Chapter 3

BRYN  Amira was sitting on my bed with a knife pointing at Filin. The damn bird was here too. Again. A few daggers were already in the wall behind that demon, ruining my beautiful blue silk wallpaper. “Excuse me.” I furrowed my brow. “Am I in the wrong room? Or did you two forget the hell I promised to you if you destroyed anything else here?” “You are in the wrong house!” the owl cackled, and Amira snorted. Those two hated each other, but when they were in trouble together learned to team up quickly. The demon locked inside of a bird and the best assassin in our organisation were professionals after all. “Anyway.” I threw my hat on one of my armchairs. “What are you doing here?” “We came to discuss the new task.” Amira was getting her knives back but eyeing the bird at the same time. “You already know about it?” I asked the question but wasn’t too surprised. Of course, that probably wasn’t the first conversation between Zion and Eiryn. Everything was planned before they involved me as they both knew that I wasn’t a fan of dangerous tasks. Typical. “I am going to be your maid.” The assassin rolled her eyes and I almost burst out laughing. She often was sent as my bodyguard in secret and watched me from afar. But never as a maid! Female servants had to wear dresses and Amira hated those! In fact, I didn’t think I’d seen her in a dress even once in the last five years that we’d known each other. “And you agreed?” I wiped away the tears that were forming from the suppressed laughter. “It was good pay.” She fell back on my bed. “Besides, that’s a dangerous mission in a foreign country. No way I am letting any of those morons back you up. They’d fail everything within a day or two!” I smiled. In all honesty, I was happy that Amira was going with me. I trusted her and that was very important in our field of work. “And I guess you are going to spy again.” I looked at Filin, who was sitting on a golden ring I bought for him. Years ago, Zion had a job to destroy a demon who was bothering a princess of a certain kingdom. He was supposed to kill him but, Zion being Zion, decided that a demon shouldn’t go to waste. So, he locked him inside a bird’s body and connected their lives. As long as Zion lives, Filin lives. If Zion dies, the demon bird dies as well. And since demons love to live, Filin was doing everything to help the Scorpion live a very long and happy life. Besides, there was always a chance that one day Zion would decide to set him free. I didn’t believe it. Neither did Amira. And I don’t think that even Filin truly believed in that possibility. But hope was hard to kill. We often used Filin on prolonged missions, especially the ones that involved Eiryn. By now everybody believed that she had a favourite pet owl. In reality, he watched me and passed messages between Zion and me. I was always told that he was doing it for my safety, but deep inside I knew that, of course, it was a precaution against me fleeing in the middle of a task. I had a ten-year contract with the Shadows and the Scorpion did not want to lose me earlier. That was something that I wanted to fix. Hopefully, after this mission, it would be possible to buy myself out and leave the business early. It would be tricky but so worth trying. Especially with all that money I was going to get from Eiryn. “There is the info you might need.” Amira pointed at my desk, and I saw a neat black folder there. “So, let’s see,” I sighed as I opened it and saw a picture of a handsome man drawn by hand. And then another one. He looked good. Too good to be true. Dark blond hair, blue eyes, sharp lines… He looked familiar but considering that he lived in a different country, I doubted that we’d met. Besides, he was a royal. And that brought the chances of accidental acquaintance to zero. “Alistair North,” I read out loud. “Twenty-nine years old, heir to the throne of Phevran. Was born… blah-blah-blah… A womaniser. Usually has several mistresses at once… The best warrior… A wolf shifter… Lost his supporters… King is not pleased with him…” “Gee! Stop it! I envy so much!” Amira sneered. “I like him already!” Filin added. “Can we kill him instead of wasting our time there?” the assassin suggested. “We can, but then we don’t get our money,” I reminded her, and her smile faded. “I bet he doesn’t want to marry Eiryn himself,” Filin pointed out. “Men like him aren’t created to be loyal husbands.” “That’s a political marriage,” I said, reading through the next page. “He doesn’t have to be loyal. Neither does Eiryn. Although wolves can be a bit possessive.” “A bit?” The owl cackled again and it sounded so creepy coming from a bird. “Bryn, how much do you know about werewolves to underestimate them like that?” “Unfortunately, I know too much,” I sighed, and they both went quiet. Everybody in the Shadows knew my story. When the agreed day came, Amira and I went to Lady De Vierre’s boutique. It was our usual location for the swap. We always had the same curly hair and wore hats to cover our faces so that people wouldn’t recognise us and ask too many questions. Eiryn was already waiting for us in the dressing area with tea and so many dresses that only someone of her status could afford them all. She had tea ready for her and sent assistants to find her pairs of matching shoes for every outfit she’d picked. While they were gone, we went to the cabins next to each other and changed our dresses. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, saying goodbye to my face. A second – and I looked exactly like Eiryn. I checked the imprint of my aura and was happy with how effortlessly I managed to copy it this time. When I walked out, Amira was already waiting for me, and I nodded to let her know that everything was going according to plan. Eiryn left the cabin slightly earlier and pulled the hat almost to her nose, rushing to the exit, praying to stay unnoticed Unsuccessfully. One of the shop assistants stood in her way. “Did you find what you were looking for, my lady?” she asked cheerfully, and I saw how Eiryn lowered her head. She wasn’t good at all this at all. “No,” she mumbled weakly. “Let me help you then.” The girl smiled so widely that it probably hurt her face muscles. “How about you help me instead?” I said, drawing attention to myself. “My tea is cold already!” They both looked at me. The assistant girl with fear and Eiryn with a satisfied smirk. This was exactly how she behaved and how I was expected to behave in her stead. “But, my lady,” the girl squeaked, “I just brought it to you.” “You mean this?” I took a cup and poured it on the floor. God, I hated it! And begged for Eiryn to leave quickly so I could go back to a softcore version of her. “Look!” I turned away. “There is also a mess that needs cleaning.” The girl dropped to her knees, and I saw the heiress manage to escape before the others came back. Guilt was washing over me, so I bought almost everything they had in the shop and added a good tip. The Landons could afford it anyway. Amira and I left the shop together, knowing that everything would be delivered to the mansion. As we sat in Eiryn’s carriage, I saw Rafael, her personal guard. “And who is that?” He looked at Amira with suspicion. “Amy,” I replied arrogantly. “The new maid I’ve been waiting for to arrive for the past month. Did you forget?” “Of course not, my lady,” Raf said, clearing his throat. “I just received a note from your father.” “Really? What is it about?” I tried to look bored. “He orders you to leave for Phevran today…”