A small grin played on her lips as she lay sprawled on the settee, a long finger circling the rim of her wineglass. The nobleman's hungry gaze followed her every move, from the way her lips parted slightly as she laughed, to the way her green eyes twinkled in the bright light. Even though he was in the armchair a good few feet away from her, the distance between them was too little for her liking. If it were upto her, he would already be rotting twelve feet under the ground.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Aaron staring at her, and she mentally cursed at him. If he couldn't keep his jealousy in check, all their hard work from these past few weeks would be undone.Though she had to admit, even disguised as a servant, he was undeniably attractive.
Focusing her attention back on the nobleman, she let out a breathy chuckle at whatever jest he had just made, sitting up straight, and setting down her glass. This game had gone on long enough.
His eyes blatantly focused on the spot the slit in her dress parted, revealing the milky skin of her leg below. Resisting the urge to put a dagger in his chest already, she tilted her head, putting on the best innocent look she could muster.
"My lord?" the words were soft, and the title was definitely not one he deserved, but it did the trick. "I believe you have a promise to uphold to me."
"Ah, yes, yes, of course," he said in his unbearably nasally voice. He stood up, offering her a hand. "If you would follow me, my lady?
With a placid smile, she took his hand, letting out a girlish giggle as he put his lips to her knuckles before pulling her along to the door.
Aaron made a gagging gesture as he caught her eye, but one glare from her had him returning to his neutral expression. He followed them at a respectful distance, playing the humble servant's part well. A pity it would be over soon. She had been enjoying ordering him around these past weeks.
She followed the nobleman into his study, and he finally retracted his clammy hand from hers to open a chest in the corner of the room. Inside, there was another box, this one with a numbered lock. He gave her an apologetic glance, and she got his message. Internally rolling her eyes, she gave him a polite nod before averting her eyes.
A few moments later, a hand under her chin tilted her head up so that she was looking into the nobleman's eyes. In his other hand was an object wrapped in red silk, it's outline enough to confirm it was what she had been looking for all these weeks. She had already found it three weeks ago, but the numbered lock had been one only the nobleman knew the password to. And now here they were.
Gingerly, she took it from him, and he let go easily, his predatory gaze not leaving her eyes. She went to unwrap it, but he caught her arm.
"Now, what's the hurry? That's a precious, precious artifact you hold, my dear. Don't you think I derive a little something in return of allowing you to see what the King himself hasn't seen yet?"
His face inched closer to hers with every word, but before his lips could meet hers, his eyes widened, a choked gasp escaping his parted lips. Coughs raked his body as he fell to his knees, hunching forward and wrapping his arms around his torso. Taking a step back, she unfolded the silk, revealing the contents wrapped in it: a red ruby the size of her fist, polished so bright that she could see her reflection in it, and beside it, the most beautiful dagger she had ever seen. Its hilt was lined with emeralds, and the blade itself was black and golden, sharp enough to cut through almost anything.
Looking back up at the merchant, she flashed him a wide and unabashed grin instead of the delicate smile of a Lady.
She tsked, giving him a mock pitying look. "Must be the poison in your wine. Also, don't waste your last breaths on screaming for the guards. I already dispatched them last night."
"Why?"
Behind her, Aaron's laugh boomed through the room as he came to stand beside her, slinging his arm around her shoulders. "It's your fault, really," he mused, looking at the dying man with amusement. "You received the bouquet of red amaranths, did you not? And yet, the very next day, a pretty girl shows up at your door claiming to be the daughter of your late friend, and you take her in without any questions."
"Don't they all," she chuckled before the man could say anything. In an instant, she was in front of him once more, kneeling beside him. She wanted him to look her in the eyes as he died, to know it was her who did this. "All you men are the same. You worry for a day or two after receiving my little warning, and when nothing happens, you think you'll be fine." Leaning closer to his ear, she added in a whisper, "And this is where it leads you all."
It isn't long before the nobleman draws his last breath, and by then, the two of them are already readying their horses to leave. Aaron tossed her a coat and she shrugged it on; the dress she wore wouldn't be enough to ride a horse on such a chilly night.
Once they were a safe distance away, he handed her a tiny remote.A small laugh bubbled up her throat.
"No way," she breathed. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to plant the bomb inside. 'The estate's too secure, we can't risk it'." She added the last part in a deeper voice to imitate Aaron's tone.
