the rich and stupid and give to the poor and intelligent.”

“You give to yourself.”

“Exactly.”

“Cyrene!” Avoca cried, coming into the main room from the bedroom to the right.

Cyrene felt the connection with Avoca like a gentle thrum. A constant reminder that they were bound together. When they were apart, she could still feel it but dimly. This was the longest she had been away from Avoca since their ceremony.

Cyrene pulled her into a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

Avoca patted her back twice. “Yes. It has been interesting without you around.”

Cyrene released her and didn’t miss the look that passed between she and Ahlvie. Cyrene wasn’t sure if that meant they had finally given in to their feelings or if Ceis’f was being a royal pain.

“Where are Orden and Ceis’f?” Cyrene asked.

“Ceis’f is on watch,” Ahlvie said. “And Orden was following a lead in the Market Sector. He should be back shortly.”

As if he’d heard his name, Orden trudged in through the door. His oversize hat drooped to one side, and he looked like he had been in some kind of brawl. “No luck,” he grumbled.

“What happened to you?” Ahlvie asked with a raised eyebrow. “Met another mistress?”

Orden glared at him and removed his hat. “Don’t mess with me, boy. I’ve had a long day, and I’ll be happy to put my fist through that pretty face of yours if you want to keep up the attitude.”

Ahlvie raised his hands. “Be careful with the pretty face. It pays the bills.”

Orden huffed and then stomped into the other bedroom. Cyrene could hear him washing up, and then a couple of minutes later, he returned. He didn’t look all that more cheerful, not that she had ever really seen him cheerful before.

“Cyrene. Maelia,” he said, dipping his head toward the girls. “Are we going to bring in Ceis’f?”

Ahlvie shrugged. “I think he’s fine,” he said casually.

His eyes sought out Avoca again, but she purposely looked away. Whatever was going on didn’t seem to be good for anyone here.

“Then, let’s get started,” Orden said. He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. “I assume you girls are here for a reason.”

“We came for news, but considering you all look ready to kill one another, I find it hard to believe you have any. Is there any good news?” Cyrene took a seat by the unlit hearth. She didn’t understand why the room had a fireplace with Eleysia’s sweltering heat.

“Ahlvie found out that the boat we were supposed to come in on is supposed to dock at First Harbor tomorrow,” Avoca said. Ahlvie tipped his head with a devious smirk. “So, hopefully, it will still have our belongings on it, if they haven’t been confiscated or sold.”

“I see,” Cyrene said. “Well, that is kind of good news.”

“Though it seems you have new clothes already,” Ahlvie said. He couldn’t hold back his smirk.

“Dean has eleven sisters,” she explained. “They’re doing their best to clothe me in between their everyday sabotage.”

Avoca raised her eyebrows. “Anything I need to worry about?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“They don’t know who they’re dealing with if they think a little sabotage will stop you,” Ahlvie joked with a wink.

“Why, Haille Mardas, that was almost a compliment.”

He grinned devilishly. “They haven’t seen you take on a Braj.”

“Or destroy an entire group of Indres,” Avoca said.

“Or break people out of prison,” Orden added.

“Or take on the entire Aurumian army and Prince Kael,” Maelia said.

Cyrene held her hands up. “Okay, I get it. When you say it that way, it does sound pretty impressive. But you were all there; you know I didn’t really do anything. The magic saved my life. I didn’t even know how to use it. Everyone else helped with the breakout as much as I did. And…you all are just embellishing.”

Maelia touched Cyrene’s shoulder. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself.”

Cyrene smiled at her crew. At least they believed in her, even when she didn’t believe in herself. “Well, I’ve no better luck than you lot. All I’ve done is spent time in the library and run into a bunch of dead ends. I’ve had hardly any time without Dean’s sisters continually interrupting me. No one has heard of Matilde and Vera. I worry that, if I keep asking around, people will start questioning my motives.”

“How about we start with this one?” Ceis’f said. He pushed a man through the open window. He rolled half the length of the room before stopping with a thud.

Cyrene jumped up in shock. “What in the Creator’s name?”

“Found him snooping outside the window, listening in on your conversation when I caught him,” Ceis’f added.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Avoca had her knives out from her hidden compartment and was threateningly twirling them. Ahlvie looked laid-back, but she could see his shoulders were tensed, as he was waiting for a fight. Orden reached for a sword at his belt. Even Maelia shifted into a fighting stance. Her hands strayed to her hips, but there was nowhere to conceal a weapon in these flimsy Eleysian dresses. Not that they would have done her much good.