Lila sat forward in the chair, and Kell looked at her. He couldn’t help it.
“He found those men, and he used his sword to cut their throats. Every single one.”
“How?” asked Kell, and Lila flashed him a wicked smile, and rose to her feet again.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, walking past Kell, and the blade she’d left beside him. “He learned to use his other hand.”
VI
NOW
It was fully dark by the time the Barron had docked at Verose.
Stross and Vasry, who’d sobered a bit in the intervening hour, stumbled off the ship as if they were still drunk, and made their laughing way down the docks. They returned an hour later with a few more bottles of wine, and a count.
Nine.
That was the number of sailors aboard the Crow.
“You’re sure?” asked Lila. Vasry bobbed his head, and nearly lost his balance. Not so sober, then. She turned to Stross, who confirmed the tally.
“Nine,” he said, and she nodded, was already trying to decide how to dispatch them all, when Kell shot her a warning look. Lila sighed. Of course, he’d insist on keeping them alive.
“Nine were aboard the ship,” clarified Vasry. “But two set off for the cliffs.”
“And four left for the Red Robes,” added Stross. “I paid the hosts there to take their time.”
“That leaves three,” said Vasry.
“Yes,” said Lila dryly, “I can count.” She tapped her fingers on her sleeve as she played it out. Killing three men was easy enough. Not killing them was harder. Alucard’s orders weren’t to stop the ship, only to find out what it was carrying, which meant she needed time to search the hold. Stross would serve as watch, and diversion if need be. Tav was good for blunt force, and always game for a fight. And Kell, well, what was the point of sharpening a knife if you never let it cut?
“Vasry, Raya, you stay put,” she said.
“If you insist,” said Vasry, palming his wife’s waist. “This is meant to be a pleasure vessel. We’ll keep up appearances.”
“You keep wind in the sails,” she warned. “In case we need a quick break. And you,” she added, nodding at Raya. “Don’t let anyone touch my ship.”
She looked at Kell, then, who was tightening the holsters beneath his black coat. He met her gaze, and straightened, pulling the hood up until it hid his copper hair. Tav and Stross stood waiting, ready.
“Well then,” she said, spreading her arms. “Let’s go and say hello.”
* * *
Four people ambled down the Verose dock.
They looked like they’d come from a good time, and were on their way to find a better one. Lila smiled and tipped her head back, as if savoring the night. A few steps ahead, Tav laughed softly, as if Stross had just told a joke, though she didn’t think Stross had ever told a joke. Wasn’t sure he even knew one.
Beside her, Kell smelled like summer wine.
Before they’d left, she’d tipped the last of the ruined bottle into her palm and run it through his hair.
“At least it won’t be wasted,” she’d said, splashing him with the dregs.
Now his arm was slung around her shoulders and hers was wrapped around his waist, her narrow body tucked against him, and he half sang, half hummed a sea song into her hair.
“Who knew you were such an actor,” she said when he swayed, leaning his weight into hers. “Where did you learn this art?”
“You forget my brother’s reputation,” he said, lips brushing her temple. “I had plenty of time to study his form while I was dragging him home at dawn.”
“Always the keeper,” she mused with a sigh. “Never the kept.”
“Believe it or not,” he said, “I am capable of having a good time.”
She laughed, a buoyant sound that carried down the dock. “Capable, perhaps. Willing? Never.”
Their steps slowed as they neared the Crow.
Stross reached out to brace himself against the pale, wing-painted hull, as if he didn’t trust his legs to carry him on, simply needed a moment to rest. Tav slipped into the shadow along the ship and hauled himself up, dropping silently over the side onto the deck.
“We get in, we get out,” Kell reminded her. “We don’t cause a scene.”
Lila rolled her eyes. “Next you’ll say you want them unscathed.”
“Preferably, yes.”
She sighed. “So much for a good time.” As she said it, she pulled him into the shadow of the ship. Kell reached back to brace himself against the hull as Lila ran her hands down his front. Even in the dark, she could see him blush, before her fingers dipped into the pocket of his coat and drew out the small black shape. She leaned close enough to kiss him, and instead placed the mask on his face. It settled like a cool hand against his skin, and he smiled, a stranger’s smile, as Kell Maresh fell away like a coat.