Chapter 23: The Devil Rides at Dusk
The night air was brisk enough to remind you that the world outside the Velvet Cathedral’s sinful embrace was still very much real. Not that I minded the cold. It sharpened the senses and gave a delicious bite to every breath. We rode hard, the narrow trail snaking through shadow-drenched forests and jagged cliffs that seemed to lean in, as if the very rocks wanted to eavesdrop on our conspiracy.
Only Miko and Aurel accompanied me on this leg of the journey. Salem had his hands full keeping the Velvet Cathedral from burning down or being raided by ecclesiastical zealots, and Lysaria was buried in council politics. Besides, this was a mission best suited to my own brand of artistry and mischief.
I glanced sideways at my two companions, silhouetted in the moonlight. Miko’s emerald eyes glinted with unreadable amusement beneath that dark veil of clipped and curled hair, and Aurel’s dark raven mane rippled with every powerful stride, body slender and sinuous, curves melting into the saddle like silk on polished obsidian. Both were lethal, exquisite—and exactly the kind of reckless allies I needed tonight.
"You do know," I drawled, voice dripping with mock solemnity, "that riding through narrow mountain passes on horseback in the dead of night is the romantic equivalent of saying, ’Let’s make a big, blazing target for every bandit and assassin between here and the train.’"
Miko gave me a lazy smirk, shadowy form flickering faintly with an otherworldly shimmer. "Since when has that ever stopped us?"
Aurel merely grunted, the stoic warrior’s version of a grin. "Better to be a blazing target than a sitting duck."
I tapped the side of my boot against my horse’s flank. "Touché. But tonight we’re not just riding. We’re storming a train. And the target? Our pale-eyed ghost of doom. Whoever they may be."
Miko’s fingers brushed against the hilt of a hidden dagger. "So what’s the plan, oh divine harlequin?"
Ah, the plan. The pièce de résistance.
I let my lips curl with the kind of smile that could start wars or weddings, depending on the mood.
"Aurel," I said, turning my head slowly toward the raven-haired killer, "your assets are going to be our secret weapon tonight."