Blood Oath and Moonlight

n the merchant district. From the outside, it looked like any noble's estate, but inside, the w

hey felt different. He could still see Marev's empty stare when

t - a black dagger against a crimson field - hung above the entryway. Beneath

f the hall. The door was thick oak, carved

e the gravel

r-lined coat. His hair, once black as Kael's, had gone iron-gray, but his eyes were s

ave Marev's pa

he desk. It landed with a muted ji

" Kael

oked up. One eye

the desk. "He won't

a long moment, the silence str

- but controllable fear. You could threaten a man with a knife or ruin his

lowly, "something got

sharpened.

ve faster than the eye and leave c

is chair, steepling hi

ied. "Eyes like embers. Move

w ticked. "And you liv

t didn't care about me.

s are bad for business, Kael. People start talking about monsters in the streets, they stop

Handled? You want me to

apped. "If it's a man, kill him. If it's not..." He trailed

ugh the tightness in

nd Kael - keep this quiet. No one

out of Veyra's office. Men played dice at a corner table, their laughter rough and loud

en he

hair was as black as spilled ink, her skin pale as the moon, and her eyes... not

water. One gloved hand rested lightly on the bani

watchi

e syndicate were rarely harmless; they were wives, widows, or

tead. The scent of her - something floral, but undercut

aven," she said

are?" h

mile that didn't reach her eyes. "My

didn't even speak to un

ael said, "h

ition up close." She glanced toward Veyra's office. "

"You often wande

her drink, her gaze never leaving his. "T

uld have. His expression didn't change.

tudying him. "Careful. Some o

od-red coat approached, his face hard

ok at him. "I

ingered on Kael for a heartbeat longer, then she turned and

uttered tavern, the rain still drumming against the windows. He thought

thing in Marev's study was tied to the Red Fang Syndicate, Liora Vael might know more t

ks had a way of

lamplight didn't reach. He asked questions in the places where questions got you

s. A killer who hunted his own kind as easily as he

if Liora was connected to him, Kael had just stepped int

e life a

death always had