Shaedes of Gray: A Shaede Assassin Novel

point.”

“What in the hell is this about?” I screeched through clenched teeth.

I twisted and fought, but he tightened his grip until he had me sandwiched against his body. Heat poured from his skin. His scent swam in my head. Intoxicated by his nearness, my anger abated.

His grip tightened despite the fact that I’d quit struggling. Anya stood, wiping blood from her face, giving me a look that should have killed me without the aid of a magic blade. Her eyes darted to her king, and she went down on a knee.

Oh, how I wanted to kick her while she bowed. But in my pencil skirt it wouldn’t have been very effective, ripped seams or not. I’d have my chance, though, and the next time it would be her turn to taste my steel.

“Anya, you are the most loyal of all my subjects.” The sound of his voice, coupled with his warm breath in my ear, caused a shiver to trace down my spine. “But now you should tend to your wounds and leave me with our guest.”

“But, my liege,” Anya said, her head snapping to attention.

I rolled my eyes. Ugh.

“No,” Xander commanded.

Anya bobbed her head, looking a little like a goose. I made sure to give her a superior glower before she vanished into shadow.

“If I let you go, will you behave?” he asked when we were alone.

I relaxed completely, and by slow degrees, his grip loosened. When at last he pulled away, he let his fingers linger against me, pulling back from my stomach, around my waist, to my back. I didn’t appreciate these games, and rather than turn to meet his eyes, I dissolved and reappeared to face him.

He’d done a little vanishing act of his own and was seated in his throne by the time I became my solid self.

“Why am I here?” I asked, my voice echoing in the empty building.

“I need your services,” he said simply, as if he were commenting on the weather.

That was laughable. He looked like he had plenty of help from his red-leather girlfriend.

“I don’t know what you have in mind,” I said, deciding that puckish was the attitude I was going for, “but some of my services aren’t for sale.”

He erupted into a round of robust laughter that only sparked my ire. “Although I’m sure it would be worth every penny,” he crooned, “that is not the service I’m after. You have been called to serve your king. In fact, you’ve been paid in advance, if I’m not mistaken,” he continued in a much more formal tone. “And you must obey.”

Obey. Another word that didn’t exist in my vocabulary. “You’re not my king,” I reminded him.

His eyes took on that thoughtful look again, as if he were contemplating the fate of the world. “You are very ignorant, Darian.”

I raised my chin a notch.

He ignored my show of indignation and continued. “Your maker failed you, left you alone and believing there were no others in this world but you. You know nothing of your people, your true nature and skills. You are lost.”

If I’d raised my chin any higher, I would have been looking at the ceiling. I stared right through him, neither acknowledging nor ignoring his words.

I’d always believed I was alone.

I’d taught myself how to fight, how to survive, how to be.

I’d never needed others of my kind to give me a sense of who I was.

And if Xander thought he could march in and change my entire universe with a snap of his royal fingers . . .

“I know you hear my words,” he said like a father to a stubborn child, “and you have much to learn. But know that you are summoned to your king’s service, and you will do the job I have paid you to do. You may go, and we will speak again.”

I stood, gaping for a moment at his casual dismissal, before I turned my back with neither a bow nor a word of parting. Throbbing heat pulsed from the gash in my side, and I drew in shallow breaths to control my anger as much as the pain. I refused to show Xander any weakness. With a sweeping motion, I retrieved my soiled shoes, walked with as much dignity as if I were myself a queen, and pulled open the heavy metal door.

“Darian,” Xander, the King of Shaedes, called from across the building.

I paused, halfway out the door.

“I enjoyed watching you tonight.”

I passed into shadow and became one with the night.

Chapter 5

Tyler was waiting up for me like a dad on his daughter’s first date. He paced the small space of my living room like a caged animal, one hand raking through his hair, the other clutching a beer. A dark expression clouded his handsome face as he picked up his pace and the amber brew sloshed around in the bottle. His cheeks puffed out as he exhaled a great gust, and he muttered a curse under his breath. When I stepped into view, he stopped dead in his tracks, relief showing in the way his shoulders suddenly sagged.

Dead on my feet and pissed to boot, I wanted nothing more than to discard my bloodied clothes and tend to my wound, which had already begun to heal.

“Hey—” He cut off when he caught sight of my blood-spattered and torn shirt. Great. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, rushing toward me with an urgency that didn’t exactly mesh with the moment. “Did they hurt you? I never should have left you there alone. Damn it!” His hands balled up in tight fists at his side, and the muscle at his jaw ticked. The anger rising from his body was so intense I could smell it, and I fought my own reaction to his protective attitude. To think of him worrying about me in that way sent a warm tingle through my body that made itself at home in the traitorous nerves below my waist.

He surged forward in a rush, his face flushed with rage. “Don’t,” I commanded, holding him at arm’s length. “I’m fine; the wound’s already healing. Don’t go all mushy and try to take care of me.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“I sort of picked a fight.”

His expression softened, but only a little. “Wow, that’s really out of character for you. The dominatrix?”

His little attempt at sarcasm put a smile on my face, and I had to admit I was grateful for the levity. “I broke her nose.” Despite his outrage, Tyler knew I was no delicate flower. In fact, once he’d said that I could probably take on an entire company of Navy SEALs and kill them before they knew I was there. He was right, of course.

He wanted details, but I wasn’t saying anything until I’d cleaned up. “I need to shower,” I said. “But answer me one question first. Did you know he wasn’t human when you set up the job?”

“No,” he answered, dead serious. When it came to business, Ty didn’t mess around, and I trusted him.

“Okay. That’s all I needed to know.” I started toward the bathroom, unbuttoning my shirt as I went. Ty’s gaze burned a hole in my back, but I didn’t dare turn around unless I wanted a repeat performance of his earlier ardor. I didn’t know how I felt about what he’d done or how I’d reacted, but I wasn’t ready to think about it.

I took a quick, screaming-hot shower. The gash left by Anya’s knife looked a little worse than I’d expected, but the wound puckered where the skin had begun to fuse. It hadn’t completely closed up yet, but the flesh looked healthy and clean. Soon there wouldn’t even be a scar left to betray the injury.

After toweling off, I stepped into my robe and ventured out to check on Ty. He was asleep on my couch. Convenient. I was about to kick him out and send him on his way, but he looked so peaceful. I stood over him for a minute and found my thoughts drifting to how he’d look in the morning, with the sun’s first light on his resting face. I snapped to and realized I was obviously exhausted and delirious. So I left him alone, and, slipping out of the robe, slid between my cool sheets and let the warm air of my apartment lull me into a much-deserved slumber.