I jump, spinning around. Killian's leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his chest and eyes on me. I hadn't heard him get back, I hadn't seen him, even though he had to have come from the same direction we did.
I lift my chin. "And if I was? Would you stop me?"
He strolls towards me, stopping only when he's a few feet away. I have to crane my neck to look up at him as he ducks his head. My entire body freezes as his face gets closer, tilting slightly so his mouth is by my ear. His breath brushes my skin so gently that if it weren't for the goosebumps rising on my neck, I wouldn't notice. "Why don't you run and find out?" he whispers.
I grip the hilt of my dagger, unsheathing it and twisting my body so that he's against the tree, my knife is at this throat, my forearm holding him against the trunk of the tree.
"Don't threaten me."
He looks down at me through long lashes, and despite the blade pressed to his skin, that dimple dents his left cheek. Before I can blink, he knocks my arm down and twists it behind my back, wrapping his other arm around my chest and pulling me backwards until my back is pressed to his chest.
My dagger is now in Killian's hand, the blade only just pressed against my throat.
"Oh, Freya," he murmurs, lips brushing the shell of my ear. "If you want to prove yourself to Trina, you're going to have to do a lot better than that."
Shivers stroke my skin. I try to convince myself it's because of what he's said and not because of the way he holds me to him, his chest hard against my back. He releases me the second I put pressure on his arm. I spin around, pushing my shoulders back and meeting his eye, hating the warmth seeping into my cheeks.
"Give me that back," I say, nodding at the dagger.
The second he holds it out, I snatch it from him, shoving it back into its sheath and folding my arms, trying to ignore the smug expression on his face.
"I'm serious, you know. You can't go wandering off with your guard down like that," Killian says.
"I was fine."
"If I'd wanted to kill you right then, I could have." He shakes his head, expression growing more serious. "Deserters are loyal. But you're not one of us yet, Freya, and there are people like Jax and Jessenia who don't think you should be one of us because they see you as a liability. When it comes down to it, they won't have your back."
"Are you implying that you would?"
"I told you I was here to keep you alive, didn't I?"
The first time he'd said it, there'd been a teasing look on his face. But when I search his eyes for any hint of humour, I come up empty.
"Yeah, well, I don't exactly trust you."
"I don't blame you. But I promise I won't let anything hurt you."
His midnight eyes trap my gaze. They remind me of the night sky, reflecting the distant lights of the forge like tiny stars. His promise stirs something inside my chest. And even though he's given me no reason to, I believe him.
I know he's a deserter now, but Killian Li is just as much a mystery to me as he was when he first arrived in Veymaw. I have no idea how much of what I found out about him was true and what was a lie. And that irks me, because despite the arrogance, the devilishly handsome gaze and loud confidence, I want to know him. The truth.
"You told me you came to Veymaw from Portson," I say. "True, or false?"
"True."
"Your father was a trader."
He grins. "False."
Of course. Because they were deserters. "And what happened to them? Is your father really dead?"
"I..." he pauses. "I don't know if my father is alive."
"Was he taken by the shifters? Like my brother was?" I immediately regret my words, recognising the expression on his face. I change the subject. "You said the deserters must prove themselves to Trina. So she has insurance." He nods. "What does she have on you?"
"I never had to prove myself to Trina," he says. "I'm not from Veymaw. My loyalties have been proven elsewhere."
"Portson," I say. He nods. "You told me you moved here because you had no choice."
"Also true." He leans back, staring at me. "Are you done quizzing me, now?"
"I still have questions."
"Of course you do."
Before I can say anything else, Jax turns up. "What're you doing? We're ready."
I nod, stepping past Killian to meet the others. Killian stops me, wrapping a hand around my wrist and pulling me back. I take a shaky breath, glancing up to meet his eye.
"What're you doing?"
He reaches forward, to my face. He grabs the hood of my cloak and pulls it over my head, tucking a stray hair in the collar of my shirt. "There," he says. "Better."
Warmth rushes to my cheeks but I turn before he can notice, meeting Jessenia and Jax in the foliage.
"We have 30 minutes," Jessenia says, her eyes scanning across each of us. "In and out. No pit stops. Killian—"
"Greybis pub."
Jessenia nods in approval. "Coax is being held above before they transport him to the coast tomorrow."
Coax, I think. So they're looking for someone.
She looks to Jax. "I'll get us in. From there—"
"Find Tetterman," Jax says.
"Tetterman?" I demand. "You mean the councillor?" They all blink at me. "He's in the forge?"
"There are always shifters in the forge," Jax says. "It's a good place to hide. Doesn't matter if you're shifter or human."
