"In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing."
― Oscar Wilde
The sun had dipped low beneath the toxic sea by the time Lin felt it appropriate to lean her head against the arm of her chair and mimic dozing off. Her every bone was exhausted and her mind pounded against her skull. Shabina was a fine conversationalist. Perhaps too fine. Lin couldn't remember the last time she'd been trailed in a non-stop conversation like that.
Shabina seemed to fall for it. The clink of her cup against the plate was muffled as she carefully arranged their used dishes onto a platter and handed it off to one of the guards.
Lin tracked everyone on the roof in her mind, their footsteps making it atrociously easy to do so. Four guards. They had changed them out twice in the evening, but never all at once. And it didn't escape Lin that Shabina always sat facing her.
This was why Lin didn't change her breathing when the rapid stomp of boots up the stairs rang out.
The guards were between Shabina and the intruder in an instant, one of them even trailing between Lin's 'sleeping' body and their leader. How sweet. It wouldn't have done much, but it was a good impulse.
Lin pretended to sleep through it.
The guards immediately relaxed, recognizing the newcomer.
"Kiara!" Shabina got up from her couch, hurrying to the person. One of her wives, probably. The rustle of fabric told Lin they were hugging.
"What happened – why are you – "
"We got word of a slaver, raided one of the lesser islands. The ship was unprotected near one of our mirror boats."
Shabina was silent, and Lin sort of wanted to see what face she was making. She'd been able to parse the unhappy faces from the happy ones during their conversation. But that was about it.
Kiara continued, "We didn't lose anyone. We even did a heat run around the southern major islands and some of the lessers afterwards."
"Why do you look so unhappy? Did the prisoners –"
Kiara interrupted again. Lin's brow twitched at that. "Most of them dead. Twenty survivors."
Shabina let out a sigh that sounded like her soul was being crushed. Lin tensed, her muscles quivering with the force of it.
"How many were there?"
"I don't know. The hunter boy said seventy one, but – "
She didn't get the chance to finish.
Lin vaulted over the couch and was in her face by the time Kiara's words registered.
Kiara was the hulking woman that had sat at Shabina's side the first time Lin had arrived at the Citadel. Her hair was slicked back in a long plait, showing off a high forehead and wide face. A glint of surprise passed through the much, much taller woman's eyes, but it was gone with a blink.
When it became clear Lin didn't have much of a plan beyond standing uncomfortably close and glaring, Kiara finally spoke again. "Hello."
"Hadrian went with you."
"I," Kiara's eyes darted over Lin's head to Shabina, "yes? He asked and –"
"He's only fifteen."
"I'm not sure – "
"Lin," Shabina said, bleeding caution.
Lin's lips pursed and she took a step back from Kiara. It didn't make either of them feel better. She gave a cursory glance to the guards before flicking her eyes to Shabina. "Thanks for dinner."
Lin didn't smile. Should she smile? Something told her it would be less terrifying if she did. Or maybe it would be taken as a threat. No matter. She was a threat as long as her head was attached, and if they didn't notice they were morons.
She spun on her heel and slid between two of the guards, leaving the roof and taking the stairs. She breathed hard through her nose and worked the clasp of her holster.
Lin could almost hear Alekhine laughing at her. "You're hopeless."
"Yes, yes, I know," she muttered under her breath. She'd have been a terrible mother. Not that it was a worry anymore. She'd only had vague musings of a family with Alekhine. Nothing realistic - nothing attainable - but it had been there. Blood on their hands and books in their laps, they'd talked about a future.
"Don't worry, I'll be the one to take care of them. We all know you're a deadbeat."
"Sounds like a dream."
"Yeah. At least they'll love me more than you."
Alekhine had wanted it more than she did.
Perhaps he'd gotten tired of waiting and offered Hadrian the apprenticeship out of loneliness. She smiled. That made more sense than anything else - him growing weary Lin's apathy and grabbing at a chance to put someone in his debt.
When Lin caught sight of Hadrian, she couldn't help the small relief that washed over her at seeing him unharmed.
"Kid!" The calm slipped away beneath the force of anger.
His head snapped up. He'd changed out of his clothes from before, now wearing too-big trousers and what appeared to be Zeke's jacket. The smell of blood and seawater clung to his skin.
"I'm fine."
"I didn't ask," she said. She grabbed his arm and half-dragged him away from the small cluster of people she barely recognized.
"Hey - " a new person said. Lin blinked and he was between her and Hadrian. He hadn't broken her grip on Hadrian's arm, but it was a near thing. She furrowed her brow and sized up the newcomer. He was two heads taller than her, fit, with dark skin and chiseled features. Even so, there was a young softness to him. He puffed himself up slightly.
"Were you about to say something?" Lin glared at him. He swallowed.
"I was just going to - "
"It's fine, Cortez," Hadrian finally spoke.
Cortez pursed his lips and wavered. Only when Hadrian laid a slim hand on his arm did he finally step away.
"This is Lin. She's a hunter and my," he flicked his eyes to her, "friend."
He shifted his weight, pulling Lin gently. She shot Cortez a final glare that was more smug than anything else and followed Hadrian. He led her out of the room and into a shadowed hall. Unlit lamps were strung up above them, and there was a curious lack of windows.
"Are you hurt?"