He playfully elbowed her in the side. "When have I ever disappointed you, Lily? Now do the honors."And she did. In the distance, they heard the estate blow up, and along with it, any evidence they might have possibly left behind.
________________________________________________________________________________
"And my prodigal assassin returns," Dorian's voice boomed as she walked into the meeting room of the warehouse they called 'headquarters'. To her, it had become home in the past seven years she had been living here. "Mission report?"
She rolled her eyes, tossing him the ruby which he easily caught. "That enough of a report for you?"
Dorian raised an eyebrow, examining the jewel in his hand. "It's a pretty thing," he mused. "Will fetch a high price in the black market. But I believe there is one more?"
"This little thing?" Lily asked, retrieving the dagger from the sheath on her thigh. "You really think I'm handing this over?"
"Won't you?" Dorian's voice was playful, but she didn't miss the warning hidden in it, or the hard edge in his gaze.
Casually leaning against the wall, she twirled the dagger in her hand. "When have you known me to give up something I want?" With a Cheshire cat smile, she added, "Maybe you shouldn't have taught me how to use these pointy little things if you wanted me to hand them over to you."
Shaking his head, he gave her an amused look. "I'm cutting seventy percent of your pay if you plan on keeping that."
"Fifty percent, and nothing more," she countered.
With a nod, Dorian headed to the window, turning his back to her. But she wasn't done yet.
"This was my last assignment, Dorian. I'm done."
At that, his head whipped back in her direction. It was silent for a few minutes. He was clearly trying to read her, but she knew her thoughts were well-masked.
Instead of questioning what she had just revealed to him, he asked something entirely different, catching her off guard.
"Why a bouquet of red amaranths. All these years, I could understand why you warned your targets. It added to the thrill. But I never understood why those particular flowers."
She nodded, walking over to stand beside him. Looking out of the window, all she could see was darkness. The fog was thick tonight.
"Because they symbolize Artemis," was her simple answer.
"The Goddess?"
She nodded once again, meeting his eyes. She could see the confusion in them. To the rest of the assassins here, Dorian was the equivalent of a horror movie villain, but to her, he had become a bit of a father figure over the years. She smiled, knowing he was one of the few here whose questions for her held no ulterior motives.
"The Goddess of the Hunt and the Wild," she confirmed. "I didn't become an assassin to get a kick out of it, Dorian. I wanted revenge, and you offered me the means to get it. I trained, and I killed. Every single person I've killed had murdered or ordered the death of countless innocents. I felt like a huntress when I went after them, and my wild side felt free when I was on a mission. What could be more symbolic than the flowers of the Goddess who made me feel at home?"
He nodded, a contemplating expression on his face. "I thought you didn't plan on leaving until you found your brother's killer?" At her silence, realization dawned on his face. "You found them, didn't you? Whoever killed Luca?"
She remembered the night Luca had died clearly. Back then, she had been an ordinary peasant, an orphan girl living with her older brother. That had changed when one night, almost eight years ago, she had returned to their small hut, only to find her brother's limp body lying crumpled on the floor, his white shirt turned crimson. Whoever had done it, had taken all their valuable belongings with them.
All she had left of him was the chain he had always worn, the one that hung around her own neck now. His killer had left it behind since it had no real value in terms of money.
"I found him. And I'm going to kill him. I'll make sure he sees it coming from a mile away, but there will be nothing he can do it stop it." Her voice was choked, and she took a deep breath. When she spoke again, it was steady. "But I meant it. This was my last assignment as an assassin. This last kill, I'm doing it for myself. And for Luca."
"And you aren't going to tell me who it is?"
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough."
With that, she walked back to her room. Inside, Aaron was already in bed, reading one of the many books on her shelf. His shirt was gone, and she took a moment to admire his frame.
"You know," he started, closing the book after a moment, "instead of staring at me, you could join me."
She offered him a grin, but headed to the adjoining bathroom instead of the bed.
"Tempting, but I need to clean up first. That nobleman's stench is still all over me, and he didn't even touch me. Gods know how it would have felt if he had actually laid a hand on me."
At her words, Aaron's eyes darkened. "He wouldn't have had any hands left if he had dared to touch you."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I need a bath."
By the time she returned, Aaron was fast asleep in her bed, the blankets pulled upto his chest.
But even when he awoke the next morning, she wasn't in bed with him like she usually was. Instead, there was something wrapped in black cloth beside him. He groggily unwrapped it, but at the sight of what was in it, any traces of sleep vanished.
A bouquet of red amaranths.