The Balcony

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Zierra laughed as I continued to drag her down a maze of hallways, grabbing a small tray of drinks with my other hand as we passed by a server.

"Patience princess," I teased, "we're almost there."

I paused in front of a large glass door and tapped it a few times to signal this was our destination. I opened it to reveal a balcony. It wasn't exceedingly large, in fact it was probably the smallest one on the mansion, but it was beautifully lit with small lanterns and decorated with beautiful flowers. Vine's weaved themselves along the railing that, when looked over, granted a gorgeous view of Lyca. Zierra ran to the overlook, hoisting herself a bit by her arms on the railing, and glanced across the lights of the city with a bright smile.

"This is where you go to get away at these parties?"

I chuckled set the drinks on a nearby table before sitting on the railing with one leg dangling over the edge. "Technically I only started coming here last year. Soren has been inviting us for about three years now and the first year this place was still being built."

"You said you helped him build it right?"

I nodded and took a long swig of my drink. "Soren used to live lower in the city a few years ago. We did research on all the nobles we could in town when we first started taking contracts and Soren came back with the cleanest record, of course it was around this time that we started making a name for ourselves in town and he thought we would just kill him for being a noble. He invited us to meet with him and it was like he was on trial the way he started defending himself. Lyon let him continue on like that for almost an hour and it was so hard not to laugh but eventually I put an end to it and told him that we had no interest in killing someone who was actually working to better the city. We sort of became friends after that, not that Soren would have given us much of a choice. He kept inviting us out to see him for lunch or tea or whatever he could think of. Then he told us that he wanted to move," I tapped the railing a few times. "There was already a mansion on this hill but it was old, abandoned, and falling apart. So he wanted to rebuild it. The base and front of the mansion is from the original building but he wanted to add to it so he could have a place to hold all his parties he enjoyed throwing. We helped him build it since he needed the extra hands. Now he invites us to this thing every year in hopes that it will keep him in our good graces and we won't kill him."

"So you don't hate all nobles," she moved closer to poke my leg and grinned over her own beverage. Things were silent for a moment while we took in the sights of the city then she spoke again, quieter this time. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For not killing Malcolm. I know you're an assassin and I know he asked you to but he cooperated with us and our original plan was to just have him arrested and he's really young so killing him would have been a waste and-"

I quickly covered her mouth and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. "You're rambling, Zierra, it's fine. I didn't want to kill the kid to begin with. He has talent but it's going to take some time for him to unlearn his way of doing things and learn ours. Honestly I don't enjoy killing people I'm just good at it."

"A killer who doesn't like to kill," she teased. "And you wonder why people say you're the assassin with a heart."

I grumbled into my drink as my face grew hot at her small compliment. "I just don't see why some assassins think they have to be heartless killing machines. And I don't just do assassin work, thank you, I also do mercenary jobs too. Escorting caravans, clearing monsters, or glorified bodyguard duty like this one. Really, for an assassin, I don't kill as much as people assume I do, I just want to keep Lyca safe."

"Why Lyca?" I gave her a confused look. "I mean, you know why I came here but you said you and Lyon built the Den six years ago. That tells me that you used to live somewhere else. So why move to Lyca?"

"Because it was far away from where I came from. Besides," I motioned out to the view, "Lyca may not be the biggest or the safest city but it is incredibly beautiful at night."

"So you came here for the view?"

"I came here to escape and I stayed for the people who needed me, but," I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes while she stared out at the city and couldn't help but smile, "the view is breathtaking."

Her eyes found mine before I could look away and they softened as she nodded. "That it is."

It was then that I noticed we had drifted closer, only a few inches separated us and when she faced me I could feel her breath on my face. This is dangerous. I warned myself as I continued to lean closer to her. You need to back away before you do something you can't take back. I paused when our foreheads touched and battled my inner self's warnings. I wanted this, I wanted to kiss her, but I knew that once I did I would be confirming the growing feelings I had for her. And she doesn't even know what I am. What if she finds out and can't stand me?

"Sapphyre."

And that was it. She spoke my name as barely a whisper and I closed what little distance was left between our lips and I kissed her.