"No," Hadrian said. Lin twisted her mouth into a frown and looked him up and down with narrowed eyes. He didn't look like he was in pain. She couldn't shake the smell, though. By the way it wafted off him, she half-expected his shirt to go black with blood.
"Than what were you thinking?" Lin checked over her shoulder. "I haven't even taught you anything."
Hadrian shrugged, the barest hint of a smile drifting over his lips. "I'm not helpless."
You look like you are, she wanted to say. In the oversized clothes, he looked even tinier than usual. His bruises didn't seem quite as dark as they had been earlier, more yellowed than anything. Lin frowned even more. "Is that on purpose? The whole kicked puppy thing?"
"It's generally to the end of not getting kicked more," he said slowly.
"Knew you had some snark in you." He blinked up at her as she sighed. Lin pulled her lip into her mouth and let him go, taking a step back. "It's good - the act, I mean. Had me wrapped around your finger."
He squinted at her, evaluating.
Nobody had come after them. Strange, considering her reputation. "I'm not mad if that's what you're wondering."
"I've made up my mind," Hadrian said, "I want to be a hunter."
Lin lifted an eyebrow. He seemed serious, actually looking her in the eye for once. There was a tiny edge to him that she hadn't noticed before, less victim, more survivor.
"You sure?"
He nodded.
She took a deep breath and looked around. If nobody had come in yet, it wasn't likely they ever would. Not Zeke for his jacket, not Cortez, probably not Shabina. Lin twitched at the thought of Shabina. Not yet, some part of her muttered, not ever.
Lin would reciprocate just enough to keep her freedom on the Citadel. No more. There was no use in getting caught up with her emotions again.
"You absolutely sure?" Lin asked again.
"Yes."
She punched him in the face.
As far as punches went, it was a gentle one. A love tap. But it was still a punch, she was still superhumanly strong, and he was a teenager fresh off a warzone.
His head snapped back, hands flying up to cover his nose. He squeaked in surprise and reeled back into the wall. He stared at her over his fingers with wide eyes.
"First lesson: never look stupid."
Lin shrugged her jacket off and unbuckled her weapons belt, dropping them to the side. She pushed stray locks of hair behind her ears, letting her ponytail swing.
Hadrian sniffled and checked his hands for blood. His bruises looked a bit more red than they had before. "How long'd it take for you to get that one?"
She swung one hip back and exaggerated her round kick. He ducked and backed away.
"Good. Now try and hit me."
"I know how to spar," he said. He didn't sound bitter, though. He settled into a firm stance. Far too firm for his build. He'd probably learned from watching someone much larger.
"I'm not sparring with you, kid," she said, "I'm showing you how to be a hunter."
She jabbed at him as a prompt. To her surprise, he rushed immediately, sliding through her half-hearted defense like water. She only sort of drew on her sigils to deflect his punch. Lin pushed him away with a low growl, setting some distance between them.
"You're too small for that. Not enough power, not enough range. I could blow on you and break your stance."
He didn't react much beyond a curious blink. "So what do you expect me to do?"
Lin took a step forward and dropped, swinging her leg out in a powerful arc and taking his ankles with her. He flailed and dropped to the floor, hitting it with a painful-sounding gasp as he lost his breath.
Lin snorted. "Come on, kiddo. I already know you can take a beating, so we can skip that part. Right now I – "
He kicked her in the stomach.
She gasped and stepped back, setting her jaw and glaring.
"Exploit weaknesses," he said, standing with his guard up, "was lesson one back home."
"And I talk too much?"
"A little." Thankfully, his smile was bashful. If it had been anything but, she might have wiped the floor with his face in retribution.
Whoever had taught him to fight had done it wrong. Verbally, it made sense. But in practice? It required far too much knowledge of the enemy and far too much power. His style was that of someone completely different.
"Good thing you're smart," she muttered.
He never blocked any of her kicks, thank goodness. She could temper the strength of her punches with ease, but kicks required more power. The fear of snapping his bones ran through her as she felt out his abilities.
She cringed as she put too much weight into another round kick. Hadrian reacted perfectly, however. He stepped out of range into the weakest part of the kick, grabbing her leg. His sleeve slid up and she got caught up in staring at his wrist. He almost managed to sweep her leg from beneath her.
"Wait – hold up."
Lin pulled from his grip easily, though she was fairly certain he hadn't been going easy one her, and stepped in close, grabbing his arm. She pulled up his sleeves to reveal mottled scar tissue.
Her experience with scars was limited. There was Alekhine with thin silvery patterns over his face and hands – he never told her what they were from – and Razo with slightly darkened divots all over his arms and chest. But Hadrian's wrists were something else.
White in places, dark purple and brown in others, and bright red in some places. It looked like his wrists had been skinned repeatedly. The scar tissue extended halfway up his forearms. Lin worked her jaw.
"What are these?"
"I don't know what you want me to say."
"Literally anything as long as it's not a lie."
He shrugged. "If I tell you, will you kill the person who did it?"
"Someone did that to you?"
Hadrian lifted his eyebrows at her. "I'll take that as a yes."
"Seriously - "
"I don't want to tell you." Lin's throat spasmed and she didn't know if it was getting interrupted or what he was saying that bothered her.
If he was a hunter, nobody would hurt him again. Nobody would be able to hurt him again. Nobody but Greymark, but that was a ways away. Her gut roiled as she raised her fists and signaled to start fighting again.
--
"Red sky at night, sailors' delight.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."