◢✥◣
PREVIOUSLY...
◥✥◤

After being introduced to her new eccentric guide—Suri—Azura was shown a garden that she recognised from stories told to her. She realised her deceased brother was once part of the Order but kept it from her. Unsure why, she instead focused on her need for answers about herself and her revenge against Jile.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

The room Suri leads me to is far too nice for me to set foot in with its soft carpet of deep mauve and furniture of dark wood.

"And here I thought the rebellion was struggling," I murmur. I glance around the place, observing the intricate carvings on the wood panelling to the balcony doors, the thick drapes that pool on the ground like blood, the lavish furniture, and crackling fireplace.

"A farce to throw off our enemies."

I twist around at the light voice, my hand reacting before my mind can register what it's doing. I come face to face with the person who spoke, her green eyes narrowed as she stares at the silver candelabra in my fist. I glance at it too, blinking to see it there. My gaze darts to Suri who stands in the doorway, watching with wide eyes. Wax drips onto my glove and the patter of it on the carpet breaks me from the moment.

I clear my throat and set the candelabra back on the table beside the door. "And it works?" I ask as I wipe the wax from my gloves onto my trousers.

The girl before me shrugs. "I suppose," she replies. She bends to pick up the extinguished candle on the ground between us, rolling it between her bronzed fingers. "If scaring away possible recruits is the goal." The girl's gaze is cold as she looks me up and down, studying me with wariness I know too well. Her tanned face is set in a stern expression, guarded and judgemental. "Lilja, Suri's sister. We come as a package deal."

My jaw works as I look between these two girls, their features similar with their light brown and freckled skin and green gazes. Once again I remind myself that this is the best place to hide while I wait for Jile to skulk back into the light.

"Well, this is all happening very fast," Lilja mutters, taking a seat on the edge of one of the beds pushed against the wall. She crosses her arms over her chest and pins me with her gaze. But the strength within them is a facade, I can see that now. It's merely something she adorns, not something she truly feels within. I saw many street rats walk into the warehouse with such a look in their eyes before Jile whittled them down piece by fragile piece. Something he could never do to me, no matter how hard he tried. It's why he cut my throat.

I reach up and touch the clothed skin at the hollow of my throat. There's nothing you can do that hasn't already been done, Jile.

I drop my hand and press my lips together as I hear my own words for the lie that they were.

"Well, it's nice to have a new roommate," Suri says, easing past me to dump her bag on a desk. She smiles at me and it doesn't look like a grimace or a feral baring of teeth like a wild animal.

"Is it?" I ask, looking between the two girls then to the door that leads to the hall and then the doors to the balcony, wondering how far the drop is.

Escape. Run while you still can.

I grit my teeth and flex my fingers, reminding myself that I've gotten more in this place in the one day I've been here than I got in the two years I spent in Warroll. This is my world now, and the quicker I can accept that, the quicker I can find the answers I seek.

Don't trust them.

"Yes!" she exclaims with a frown, clearly dissatisfied with my attitude. "Can I win your friendship with food?"

The voices quieten.

I raise a brow at that, the ache in my stomach always present, even with the meagre food Erasmus offered me. Not much will satiate the hunger of someone who's lived most of their life hungry.

I tilt my chin, urging her to go on. Suri turns towards the desk, flips open her satchel and grins as pastries, cakes, and far too many biscuits come tumbling out, littering the desk and carpet with crumbs.

The rumble my stomach makes is horrifying.

I press my hands to my belly in an attempt to muffle the noise, but Suri notices, swipes up something that looks sickly sweet and thrusts it towards me with a lopsided smile.

"Lunch isn't for another few hours, this should get you through until then." She takes another step forward, like she approaches a wild dog with her food. A peace offering, something to win the loyalty of the rabid animal.

I admire her effort for a moment, remembering the time I met Dax when he'd come to me with the last scraps of food he'd had with him from the village he'd escaped from. Making allies is how one survives. Learning to love those allies is how one dies.

I take the food Suri offers, thanking her as I swipe a gloved thumb through the sugary cream atop the pastry and stick my thumb in my mouth. Flavour bursts over my tongue, sweet and overwhelming and my eyes widen.

"Good, right?"

I hum in confirmation before stuffing the food in my mouth, the pastry so soft it nearly melts. My hunger returns with a vengeance, scraping at my insides, eager for any sort of food. Lilja snorts as she takes her own food and settles back on her bed. I lick the crumbs from my gloves with an aching stomach, begging me for more food. I force my eyes not to stray to the pastries on the desk and instead step further into the room.

"Your bed is this one," Suri says, hopping from foot to foot around me. She pats the bed in the corner of the room, resting between an oak door and the draping curtains over the balcony doors.

"And what's in there?" I ask, eyes on the wood door, waiting for something threatening to come tumbling out.

"The bathroom." She pushes open the door, revealing innocent looking white tiles and a marble tub. "When you get a taste of hot, streaming water, this room will be your best friend."

"And what's that?" I ask, pointing to the brass pipe sticking out of the wall high above the bath.

"That is a shower."

"A shower?" I repeat with a frown.

"It's one of those Old World inventions." She grins as she closes the door and I huff out a breath, something that can be mistaken for laughter. "Erasmus says you'll be going to classes with us starting tomorrow, so until then you have all day today to get acquainted." She offers me a reassuring smile as I sink my teeth into my lower lip.

