The Cursed Deal ✓

Chapter 53

The only thing on her mind was maintaining authenticity. Faine yanked a knife from her boot and aimed for Kaspar's head when, in reality, she was looking to the stone wall behind it as her target. The blade sailed and hit the stone, yanking Kaspar away from Ametrine and he turned, fire raging in his eyes, and stopped in his pursuit to slash the throat of whoever had just attempted to take off his head when he realized who it was.

Faine slid in front of Ametrine, arms spread wide, and said, "Leave us be and you will face no trouble."

The two faces in front of her were as familiar as family, but that couldn't appear to be the case. She kept her features cold and indifferent to Kaspar, then Nalea, and they exchanged a look of confusion. That look meant only one thing. What the hell do we do now?

"These two are part of something," Ametrine informed. "I had almost figured it out when they cornered me."

Faine shushed her quickly. "I couldn't care less about what they're part of." She looked to Kaspar, to his handsome face, and watched him through lowered brows. "I'll strike you a deal. I'll pay whatever amount you wish if you let us go."

He looked from Faine to Ametrine, then back to Faine. They went into this wondering who the feliram was; they were suspicious of her as she was of them, and all hell had broken loose. Little did Ametrine know, three members of Rising Eternity surrounded her, but Kaspar and Nalea knew of who she was. It was the only situation that made sense; Silver Willow's involvement with a similar mission.

Kaspar blinked once, then twice. His face hardened, and he said, "Not before you tell us who you are. I caught her sneaking around, watching us. Either you tell us, or she dies." He pointed the tip of the dagger at Faine's nose.

"They're not worth it." Nalea placed her hand against Kaspar's arm casually and attempted to put on a show by pulling him away. "Give us everything in your pockets and we'll let you go. But don't show your face around here again; I'll slash your throat." Years of being a prostitute gave the elf more than one skill. Acting was second nature for Nalea, part of the reason every profession she was in came perfected and shined like Jatloxl's blade.

"You're not getting a coin of ours," Ametrine snapped. She bared her teeth and Nalea returned the gesture.

"Quiet, pretty face. I don't believe we're discussing anything with you."

The felirams cheeks heated, but she backed down when Faine squeezed her wrist. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch of coins, dropping it into Kaspar's open and extended palm. The coins slid around on the inside and he smiled at them both before flashing Faine a wink that meant one thing but came off as another.

Again, Nalea grabbed onto Kaspar's arm and tugged him back down the alleyway. They looked back at her more than once, whispering to themselves while Faine remained where she was, arms extended in front of Ametrine to block her from leaving, and to block anyone from coming too close.

When the alley was empty and the only sounds were coming from the constantly opened door of the restaurant, Faine ordered, "Stay here. I want to ensure they've departed."

"But, Faine—"

She pivoted towards the young feliram. "Stay."

Without another retort, she nodded and sought false security by wrapping her arms around herself. "I'll go back to the restaurant."

Faine didn't care. The only threat was poison, but Ametrine wasn't looking for that. And if she was smart, she wouldn't eat anything she didn't know the contents of. One of the first tasks of joining a crime guild was learning how to identify poisons and only eat at certain restaurants with clean reputations and knowledge of such guilds. Criminals themselves were the most trustworthy.