A shudder crawls down my spine. I'd known there was a possibility, but I'd never encountered one in my ventures. The thought makes me pause—would I have known if I did? I think of councillor Tetterman, his cool, steely gaze, unforgiving eyes. What could he possibly be threatened by? "What's he hiding from?"
A small smile crosses Jessenia's face. "Us."
I swallow, watching Jessenia as she tucks her gun into the waist band of her pants and retrieves a machete like knife instead.
She untwists the hilt, drawing out three four small, rounded fruit that stain her hands red. Jax takes one, tucking it into his cloak pocket. Killian does the same. When Jessenia hands the last one to me, I furrow my brows, turning it over as it stains my fingers. It looks like a berry of some sort, but not one that I've seen before—too pink to be a raspberry. I raise it to my nose, but before I can smell it, Killian catches my wrist.
He shakes his head when I look over at him. "Nanium," he murmurs, guiding my wrist to my side. "You'd be dead before it reached your stomach."
I drop it immediately, glaring at Jessenia. "Why would you give this to me?"
She seems unphased that I almost brought it to my mouth. "If you're caught by a shifter, you eat that berry."
"I'd die."
"Exactly."
She doesn't elaborate, turning back to face the forge. A shudder wracks through my body as I pick the berry up again, sliding it into my pocket without a word, but only because Jax is watching me. I wouldn't eat that berry. No matter what.
I swallow and lean back on my hands, trying to mask the way they shake. Before I can ask anything else, Jessenia is ushering us from the shadows. We creep around the edge of the buildings, never delving into the streets. Drunken laughter fills the air as we near the Greybis pub and come to a stop again.
Jessenia crouches low. "Killian."
He nods, ducking his head beneath his cloak, and before I can blink, he's disappeared into the narrow street connecting the forest to the forge. I shift closer to Jessenia in his absence, my fear growing.
"Where's he going?" I ask.
"To create a distraction," Jessenia says. "The forge is crawling with shifters tonight, ready for the transfer. If any of them sense deserters near, we won't get within a foot of that building."
I look back to the forge, where Killian has melted into the shadows, my stomach tightening. "What if they... what if they catch him?"
She turns to look at me, her eyes narrowing. "They won't."
"How do you know?"
"Killian is very skilled at what he does. He won't get caught."
I see him in my mind—the way he glides through the forest, the way he can charm just about anyone with a simple grin, and I don't doubt what she's said for a second. I may not have known he was a deserter, but I always knew he was lethal.
"Who is Coax?" I ask, keeping my voice low.
"My sister," Jessenia says without looking at me.
"Your sister is with the councilman?"
She ignores me, murmuring something to Jax and creeping forward a few steps so she's slightly out of ear range. Her hood has fallen slightly, revealing black ringlets that frame her face.
"The shifters captured Coax last week," Jax whispers, arm brushing mine as he crawls closer. "We received a tip that she'd be relocated to the coast tonight."
I furrow my brows. Aside from councillor Tetterman's visits, the shifters only come to Veymaw on the night of the Red Moon. For the past five years, many bystanders have been killed. Samu was the first person they didn't kill on the spot. But Jax said they captured Coax last week.
"Why would the shifters keep her alive?" I ask.
"The shifters have been trying to destroy our clan for years, but they don't know where we are." His eyes drift to my pocket, where I tucked the nanium berry. "Coax is still alive for the very same reason that we agreed to eat nanium if we're caught."
"So they can't get information," I murmur, shuddering. "Coax didn't have one?"
"She did," Jessenia says without turning around. Jax quietens, looking away from me and back to the fog. I bite the question sitting on the tip of my tongue.
Why didn't she take it?
I can't say I blame her; I wouldn't, either. But I'm not a deserter, and no information I have would be of much use to the shifters, Trina made sure of that.
I adjust my position to relieve the cramping in my legs, pressing my hands to the ground. The soil is slightly damp, lodging between my fingers as I balance my body, my breath a cloud around me. The light from the forge crawls across the earth, stopping short of where Jessenia is concealed.
"Jax?" I ask, my breath a white cloud around my face. "Do you all have to do this? Prove yourselves to Trina?"
"Any outsider seeking to join the deserters must prove their loyalty in a tangible way."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
His expression shifts, surprise seeping into his gaze as he exchanges as look with Jessenia.
"Trina didn't tell you?" he asks. I shake my head. "Well, now your choice of weapon makes a lot more sense."
"What're you talking about?"
He meets my gaze, a smug expression on his face. "Your job is to kill councillor Tetterman's son."