Todd—I made introductions and left her to the demanding task of taming Aecor’s high nobility.
My rooms were quiet when I returned from a long dinner with the Goldberg family, only the faint hum of gas greeting me as I turned on the lights. I was alone.
A knot in my chest eased. I had to trust James and Ferris, and whoever they assigned to guard my apartments at night. Someone different this time, I hoped.
The clock in my sitting room struck twenty-two. Outside, the sky was dark and wind battered the balcony door with its near-winter chill.
As I pushed aside the curtains, an envelope slipped to thefloor. A W shone gold against the black paper.
My heart thundered as I took the letter to my room and pulled the flap free. The letter itself was regular white paper with black ink, but the packaging was so very . . . Black Knife.
Wil,
After your quick exit yesterday morning, I found the letter you left in my room. I decided to reply in kind, and leave it in a place you’re sure to find it. My next delivery won’t be so obvious.
Regarding my first letter to you: I’m glad you understand. I knew you would. With or without your kingdom, you are a queen; you understand what it means to take risks and make sacrifices for the good of your people.
I also wanted to say: thank you for the risks you took for me. You don’t even like me—Tobiah me—but I know what you did during the shooting and after. (James told me.) Everything about our relationship is complicated right now, you suddenly the lost princess of Aecor, and me . . . you know. After the way I treated you, in all regards, I didn’t deserve anything you did for me.
Wilhelmina, while going after Patrick might have been the more logical choice, you had no reason to believe he would elude the Indigo Order so quickly. Had our positions been reversed, I’d have done the same as you.
In complete understanding,
Tobiah
I reread the letter a few times before I wrote a response, changed clothes, and went out the balcony door.
Chill night pressed around me as I weighed my options. Go down and around and back up, a sure way to get caught, or go over.
Over it was.
Senses straining to hear any sound beyond the groaning wind, I tossed my grappling hook and climbed the wall. At the top, I threw an ankle over the roof and rolled up and onto the slate tiles.
With my line and hook secure at my hip, I belly crawled up to the peak, using chimneys to give me boosts and resting places so I could listen for patrols.
The other side of the roof was more dangerous, with bits of glass sticking up from between the tiles like traps. Moonlight caught the larger shards, but others were hidden. I took care as I crept down, my feet first. The sword on my back limited my movement, but I could compensate.
I sidled along the edge of the roof until I sat above the balcony I wanted. There were no guards stationed there; the thud of boots was far off. Wind blew in cold and sharp. I pushed off the roof.
I landed in a crouch, gloved fingertips brushing the stone. Hardly a sound.
There was no trace of blood on the balcony; some poor maid had already scrubbed and rinsed the stone. Nevertheless, the place where Tobiah had fallen drew my eyes and held me captive. We’d almost lost him.
The balcony door was locked, but the mechanism was easy to pick. It took only half a minute to open the door and slip through the curtains that caught the breeze. Quietly, I latched the door behind me.
Something spun me and slammed me against the glass. A flash of gold hovered above, and a blur before me resolved into an ashen face.
Tobiah’s palm pressed against my breastbone, and he had his antique spyglass raised like a weapon. His eyes were wide, a little wild, until he recognized my mask, and we both glanced down to find my daggers out of their sheathes, pointed at his stomach.
The blades dropped to the rug with soft thumps. I hadn’t even realized I’d drawn them.
He heaved a breath and tossed the
My rooms were quiet when I returned from a long dinner with the Goldberg family, only the faint hum of gas greeting me as I turned on the lights. I was alone.
A knot in my chest eased. I had to trust James and Ferris, and whoever they assigned to guard my apartments at night. Someone different this time, I hoped.
The clock in my sitting room struck twenty-two. Outside, the sky was dark and wind battered the balcony door with its near-winter chill.
As I pushed aside the curtains, an envelope slipped to thefloor. A W shone gold against the black paper.
My heart thundered as I took the letter to my room and pulled the flap free. The letter itself was regular white paper with black ink, but the packaging was so very . . . Black Knife.
Wil,
After your quick exit yesterday morning, I found the letter you left in my room. I decided to reply in kind, and leave it in a place you’re sure to find it. My next delivery won’t be so obvious.
Regarding my first letter to you: I’m glad you understand. I knew you would. With or without your kingdom, you are a queen; you understand what it means to take risks and make sacrifices for the good of your people.
I also wanted to say: thank you for the risks you took for me. You don’t even like me—Tobiah me—but I know what you did during the shooting and after. (James told me.) Everything about our relationship is complicated right now, you suddenly the lost princess of Aecor, and me . . . you know. After the way I treated you, in all regards, I didn’t deserve anything you did for me.
Wilhelmina, while going after Patrick might have been the more logical choice, you had no reason to believe he would elude the Indigo Order so quickly. Had our positions been reversed, I’d have done the same as you.
In complete understanding,
Tobiah
I reread the letter a few times before I wrote a response, changed clothes, and went out the balcony door.
Chill night pressed around me as I weighed my options. Go down and around and back up, a sure way to get caught, or go over.
Over it was.
Senses straining to hear any sound beyond the groaning wind, I tossed my grappling hook and climbed the wall. At the top, I threw an ankle over the roof and rolled up and onto the slate tiles.
With my line and hook secure at my hip, I belly crawled up to the peak, using chimneys to give me boosts and resting places so I could listen for patrols.
The other side of the roof was more dangerous, with bits of glass sticking up from between the tiles like traps. Moonlight caught the larger shards, but others were hidden. I took care as I crept down, my feet first. The sword on my back limited my movement, but I could compensate.
I sidled along the edge of the roof until I sat above the balcony I wanted. There were no guards stationed there; the thud of boots was far off. Wind blew in cold and sharp. I pushed off the roof.
I landed in a crouch, gloved fingertips brushing the stone. Hardly a sound.
There was no trace of blood on the balcony; some poor maid had already scrubbed and rinsed the stone. Nevertheless, the place where Tobiah had fallen drew my eyes and held me captive. We’d almost lost him.
The balcony door was locked, but the mechanism was easy to pick. It took only half a minute to open the door and slip through the curtains that caught the breeze. Quietly, I latched the door behind me.
Something spun me and slammed me against the glass. A flash of gold hovered above, and a blur before me resolved into an ashen face.
Tobiah’s palm pressed against my breastbone, and he had his antique spyglass raised like a weapon. His eyes were wide, a little wild, until he recognized my mask, and we both glanced down to find my daggers out of their sheathes, pointed at his stomach.
The blades dropped to the rug with soft thumps. I hadn’t even realized I’d drawn them.
He heaved a breath and tossed the
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