2020, August 5th
(Imperium, Warlanda)
NATHAN
"Thank your delinquent best buds Flynn and Cam for the stats. From marksmanship to hotness rankings, they keep detailed records and rank everything about every member of the House of Assassins. The combined score is what gives us our rankings."
"But I'm not a member of the House of Assassins," Aiden deadpanned.
"Sure you're not, Prince of Assassins. Gray can probably tell you should be ranked higher too, at least for your shooting."
Aiden gave me a surprised look. I rolled my eyes.
"This is The House of Assassins, dude. Game recognizes game. There's even speculation about whether you should actually be ranked number one for marksmanship. People think you're holding back because you're too afraid of your not g-word to take her spot."
"I didn't even know I had a spot."
AIDEN
After an intense morning of rigorous training, Keira and I hopped in the shower together. My hands were on her while warm water ran down her naked, soaped up body. This made getting up for her crazy morning routine and tedious sword training completely worth it.
"So when do you think you'll tell me?" I asked, sweeping her wet hair to the side to lather soap onto her back.
"Tell you what?" she asked, closing her eyes and letting out a light moan.
"Why was Nathan here despite his super secret assignment? Clearly he came with a purpose, because he's already gone again."
She tensed up for a moment, before relaxing again and turning around to face me. That smile meant definitely not now.
"Fine." I took her hand off of my abs, spun her around and pushed her up against the tiled wall. "Don't tell me."
I covered her hands with mine, intertwined our fingers and pressed my body up against hers, slipping my hard on between her ass cheeks.
"No sexy time for Keira until you do though," I said into her ear, giving the bell a teasing little lick.
"If I don't get laid, neither do you. This is a two way street you know," she said, her voice laced with desire and irritation.
I dropped my mouth to the nape of her neck and kissed it.
"It certainly should be."
With that, I left her behind alone in the shower.
I dried off, got dressed and went out to mingle. After a significantly lengthy gossip session with Cam and Flynn about new arrivals, including a Next Gen I had yet to meet, I went looking for Keira. Leaving things unresolved between us irritated me way too much for me to leave it be any longer. I eventually found her and Grayson crossing swords with vigor once again.
Somehow it was different though. The courtyard was empty except for them and it looked more intense, more intimate. Was she that mad about how I left her behind? There was something else too. She was moving differently, mercilessly, even for a sword fight with Grayson. He wasn't holding back either. I didn't know the guy could move even faster with sword in hand than he already had been in their earlier fight. They looked hellbent on taking each other out.
I stood by, watching them for some time before deciding I had had enough and wanted my not g-word back. As I approached, I figured it out. The thing that was bothering me, besides Grayson taking up Keira's time. I looked down to her chest, then up into her eyes. No ring, no chain. Not her eyes. Not Keira.
"Katherine."
She smirked and took in Grayson's surprise, delighting in it.
"Sup Gray? You really do like her too much for your own good, don't you think? It's just too easy with you," said Kate.
Grayson brought his sword down in a powerful overhead arc, but Kate anticipated the move. Sliding inside his guard, she caught the strike on her blade, redirected the momentum, and countered in a seamless flow. A quick parry, then two sharp blows, each punctuated by the hilt for extra force and he was down for the count.
"That doesn't bode well," I said with a gulp, watching Grayson eat dirt.
"You should watch out for this one, Denny. Sorry I can't kill him for you as a dying gift or whatever. Madz would get sulky and, well, mad," said Kate, towering over a knocked out Grayson, her sword still in hand.
Okay. Creepy, scary, insane twin with the face of the woman I love is about to kill me. I so have this.
"I so do not have this, do I?"
"No. Give it your best shot though."
Shot. Right. Gun. I drew mine from the small of my back in one smooth motion.
I stepped back, took in her general location and squeezed off a round before darting for the house. Every few steps, I pivoted and fired another shot to keep her at a distance. Kate barely flinched. She cracked her neck like she had all the time in the world, then started after me, her gait deliberate, predatory.
I was counting bullets.
"You know, it really doesn't have to be this way. I genuinely think we could be friends."
I wasn't taking kill shots. Hell, I wasn't even really aiming to hit. She knew it too.
Kate laughed, low and chilling.
"I'm sorry. It's just, you're wasting your ammo trying to not kill the assassin who is trying to kill you? Is that right? Bummer. Keira said you were a hoot, that she's never seen someone so good with a gun. Better show, not tell if it's true. I just look like her, Ronnie. I will kill you."
Two rounds left.
I couldn't aim for the hand holding her sword. Making the shot wasn't the problem. Based on Keira's ensemble of weapons on her person, it wasn't wise to get rid of Kate's known weapon. For all I knew, she had a gun and God knows what else on her too. A blade in her hand was better than biting a bullet. She was fast. Too fast. I had to keep my distance, while creating the illusion that she still had a chance to slice and dice me.
Keira wouldn't exactly be thrilled if I put her sister down, but Kate had a point. I was running out of options.
We were back inside now. The hallways were eerily silent. The passed out assassins told me why. She dealt with them already.
Where the hell was everyone else?
If I didn't come up with something else fast, I'd have to put a bullet in her head before she ran me through.