This place is already daunting with its maze-like halls and strange magic, yet I have to become acclimated in just a day. Talk about throwing a drowning person into the deep end. I run my tongue over my gnawed lip and still my nerves.

I've faced worse, come out of situations where I had no odds in my favour. This will be easy. All I have to do is focus on why I'm here; wait for the opportunity to kill Jile and find out who orchestrated the ambush that killed Dax. Oh, and assassinate Emperor Ulric of the Sharlik Empire.

༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛

I follow Suri and Lilja through the halls as we go to lunch, the girls chatting the whole way there, mostly Suri. Lilja's green gaze frequently flicks back to me, as though she expects me to slip a blade between her ribs. I don't blame her; I wouldn't put it past me.

Do it. Do it now.

At this very moment, I don't have a death wish.

We enter what the girls call the Grand Hall and my jaw clenches as I gaze upon my surroundings. The stone ceiling is filled with carvings of battles, of warriors slaying demons and the gods sweeping across the battlefields in all their splendid glory, clashing against their own kind. I don't recognise this battle. I've read many stories about the gods, but none of them told of a war where the fallen gods rose up with their demon minions to fight the gods that cast them down to Hell. It makes sense though. Lucifer seems like the type of god that wouldn't appreciate sitting idle. Or being beaten in the first place.

I tear my gaze away from the ceiling to assess the situation I've wandered into. Kids surround me, a cacophony of noise hitting me like a sharp wind. Large oak tables crowd the space, brimming with all sorts of food, some I don't even recognise.

Someone is playing a lively tune on a lute, filling the room with even more noise. I draw in an even breath and continue marching forward with my chin held high. We pass kids of all ages and races. Some with green skin, leathery like a lizard's. Some with large eyes like the woman I encountered in the underground room with the pool. Other kids display feathers instead of hair. I spot pointed ears and dodge a swirling tail. There are too many people in one place, who knows what blades lurk amongst them.

I follow the girls as they find a place to sit at one of the long tables. My gloves squeak as I clench my hands into fists and sit across from them with a rigid spine and sharp eyes. The girls throw themselves into conversations with the kids around me and I barely hear them introduce me as my dark gaze settles on the food displayed before me, ripe for the taking, begging to be eaten.

Before I delve into the food, the hairs on the back of my neck rise and my nostrils flare. A scent reaches me, breaking through the overwhelming smell of food. My senses sharpen like a blade and I shift, following the scent of fresh blood and warm corpses. I look up to meet slanted, deep brown eyes. The girl with the oaken hair that brushes her jaw tilts her head, studying me. Before I can understand why the stench of death wraps around her, it vanishes, and my senses dull along with it. We watch each other for a long moment before she stands and leaves the table.

Murderer. Killer. Like you.

I let out a breath and look down, noticing my fingers clench around the edge of the wood table. I peel my fingers away and swallow at the deep imprints left behind from my grip.

Don't let them see.

"Hey, Azura."

My eyes snap up and I'm dragged back to my surroundings where the world around me is a hum of noise and the smell of fresh food clogs my throat.

Suri leans over the table and spoons a heap of potatoes onto my plate, her green eyes sparkling. "I always say shove as much food into you that you can before they drag us back to training. It's the only good part of the day."

My lips quirk and I brush away all other thoughts apart from those on the feast before me. I swipe up a fork and shovel a roasted potato into my mouth that scolds my tongue. My fingers itch to stuff food into my pockets, to stash as much of it away as possible for safe keeping, and perhaps I'd do just that if so many eyes weren't on me.

"When I first came here I stuffed my face so much I was sick all night," Suri is saying to the group around us. "I think I ate my weight for a whole week before Master Erasmus had to tell me to leave some for the others." Laughter echoes around her as she munches into a muffin with a grin.

I watch the two girls across from me, Suri blabbering away, waving her muffin in adamant movements, as Lilja loads Suri's plate with food. She continues to sit in silence, observing her sister like a watchful guardian prepared for anything.

"Hey, new kid," someone shouts and it takes me a heartbeat too long to realise they're talking to me. In that moment they reach across the table and snatch the last potato from my plate with an abrupt laugh. I react, my heart leaping in my chest as I wrap my fingers around their wrist and grab a knife off the table with the other hand. The gleaming knife is to the thief's throat before they can draw breath.

"You touch my food again and I'll cut your fucking throat," I sneer, the grip I have on their wrist making the boy's face twist in agony. The silence that follows is near deafening, sweeping across the Great Hall. That's when my eyes dart to those around me to see everyone staring at me like I've grown another head. The kid before me trembles, tears in his eyes.

This isn't the streets. This isn't the harrowing land I've been raised in. This is the Order of Hunters and they're all staring at me.

They see all of you. They know what you are.

I drop the boy's wrist and settle back in my seat with my head lowered, my heart thundering in my ear.

"Is there a problem here?" The deep rumbling voice has me wincing.

"No, Master Erasmus," Suri speaks up, looking over my shoulder at the shadow that looms over me. I don't dare look up, making myself as small as possible with the foolish hope that his notice will pass right over me. "Just a misunderstanding, nothing to worry about."

Erasmus' silence over my shoulder has my gut twisting, but then he hums and the heavy footfalls of his steps retreat.

I let out a breath and don't raise my head.

Don't let them see.

They're beginning to see you.