Chapter 1
She had allowed herself to wait only until she heard the first scream, alerting her to a servant having found at least the first body before she took off. She wondered bemusedly to herself how many screams would be shouted before the sixth body was found; would they call out each time?
She pulled on the reins as she entered the stables, quickly dismounting and stalling her horse. After giving her a well-deserved treat, Nerie hurried around the sandstone mansion.
It was nearing the second moon’s highest point in the sky, which meant her family would all be asleep. It would be more trouble than it’s worth to try even the servant’s door this late. She sneaks around the buildings to stand under her room’s window two stories up. Making quick work of the stones, she scales the wall and peers into the room before clearing the window.
Her face relaxes into an easy smile as she hangs up her cloak and bag, a sense of relief washing over her. It’s wiped away just as quickly when she senses someone in her adjoining study. She palms her dagger without thought, stepping silently as she creeps into the room.
Spotting her brother at her desk, reading one of her more personal books, she slams the dagger back in its sheath. “What are you doing here, Nafir?”
Their identical eyes meet, his with laugh lines crinkling in the corners. She stomped over and snatched the book from him. Smacking him over the head with it, she tosses it onto the desk and pinches his ear to drag him to her door.
“Oh come on, Nerie, at least tell me how it went?”
“No.” She shoves him out, gives his head one more smack for good measure and closes the door in his face.
“You’re no fun, little sister!” He calls through the door, knowing she’ll take the bait. She always did.
He counted to four before the door swung back open.
“I’m older by three minutes and you know it.” She glared daggers at him and he smirked as he sauntered back into the room. She ignored him and went to her bathing room, silently grateful he had already warmed a bath for her return.
He snuck back into the study and grabbed the book he’d been reading. He sprawled on her bed before asking, “So the trip didn’t go well, I take it?”
He was met with the muffled sound of clothes and metal falling to the floor. She could ignore him all she wanted in there, knowing he wouldn’t barge in. She sunk into the water with a sigh, letting it cover her head.
She gently scrubbed her skin of the dried blood under the water before resurfacing. He had already made sure her favorite oils and soaps were within reach, and she happily breathed in the comforting scents as they mixed with the steam.
She took her time, having been away from home too long.
“Are you almost done?” Nafir called as she was finishing drying off. Silently mocking him, she takes time in oiling her hair and skin.
Wrapping herself in a robe she steps into the room. “Are you done being a pain in my ass?”
“Never.” He grins boyishly at her from his lounged position on her bed.
She rolls her eyes and grabs a night slip to put on, moving behind her privacy screen. There would never be a day without his smart remarks, and the thought made her smile. She quickly wiped the smile off her face before coming out and settling on the bed next to him.
He closes the book and looks at her expectantly. “Well?”
“Six. Two more than we’d accounted for.” She sighed. “But they were easy enough, not one of them stayed awake with the guards so I got in and out fairly easy.”
“No one followed?”
She turned to glare at him and he put his hands up in defense, smirking.
“Of course not. I’ll report to the Empress in the morning.”
She closed her eyes as they sat in silence for a moment and could feel his growing agitation. Letting him stew and squirm would do him good, so she remained silent.
She waited quite a while, an impressive amount of time for him, really. She was tempted to let herself drift off when she felt his weight shift on the bed.
“Mother wishes to speak with you tomorrow.”
Nerie squashed the flare of anger in her chest, already sure of the answer to her next question. “About?”
“Where you go all the time. Why you refuse any attempt to visit what she’s destined as your future home.” He settles a gentle hand on her arm. “You know she’s going to get desperate sooner or later. Don’t push her too far.”
Nerie scoffed and shrugged off his touch. She didn’t need or want his sympathies, she was perfectly capable of handling their mother. There was no one she feared other than her superiors, and even then it was more respect of skill than fear she felt.
“You know how frantic she gets, especially after Kalisa and—”
“I know perfectly well what happened to our sister, you need not remind me.” She snapped, glaring at him.
Now he had pushed too far.
He sighed, looking at his sister. Their near-identical faces, their equally tall heights, and the invisible scars they both held from the night everyone ignores. He removed himself from the bed and walked around, pressing a kiss to his sister’s head before wishing her a good night and closing the door behind him.
Nerie stared at the ceiling for a while more before her thoughts raced too fast, and she slipped a dagger from under her pillow and launched it across the room. It struck her beautifully crafted wardrobe, the sound echoing in the quiet of night.
She would talk with her mother in the morning and give her the same answers she’d been giving for the past decade. Answers she’d been instructed by her superiors to give whenever anyone inquired after her whereabouts. Then she would visit the Empress. Though she might try, the only person her mother couldn’t argue with was the Empress, who was superior to everyone.
