SHADOWS OF RETRIBUTION

Asha crouched in the rafters of the grand chamber, her breath steady despite the tension coiling in her muscles. Below her, Lord Varik reclined on a lavish divan, surrounded by silk-clad courtesans and murmuring advisors. The flickering candlelight cast eerie shadows across his scarred face, a reminder of the countless atrocities he had committed.

Tonight, he would answer for them.

Asha's grip tightened around the hilt of her dagger, her heartbeat syncing with the rhythmic thrum of the music drifting through the air. The poison she had slipped into his wine would take effect soon—just enough to slow him down, to make him vulnerable. She didn't want his death to be easy.

A whisper of movement behind her sent a jolt of awareness through her spine. She spun, dagger flashing in the dim light, but a hand caught her wrist before she could strike.

"Kiran?" she hissed.

The young thief smirked, his dark eyes gleaming with amusement. "Miss me?"

Asha yanked her hand free. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your reckless hide, apparently." He glanced down at Varik. "You weren't planning on facing him alone, were you?"

Asha narrowed her eyes. "This is my mission."

"And what happens when his guards realize an assassin is in their midst?" Kiran's voice was quiet, but firm. "You need an escape plan."

Asha exhaled sharply. He was right—she had been so focused on the kill that she hadn't considered her exit. She hated that Kiran always seemed to know when she was in over her head.

"Fine," she conceded. "But stay out of my way."

Kiran grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Below, Lord Varik let out a low groan, his fingers twitching around his goblet. His advisors exchanged uneasy glances.

"It's starting," Asha murmured.

She moved like a shadow, slipping down from the rafters and landing soundlessly behind a heavy velvet curtain. Kiran followed, his movements equally silent.

Varik's breathing had grown labored. He pushed himself upright, blinking blearily at his surroundings. "Something's… wrong."

His head snapped toward his advisors, suspicion darkening his features. "Who—" His words slurred. He tried to stand, but his legs buckled.

Asha stepped from the shadows, her dagger gleaming in the candlelight. "Your sins have caught up to you, Varik."

The room erupted into chaos.

Guards surged forward, but Kiran was already moving. He flung a handful of smoke pellets to the ground, filling the chamber with a thick, choking fog. Asha took advantage of the confusion, lunging toward Varik.

The warlord barely had time to draw his sword before Asha was upon him. Their blades clashed, the force of the impact sending jolts up her arms. He was strong, even in his weakened state, but Asha was faster.

She dodged his wild swing, slipping past his guard and driving her dagger deep into his side.

Varik bellowed in pain, staggering backward. Blood seeped through his tunic, but he wasn't done fighting. With a roar, he lunged at her, swinging his sword in a desperate arc.

Asha barely avoided the strike. She rolled beneath his next attack, coming up behind him and driving her blade into the base of his skull.

Varik stiffened. His sword slipped from his fingers. He collapsed to his knees, then crumpled to the floor.

Silence fell.

Asha stepped back, her chest rising and falling in rapid breaths. It was done.

Then—

A shout.

The guards had recovered.

Kiran grabbed her wrist. "Time to go."

They sprinted toward the balcony, but the doors were already barricaded. More guards poured into the room, cutting off their escape.

Asha's mind raced. They were trapped.

Unless—

She turned to Kiran. "Do you trust me?"

His brows furrowed. "Not when you ask me that."

"Too bad."

She grabbed him and leapt.

The window shattered as they crashed through it, shards of glass slicing through the air. They plunged into the darkness, the cold night wind rushing past them—

And then they hit the water.

The icy river swallowed them whole.

Asha fought against the current, breaking the surface with a gasp. Kiran surfaced beside her, sputtering. "You are insane."

Asha grinned. "But we're alive."

He muttered a curse, but his lips curled into a smirk.

Sirens wailed in the distance. The city was waking up. They had to move.

Asha glanced at the palace, now just a shadow against the night sky. Lord Varik was dead, but her mission was far from over.

The real enemy still waited in the dark.

And she would find them.

No matter what it took.