Assassin's Heart (Assassin's Heart, #1)(2)

“I’m working,” I whispered, but it sounded weak even to me. “And someone could see us.” That sounded even weaker. Our relationship was a secret, and the thrill of keeping ourselves hidden was half the fun.

Val chuckled. My chest tingled again, but he kept his hands to himself.

I took a slow, quiet breath.

The man below took a step, another, and then he stumbled again. I watched him closely. I was responsible for him now. He belonged to me. He wavered again, before steadying himself against the wall.

“That your mark?” Val asked.

I nodded and reached to the back of my belt for my small water skin.

“He doesn’t look like much. Did he anger someone?”

“No. Personal request. Has an illness or something and wants our help to lead him to Safraella a little early.” I pressed the warm metal nozzle against my lips.

Val nodded. Sometimes people paid clippers to help them commit suicide. These were always the simplest jobs. But even with a suicide request, I remained professional. It kept my skills honed if I treated every mark like they might flee or fight.

“How long are you going to watch him before you make a move?”

I swallowed the water and returned the skin to my belt. “I already did. He just doesn’t realize it yet.”

The man staggered a few steps into the street. I held my breath. He collapsed. Easy. Not that they always were. I cleared my throat. But it was a god’s work I performed, and no one ever said Her favor came easily.

Val shook his head. “You and your poisons. When did you get him?”

“After his dinner. He always buys a wineskin from the same vendor. Wasn’t hard to make sure he got one laced with something extra.”

“Nice. Though I’d choose a knife in the back any day.”

I nudged him again. “Be careful what you wish for in the dark, no?”

A stranger approached my mark, stared at him, then glanced around before walking away. Good man.

I stood. Val silently dropped off the roof and into a darkened alley to wait for me while I finished. No need for anyone to start a rumor about the Da Vias and Saldanas working together.

I climbed down and approached my mark. The streetlights spilled over my dark cloak. No one would bother me when I was about my work. No one would dare. Not if they valued their lives.

I hummed a song under my breath, a nursery rhyme my nursemaid used to sing to me when I was young. It was a silly little thing about falling asleep and feeling safe and warm. I’d hummed it once when I was marking my first solo kill, and the habit had stuck. It seemed right. Maybe someone would sing to me at the end of my life.

I checked the man’s pulse. Quiet and still. The poison I’d used was painless. Hopefully he’d soon stand before our goddess Safraella, and She would quickly grant him a brand-new life where he’d feel safe and warm once more.

Behind me, the door to the bordello opened, pouring more light onto the street. “You there,” a woman shouted. “Boy, get away from that man.”

I glanced over my shoulder.

“Didn’t you hear me?” The woman stepped from the doorway, her colorful skirts reflecting brightly against the lights. Her face was bare, her feather half-mask put aside now that her nightly duties were done. “Shoo! Go on before you get yourself in real trouble.”

I stood and faced her.

She took one look at my mask, the right half bone white, the left half decorated in black flowers, and her painted face lost all color. She took a step away. “Clipper!” She clasped her hands together and held them to her face as she bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Mistress Saldana, I’m sorry.” She backed away. “I didn’t recognize you. I thought you a child trying to rob the dead.”

A boy. I wasn’t tall, even at seventeen, but I was certainly bigger than a child. And no child would run around wearing a dark cloak at night, unless they wanted to impersonate a clipper, and that was illegal. And a death sentence if a member of the Families caught them.

No harm done, though. I dismissed the woman with a flick of my wrist. She bowed in gratitude and slid inside. The door closed with a click.

I returned to my mark.

The street seemed to heave below me.

It lasted barely a breath. Maybe just a bit of dizziness from turning too quickly, or the colorful lights of the brothel confusing my eyes. And if I were any other person, any other clipper even, I would’ve shrugged it off.

But I wasn’t.

I brought my fingers to my throat and felt my pulse, counting the beats. A touch fast.

I closed my eyes, quieting my thoughts, trying to listen to the messages of my body. Maybe I was being too paranoid.

My stomach rolled violently, like a snake coiling around its own tail. I shoved my mask to the top of my head and barely managed to stumble to the alley before I vomited.

My skin burned. This wasn’t a normal sickness. No, this was something much worse. I quickly recalled my evening. The water skin. Which meant it was fast acting. Vomiting followed immediately by pain.

Could be three possibilities.

“Lea?” Val dashed over.

I sat on the ground, my spine pressed against a building, and tried to catch my breath. Wait—breathlessness left only two possibilities.

“What is it?” Val dropped, ignoring the puddle soaking his knees as he knelt before me. He reached out, then paused, his hands floating over my arms, unsure what to do. His wide eyes appeared white behind his mask.