“Did your father tell you anything about Lord Cassius?” she asked.
Ash nodded. “Most wanted man in the Republic. And the most dangerous. More sanctified kills on him than even the Revered Mother. Legend has it he ended his first man at ten. Killed the praetor of the Third Legion in full view of his whole army and got away clean. Murdered the tribune of Dawnspear along with his entire council in the middle of session, and nobody outside chambers heard a whisper.
“He’s been head of the Red Church for years, but like I say, he’s never in one place for long. The Luminatii have been looking to take us down for decades. It’s even worse since the Truedark Massacre. They suppose if they strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. So Lord Cassius is top of their list of Things to Do.” Ash took another bite and mumbled. “Finding this place is number two. ’S probably why your master never spoke much about it.”
“And the shadowwolf?”
“Da just told me to stay away from Eclipse.” Ashlinn shrugged. “I’ve heard tell darkin can steal the breath from your lungs. Slip through your shadow and kill you in your dreams. Maw only knows what the daemons who serve them can do.”
“Pfft,” Mia scoffed. “Daemons.”
“O, an expert are we?”
“Not an expert, no. But I know a thing or two.”
“O, really.”
“… meow …”
Ashlinn whirled in her seat and reached for the knife in the small of her back. Mister Kindly was sat on the railing, staring at her with tilted head.
“Say hello, Mister Kindly.”
“… hello, mister kindly …”
“Maw’s teeth …,” Ashlinn breathed.
“All’s well. He’s no daemon. Couldn’t hurt a fly. And I can’t steal the breath from anyone’s lungs, either. I mean, maybe if I didn’t bathe for a week or three …”2
Ashlinn crooked one eyebrow at Mia. Nodded slow.
“So. You are darkin.”
“… You knew?”
“Figured there was something off after that business with Solis. Didn’t see any shadows move, but it didn’t smell right.” Ash smiled at Mia’s narrowing stare. “You didn’t think I asked you to sneak out just because you seemed like good company, did you?”
Mia tore at her drumstick with her teeth, saying nothing. Ash sat down opposite again, slow and careful. Glanced at the shadowcat. The average citizen would probably try to nail her to a cross if they had an inkling of what she was. Mia wondered if the girl would be blinded by superstition or fear. The smile slowly growing on Ashlinn’s lips gathered all those thoughts, led them down a dark alley, and softly choked them.
“So, what’s it like?” the blonde asked. “Can you walk between the shadows? I heard you can sprout wings and breathe darkness and—”
Mia sent her shadow curling along the flagstones, twisting into a myriad of shapes, horrific, beautiful, abstract. She fixed it around Ashlinn’s feet, tugged gently at her boots.
“Black Mother, that’s amazing,” Ashlinn whispered. “What else can you do?”
“That’s about it.”
“… Really?”
“I can hide. Wrap the shadow around me like a cloak. Makes me hard to spot. But I’m almost blind when I do it. Can’t see more than a few feet in front of me.” Mia shrugged. “Nothing too impressive, I’m afraid.”
“Color me impressed regardless,” Ashlinn winked.
“Shahiid Solis and the Revered Mother don’t seem to share your enthusiasm.”
Ashlinn made a face, spat a sliver of cheese rind off her tongue. “Solis is a bastard. Just a mean-spirited, brutal shit.” The girl leaned closer, spoke in conspiratorial tones. “You know the meaning of his name, aye?”
Mia nodded. “It’s Ashkahi. Means the Last One.”
“And you’ve heard of the Philosopher’s Stone, aye? The prison in Godsgrave?”
Mia swallowed. Nodded slow.
Don’t look.
“… I grew up in Godsgrave.”
“So you know how overcrowded the Stone used to get, before it got gutted. Every few years, they’d thin the numbers. Consul Scaeva thought up the idea, back when he was just a pup in the Senate. Called it—”
“The Descent.”
Ashlinn nodded, talked around another mouthful of cheese. “Empty the place of all its guards. Tie a ladder to the highest tower and berth a rowboat at the bottom. Tell the prisoners that one of them will be allowed to row ashore and rejoin the world, no matter their crime. But only when every other inmate in the place is dead. Turns out about twelve years back, the good Shahiid of Songs was just another down-on-his-luck thief locked in the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“Solis,” Mia whispered. “The Last One …”
“That’s what they called him. Afterward.”
“How many did he …”
“Lots. And blind as a newborn pup, too.”
“Daughters,” Mia breathed. She could feel his blade shearing through her arm. The snapping muscle. The searing pain. “And I stuck my knife in his face …”
“Maybe he’ll respect you for it?”
Mia glanced at the sling around her wounded arm. “And maybe not.”
“Look on the bright side. At least they won’t make you attend Songs until your wing’s better. Maybe you can win him over with flowers or something in the meantime.”
“Drusilla told me Shahiid Aalea will tutor me until I heal.”
“Ooooh,” Ashlinn grinned. “Lucky you.”
“Why lucky? What does she teach?”
“You really don’t know?” Ashlinn laughed. “Maw’s teeth, you’re in for a treat.”
“You going to spill your guts or just crow all night?”
“She teaches the gentle arts. Persuasion. Seduction. Sex. That kind of thing.”
Mia almost choked on her mouthful. “… She teaches sex?”
“Well, not the basics. Presumably we all know that much. She teaches the art of it. Da said there are two kinds of men in this world. Those who’re in love with Aalea, and those who haven’t met her yet.” Ash raised one eyebrow. “Black Mother, you’re not a maid, are you?”
“No!” Mia scowled. “I just …”
“… Just what?”
Mia frowned, trying to cool the heat in her cheeks. “I just haven’t … had many.”
“What about Tric?”
“No!” Mia growled. “Daughters, no.”
“Why not? Strapping lad like him? I mean the tattoos are awful but the face beneath is fine enough.” Ashlinn nudged Mia’s elbow. “And they all look the same in the dark.”
Mia glanced at Mister Kindly. Down at her feet. Stuffed more chicken in her mouth.
“… How many have you had, Corvere?”
“Why?” Mia mumbled around her food. “How many have you had?”
“Four.” Ashlinn tapped her lip. “Wellll, four and a half. If we’re getting technical. But he was an idiot so I’m saying he doesn’t count. We all get a do-over.”
“One,” Mia finally admitted.
“Ah. Loved him, did you?”
“Didn’t even know him.”
“How was he?”
Mia made a face. Shrugged.
“Ah. One of those. And now you can’t understand what all the fuss is about, or why you’d ever want to do it again?”
Mia chewed her lip. Nodded.
“Shahiid Aalea will teach you. It gets better, Corvere. You’ll see.”
“Mph.” Mia slumped down on the table, chin on her knuckles.
Ash stood. Brushed the cheese crumbs off her lap.
“Come on, we’d best be off. We’ve got Pockets morrowmorn. If you’re lucky, you might even squeeze some time in with Aalea.”
Ashlinn started making kissing noises.
“Shut up,” Mia growled.
The kissing noises became interspersed with soft, throaty moans.
“Shut up.”
The girls stole off into the darkness, a cat who wasn’t a cat following silently.
When they were gone, a boy stepped from the shadows behind them. Pale skin. Black leather. Most would’ve called him handsome, though beautiful was probably a better word. He had high cheekbones and the most piercing blue eyes you’ve ever seen.
A boy named Hush.
He was holding a knife. Watching Mia and Ashlinn slip away into the dark, and running one slender fingertip over the razored edge.
And he was smiling.
CHAPTER 13
LESSON