Paragon

⊰❉⊱ 47 ⊰❉⊱

"Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves."

– Leonora Carrington

The light entering the room was starting to turn in hues of purple and blue. Dawn had arrived and Quinn slept soundly. Her chest rose and fell gently. I had only taken a few hours of sleep for myself–the rest of my mind was on her. 

The hardest part was leaving. 

I let a silent breath leave me before I moved her arm with careful efficiency. How was it that she always managed to find the most intricate ways of tangling her limbs around me in the night? I had even witnessed it this time... That restless energy she had until she found my side and released a breath before shaping herself around me.

Once her arms and legs were safely on her side of the bed and her warmth along with it, I felt much colder. But it wasn't a pleasant cold. It was one that ached to lie back down in that bed and surround myself in her.

I sat on the edge of it and half turned to her.

I had promised I would find her before I set out on Paragon's task tonight. I had not promised to ruin her sleep before then. I smirked, already knowing how I would make it up to her. 

I moved like a shadow in the night. Gathering my discarded clothes quickly and outfitting myself in the darkness. Then I palmed my phone and requested the removal of my grand piano from my flat in Hyde Park from the moving team. The time still read 5:30 a.m.

That should arrive by lunch time. A nice little addition to her living room... A very good make. A very beautiful sound.

I texted a private car company–not expecting either of my drivers to be up on such short notice. They were still human after all. I slid my phone back into my pocket. Quinn's form was steadily breathing just as she had all night. 

If you came back to me every time... I don't think I'd care. She had meant it when she said it, but how long would that remain true? Immortals had all the time in the world. All the problems to fix in history.

But Quinn didn't.

My phone lit in my pocket and I pulled it out and scanned the screen.

"Waiting outside, Ms Fletcher."

I lowered the phone and shook myself out of the thought paralysis. I turned my back on the one person I wanted the rest of my day–my everything with. Her door clicked shut behind me and I moved more quickly. I needed that police database. I needed my target's prison ID numbers, their cells and a clean entry point. I had less than 24 hours to get this done and yet I hardly needed it. 

I was nothing if not good at what I was.

I left that house that was growing more familiar by the day. Each step heavier. But I had to shut away this side of myself. I was to become something darker once more. Something efficient and effective. An undying executioner for an elite and ancient group. One that made no mistakes and did not hesitate.

My foot hit the bottom step and a new driver was holding the door open to me as I strode into the dark leather interior. The drive to my underground parking was quick. Quinn lived thankfully close. I thanked the driver briskly and paced to the lift. By the time the doors opened to me my security system was alert. I typed in the codes quickly and the room welcomed me in the familiar dim lighting.

I flicked on classical music as I walked and drew a chrome packet out of the fridge. I took a seat at my desk and spun to meet three screens. Passwords. Credentials. A brief backdoor to surpass old logins for the police network–too easy to linger on. I took a careful sip of the rich crimson life.