“We’ll see about that.” Hadrian led Rania right past the medusa hostess.
He felt everyone in the bar survey their progress, and heard the whispers of speculation. He was aware that he shimmered blue, on the cusp of change, ready to defend his mate.
“Trust a dragon to bring a Fae assassin into our midst,” muttered a heavy-set guy and there were nods from the group.
“Dragons always have to run the show,” agreed another.
“Dragons are unafraid to mix it up,” countered Theo. He was standing on the far side of the bar, with the rest of the Pyr in attendance. Hadrian headed toward them but Rania stopped beside the bar.
“I’ve got this,” she murmured to him and he felt a surge of pride. “Go to the Pyr.”
He looked into her eyes for a moment, wishing her all the luck in the world, then nodded and strode to sit with his fellow dragon shifters. They clapped him on the back, moving to include him but making sure they all had space to shift in case his mate needed their help.
Hadrian had a feeling she wouldn’t.
The bar was crowded with Others of all kinds. Hadrian couldn’t even identify all of them. He’d heard about Wynter Olson, the leader of the mates of the Alaskan wolf shifters and readily identified her both by her proximity to Arach and the golden glow of the firestorm between them. He wished his buddy luck with that. There were bear shifters, and he recognized Caleb, the alpha of the Manhattan wolf shifters, as well as a number of Others from the Circus of Wonders. Mel was at the bar with Murray, pulling beers and pouring shooters. He was aware of the red string on Mel’s wrist and the way Theo avidly watched her. Sylvia was sitting at the bar alone and kept glancing over her shoulder. Hadrian wondered whether she even knew that Sebastian had left town. There were noticeable absences, too, a hint of the damage Maeve had caused.
That had to count in Rania’s favor.
She turned in place, surveying the crowd and probably choosing her words. Conversation ceased gradually as she just stood there, an icy beauty with cool eyes.
When they were silent, she spoke.
“I’m Rania Hingston, the swan-maiden assassin cursed by the Dark Queen to do her will. I’ve come to suggest an alliance and to ask for some help.”
Murray pointed to the red cord on her wrist. “You’re still in her power. I don’t like you being here at all.”
Rania gestured to Mel. “She has a red cord, too.”
“Let her talk,” Mel said and Murray nodded with obvious reluctance.
Rania took a deep breath. “I have served the Dark Queen for over a thousand years. I was her assassin, but not by my own choice. I was my mother’s thirteenth child, although I was orphaned as an infant. My twelve older brothers were turned into swans against their will and flew away once our parents were dead. I knew nothing of this until I had grown up in Fae, reliant upon the Dark Queen herself. She might have been my mother. She acted as if she was. She offered me a wager one day: that if I assassinated thirteen victims for her, she would free my brothers from their curse and release me from her service. I didn’t know that she’d already turned my heart to ice, so I was unable to feel empathy or compassion. Still, my first attempted kill went badly and I nearly died myself. As a result, she gave me the ability to grant the kiss of death thirteen times and the ability to spontaneously manifest elsewhere. She made me a stealthy killer because that suited her purposes.”
There was a whisper in the ranks of the Others, and Hadrian knew they were aware of that weapon.
Rania continued. “I used twelve of those kisses, as many of you know, but the thirteenth didn’t proceed as planned. The Dark Queen demanded one of the Pyr, and I chose Hadrian, only to have a firestorm spark between us. That firestorm thawed the ice that had encased my heart, but it didn’t matter: I’d already given him that final kiss.”
“He’s not dead,” Caleb noted when Rania paused.
“Not nearly,” Hadrian said, standing up. That caused a number of agitated whispers.
“That was where the plan went wrong. Hadrian fought off the kiss of death, which meant I had to attack him instead. He’s not very easy to kill.” There was a reluctant chuckle at