Mae

If Ben gave Mae another glare, she was sure she’d punch him in that pretty little face of his. It wasn’t her fault that he’d blurted out her name in front of their target! As they sat inside their guest quarters, he kept his narrowed, blue eyes trained on her.

It had been days, for gods sake. Wouldn’t he just get over it already?

“Mae, this is getting too dangerous,” he growled. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees as he stared at her. Lucky for him, there was a small coffee table separating them. Not that she was opposed to jumping over a table to strangle him, though.

“Everything we do is dangerous, Ben.” She ground out his name, adding as much venom to her voice as she could muster. “Are you scared of getting caught?”

His eyes widened and his cheeks went a few shades warmer. “Absolutely not!” He leaned back into his seat and crossed his arms, staring out the window instead. She relaxed a fraction when he wasn’t glaring at her anymore. “And they have already found us out.”

She laughed, pushing herself out of her spot on the ornate sofa and walking across the room toward one of the large cabinets that had their clothes. “No, we haven’t. She still doesn’t know the entire truth, and if someone is more careful with their tongue, she won’t know the entire truth,” she muttered.

Ben chuckled. “I’m not sure you can be careful with your tongue.”

Without sparing a moment to think, she reached into the cabinet and grabbed one of the pointiest shoes she could find and tossed it straight at him. He quickly ducked, putting his hands over his face as the shoe’s heel lodged itself into the sofa fabric beside his head.

He smirked. “Maybe I deserved that.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You absolutely deserved that, asshole.” She sighed and pulled out a tight dress and stepped behind one of the folding walls and changed into it. “It’s been days, I’m not staying holed up in this room any longer. The festivities are already starting up again, and I will not miss it. Besides, if we want to keep our cover, we need to feed Robin some information too.”

As she pulled the dress over her head and the bottom flowed near her knees, she groaned as Ben peeked his head around the edge of the wall. “You’re a headache, you know that?” She shoved him to the side as she carried a pair of shoes back to the sofa and started strapping them on.

“We wouldn’t have to feed her information if we just finished the job, Mae. We could be out of here, as far as possible, with cash at hand,” he said seriously. “Wouldn’t that be nice? Maybe we could take a trip down to the coast, Tigeris is supposed to be pleasant this time of year — I’m sure Jameson wouldn’t mind if we took a little break.”

Jameson would most definitely mind if they decided to take a break from their work. He wasn’t one to reward them with special things. He’d pay them and then give them their next assignment. Besides that, she wasn’t particularly wanting to kill Robin yet, and Ben knew that.

“There’s something more going on here, and I want to figure out what. I can’t do that if we’re out of the court,” she said. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back into the seat. “Now can I?”

“Screw the court. They don’t care about us. They don’t care about unblessed. You’ve seen how many have already died since we’ve been here. You saw the arena — someone else is here trying to stir shit, too. I don’t want to stick around for it.”

“Then don’t!” She said exasperated. “But why is someone else here trying to start things? And you know who cares about the unblessed? Robin does. She’s the one they went to when one of their own were killed. She hasn’t treated the unblessed visitors any differently either. Doesn’t that mean anything? Maybe we could make a proper move against the king if we have her on our side.”

Ben groaned and ran a hand over his face, burying his eyes in his palm. “So now you’re wanting to save the princess and go after the king? Are you insane?”

She smiled as she stood up and rolled her shoulders back. She walked toward the mirror, giving a small twirl as she looked at herself. Opening one of the drawers, she pulled out a few daggers and strapped them to her legs and waist, hiding them easily under all the fabric. “Yes, I think that’s exactly what I want to do.” She grew serious as she stared at him. “You heard what she said. This festival is a front for something bigger. But what else could be bigger than the war the king is already waging? Bigger than people dying in his own court? What if when we kill her, we can’t get out of Azure at all?”

“I’m not saying I’m going to help you with this little idea of yours,” he said. “But maybe we can find some more things out. Maybe warn the rest of the Wolves. We need to be careful, though. We’re unblessed and they’re coming after us, too.”

Nodding, she shoved another dagger into a hilt on a belt around her leg. “I know. And that’s why I want to stop it. I’m tired of Jameson and everyone else telling me what I need to be doing. Aren’t you? We could do something bigger.”

He walked over to her, and as she turned around he pulled the zipper up on the back of her dress. “And where are you going tonight?”

She smiled. “There’s a dance scheduled tonight. There’s sure to be alcohol, too, and it might be the best opportunity to get some gossip.”

“And see Robin,” he murmured.

She pivoted and gave him a little shove. “Stop with that nonsense. I’m just doing a job.”

He rose a brow. “Staring at her the way you do is doing your job?”

Rolling her eyes, she tossed a large strand of curled, strawberry blond hair over her shoulder. “No one said we couldn’t have a bit of fun when we’re on our jobs, Ben. Maybe you’d benefit from not being so uptight all the time. Maybe you should be the one finding someone to enjoy having some fun with.”

“Not all of us have the mental capacity to be distracting ourselves while we work. This isn’t meant to be fun,” he groaned as he walked over to his side of the cabinet and pulled out a suit jacket with a tailcoat. It was dark blue, with small stars embroidered along the seams. He gagged as he pulled the jacket over his shirt. “Is this supposed to be fun?”

She smiled as he walked toward her, and she helped him tuck a kerchief into his front pocket. “Perhaps not for you, but I’m sure anyone would find you looking quite handsome in this outfit. Find a nice lady to dance with, and maybe you’ll have your bit of fun after all.”

“That’s not what I was asking…” He grumbled.

She gave him a small pat on his cheek as she scolded him. “None of that, Ben. We’re doing this my way now, you hear? Jameson and none of the other Wolves are here to tell us otherwise. So we get through this job how we want to.” She narrowed her eyes. “Understood?”

“I never agreed to you being in charge,” he said. She rose a brow as he made his way toward the door and pushed it open. He held his elbow out toward her. “But I suppose I can oblige your psychotic tendencies for one night.”

She smiled widely as she placed her hand on his arm and let him lead her out of the room. “Good, because tonight you might just see what fun is all about.”

And maybe tonight she’d start to get some actual answers.