The cool air nipped at my face as William handed me the grappling hook. “This is ridiculous,” I whispered harshly, but still accepted the braided rope from his outstretched, scarred hand. The moonlight bathed the coarse, stone walls in a cool blue hue, and I swallowed hard when I saw the black hole William expected me to infiltrate.

“Come on, Cat. We need the money, and you’re our best climber,” William insisted. His caramel eyes glinted mischievously beneath the twinkling stars, and the smirk on his face made me want to hit him. “Plus, you know these rich fools won’t miss it.”

I grunted and pinched the bridge of my nose. He was right, though I would never tell him that. “Just do a better job being my lookout this time, will you?”

“Of course, my lady,” he said with a bow. I used the opportunity to knee him in the chest, which he only seemed amused by, his quiet laughter filled my ears. “Good luck, Cat,” he whispered earnestly once his laughter stopped.

I nodded and tossed the hook up with practiced skill, smiling as the metal clanked against the stone windowsill. Then, I wrapped the slightly frayed yet strong rope around my hand, found my footing against the rough wall, and began my ascent. Onyx’s shadow passed over my hands as I continued my climb, and she kept her watchful, black eyes on me while she flew overhead.

“I’ll be fine, girl. Just a normal evening.” I reassured my raven even though I wished it wasn't true. I’d love for anything else to be a normal evening. While I love my family, my assassins, and the mission for which we stood; I despised the necessary evils that came with this life—the thievery, the vagabond waywardness, even the killing. I despised the killing most of all, ironically.

When my fingertips moved from the rope to the cool stone, I grit my teeth and hoisted myself up, giving William a thumbs up the moment I slid into the dark room. I sucked a sharp breath into my lungs and ran my hands down the front of my black leather top, feeling the harness that held my daggers while my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The familiar shing of a blade leaving its sheath sounded just behind me, and before I could move away, I felt its sharp, deadly point against my back. “Do you make a habit of crawling into men’s windows in the dead of night, thief?” My victim’s deep voice resonated through my chest.

“Only those foolish enough to leave me such easy access,” I retorted, dropping to the ground and quickly pulling out my own sword to defend myself from the stranger's blade as it came down on me. Silver eyes, black hair, and a sharp jawline dominated my view, barely illuminated by the soft candle the strange man had set down on the small table near the window.

I grunted as he pushed his blade farther down. My arms were shaking, my own sword a mere moment away from being forced out of my hand. I forced both our blades up just enough to spin to the side, letting out the breath I had been holding as the handsome stranger’s blade stuck itself into the wooden flooring. Wooden chunks flew as I leaped over the bed. By the time the stranger managed to free his sword, I was just out of his reach. “You’re fast, I’ll give you that,” he said amusedly. I swallowed hard as a playful, roguish grin appeared on his strong face and I wondered why such an odd feeling of familiarity washed over me.

“Pity for you, really,” I replied, keeping my blade fixed on him as he did the same to me and forcing the bizarre feeling away. “Especially since only one of us will be leaving this room alive.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Have you come to kill me, assassin?”

“No, I’ve merely come to steal from you, but now you’re in my way.”

“So sorry to have inconvenienced you,” the stranger mused, bowing slightly while maintaining his fixed gaze. “Truly, I have more money than I could spend anyway, feel free to take it.”

“Oh, I intend to,” I replied, slipping a dagger out of my harness and flinging it toward him in an effort to buy me more time. But he was far too fast! He smacked my dagger out of the air with ease and lunged at me, flying over the bed and knocking me to the ground. I gasped as his cold blade lay against my neck but forced myself to look into his eyes as he killed me.

His lips parted. His stern, silver eyes filled with shock. “Mouse?” He asked.

My brows furrowed, but I used his moment of confusion to kick him in the abdomen as hard as I possibly could. He grunted and fell back with much less resistance than I had expected. “What did you just call me?” My voice shook. It couldn’t be. Surely, I misheard him.

“Mouse? Is that really you?” He dropped his sword to the ground and stood again to face me.

I stopped breathing as flashes of distant memories filled my vision—my parents murdered, me chained to the floor of a dirty cell while shackles tore into my flesh, and a small boy who insisted on calling me mouse because I ate just as much as the rats in the cellar. “No,” I whispered gruffly, grabbing the bag of coins from the table and hoping it was enough. “You’re mistaken.”

He caught my arm as I rushed to the window and forced me to look at him. “I’d know those eyes anywhere, Mouse. You can’t fool me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I insisted, grimacing as my voice cracked. I turned my face to the open window and whistled loudly. Onyx soared into the room and clawed his hand, forcing him to release me. I jumped out of the window as Onyx followed, and the man held his bleeding hand, watching me with an unmistakable longing that nearly caused my heart to shatter.

As my body fell through the air, I forced myself back into the mission and smiled when I heard William gasp over the rushing wind. At least he was paying attention and would catch me, so I wouldn’t break my ankle tonight.

“Geez, Cat,” William huffed as I landed in his arms. “You need to lay off Agnes's sweet rolls.”

“Shut it, and run,” I insisted, elbowing his chest to get out of his grip and making a break for the woods where we’d hidden our horses.

When I knew I was safely hidden under the thick shade of trees, I cast a glance back toward the house. He was staring directly at me, as though the thick underbrush hid nothing from his view. His taut face made my heart ache, and those silver eyes reminded me of the young boy who risked his life for me all those years ago. “Goodbye, Theo,” I whispered as a tear escaped my eyes. “May we never meet again.”

When William reached me, he was holding his side and panting and, thankfully, was too preoccupied to see my distraught face. “How are you so fast?”

“Must be all the sweet rolls,” I retorted playfully as I hopped into Charis’s saddle and called Onyx to my shoulder. I dug the heel of my boot into my steed’s side and bolted off, racing away from a past that threatened to haunt me.