Page 29 of Daughter of the Dark

“Is there a reason you’re here besides picking up trays of food that don’t belong to you?” Solana walked over and placed the tray on her bedside table. She caught Reyes inspecting her made-up floor bed and stepped to block his view.

“Is the bed not good enough for you?”

“No,” she shot back. “Once again, is there a reason you’re here?”

“I’m waking you. We’re leaving—” He was interrupted by bells in the distance. One, two, three. “Right now.”

Solana growled and slammed the door in his face. She threw on a clean uniform, tugged her shoes over her pants, and grabbed a cold arepa from the tray. When she opened her door for a second time, she found Reyes still waiting, leaning against the opposite wall, hands in his pockets and legs crossed one over the other. He unfurled, slow and methodical, and reached out toward her head.

Instead of backing off when she ducked away, Reyes pressed further into her personal space and tugged at a strand of her hair. Pinched between two fingers was a singular white feather.

With a huff, Solana shoved the arepa in her mouth and gathered her hair into a loose braid. Reyes said nothing as he watched her, a small smirk tipping one corner of his mouth.

She popped the arepa out of her mouth and gestured with it toward the hall. “Well? Are we going or what?”

The man laughed and sauntered off, forcing Solana to follow with two steps to his every one. Damn him and his long legs, his smug face, his wasting her time and laughing about it. She would demand to have her own horse this time, just to avoid being so close to him whenever possible, or else the odds of her stabbing him would increase exponentially.

But when they stepped outside of the castle, they were greeted by the rest of the team on foot. “No horses?”

“She can see,” Suri murmured. Solana shot her a glare, but the woman was already walking away. Oskar and Nikolas turned to follow. Cora skipped to her side. Reyes trailed behind, and she swore she could feel his eyes like a blade in her back.

“Don’t worry about Suri. She doesn’t like anyone.”

“Except for you?”

Cora gave a quick laugh. “Except for me,” she said. “We’re staying in Sonqo tonight. A friend of the king’s had a death in the family and requested collection.”

Collection. It was clinical. Detached. But what bothered her more was that they were being forced to prioritize a request from someone who had the privilege of the king’s ear, rather than the people in Qhilli and even Iques. She wondered how the callejon was faring with the replacement the king sent. If they wondered where she was or asked Sami questions he couldn’t answer.

Oskar and Nikolas strode with confidence through the gates with Suri between them. Nikolas swung an arm over Suri’s shoulder, and Oskar handed her a small pouch. She took it and stowed it in a pocket of her cloak. Past the gates, the city was closing up for the evening.

A small girl watched them approach with wonder in her wide brown eyes. She waved at Solana with a smile. Solana started to wave back, but an older boy grabbed the girl’s hand and yanked her backward, out of the path and into the small side street between buildings. The boy held his arm out across her chest as their group walked by, specifically shooting Solana a heated glare.

Rude. Solana stuck out her tongue and tried not to laugh when the boy’s mouth popped open in shock.

The final bell before night rang, loudly echoing through the streets and prompting the children to rush inside, doors to slam, and birds to quiet. The world went from light to dark, alive to dead in the span of ten heartbeats, their footfalls the only sound left. Some things were the same.

With full dark came the click of claws. Solana’s side warmed, and she glanced over her shoulder to find Reyes watching her closely. He made no move to guide her, no effort to direct. Simply watched and waited. Solana thought of the snippets of conversation she’d heard and wondered what the king had ordered him to do.

Perhaps this was all a test. Slowly, Solana relaxed her coiled muscles and unclenched her jaw. Though the dagger was warm, it wasn’t exceedingly so, which meant there were muki nearby but not dangerously close. She could follow the others’ lead. Was perfectly capable of it.

A long, low whistle came from behind. Oskar and Nikolas split off to the right, Suri and Cora to the left, and Reyes stepped up to her side.

“There will be no casualties tonight,” he said, his whisper more a threat than a reassurance. “If you have an idea, or you find yourself in trouble, hold your ground and wait for me.”

Solana snorted. “Yes, sir,” she said.

Reyes’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing, only walked away without a look back and left Solana to follow.

They walked through the city for another hour, winding through streets and following the sounds of whistles from the other groups. Solana’s dagger stayed consistently warm but never hot enough to burn. She hated to admit that they were good at what they did, stalking their prey, corralling it to somewhere they could trap it with the least amount of damage. The muki finally panicked and crossed back the way it had gone, darting across the street Solana and Reyes were on, a blur of glossy shadows as it streaked by.

Reyes whistled twice and then took off with Solana at his heels, the hilt of her dagger blazing hot against her palm. She left it sheathed, just in case she felt the urge to sever anything.

Their boots pounded against the ground, the air thick in her lungs and clinging to her skin. Reyes was fast, but she was faster, filled with unspent energy. This was the part she enjoyed, that filled her with purpose. There was nothing quite as satisfying as knowing your target and closing in on it.

Reyes skidded around a sharp corner and came to an abrupt stop before Solana could do the same. His arm darted out to catch her around the middle, holding her back from diving face-first into the ground. She was about to yell at him for almost killing her until she felt the sharp sting of heat at her hip.

Solana whipped her head up, then froze. Straight ahead was a dead end where one house spanned the length of the street, its manicured greenery and neat balcony a picturesque sight if not for the muki that was attempting to climb the house’s facade.