dress to keep her in place.
Tony frowned. “Awful lot, you got there.”
“Got lucky.” Marcus said. “Dying old wizard just gifted it to me.”
“That mean you selling?”
“Not today.” Marcus said. “Got big plans for this stuff, you see. More than you could afford.”
Tony licked his lips. Aprestine could almost see the cogs turning in his head. The amount of magic that hung from Marcus’s side was more than most catchers could collect in a year, and it would fetch a sizeable sum on the black market. Pathetic lords and ladies would pay ridiculous amounts for even the smallest slice of magic. It would only last a few days, but during that time they could pretend they were powerful, smiting down their enemies or entertaining their friends with silly parlour tricks. The whole thing was distasteful, in Aprestine’s opinion.
Tony wanted the magic. But Tony was half Marcus’s size, and he didn’t have anyone by his side, the way Marcus did. Tony looked at Aprestine, and her lips curled upwards, daring him to try and take her on. Even if he did think she was a commoner that Marcus had picked up in a brothel, it was still two against one, and it was a fight he couldn’t win. His shoulders sank as he accepted defeat, but his dark eyes still glinted with animosity. Aprestine swallowed.
“Alright then.” Tony said, nodding at Marcus. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back into the night, whistling carelessly. He seemed to be walking slowly on purpose, and Aprestine’s eyes narrowed as she watched him saunter out of the passage. When he was finally out of sight, she sighed in relief before shoving Marcus away.
“Where on earth did you get all that?” She asked, gesturing towards the lantern. “You’re not one of them now, are you?”
Marcus was a hired assassin when she’d met him. He worked for the catcher’s every now and then, but only when it was someone they didn’t think they could take on their own. He could have been a catcher in his own right, but he’d always said the profession didn’t sit quite right with him. Aprestine had warmed to him immediately, which was a mistake. She’d told him she was magical herself, thinking she could trust him to keep her secret safe, and he’d immediately gone and asked the catchers whether he should kill her.
“No.” Marcus replied. “Had to kill four of them to get all this.”
“And what do you plan on doing with it, now you have it?”
Marcus paused. “I’ve got myself in a pickle.”
“You’re always in a pickle of some sort.” Aprestine said. “Why have you come looking for me to get you out of it?”
“Because you’re the only one who can help.” Marcus said. “I stole all of this for you, Aprestine. Help me out and it’s yours.” He tapped his finger over the side of the lantern.
Aprestine’s heart skipped a beat. The magic in his lantern was practically humming, just waiting to be released. She imagined it swarming towards her, filling her veins. Used carefully, it could last her years. Buy her a little time. Maybe enough time to get the jewel…
Aprestine released a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding and looked away. “I don’t believe magic should be a tradable commodity.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t want it.” Marcus said. “C’mon Steeny. I can see that look in your eyes. You want it. I can give it to you.”
Quick as a flash, Aprestine yanked her dagger from its sheath and pushed him against the wall, holding the knife over his neck.
“Or, I can slit your throat right now and take it myself.” Aprestine said. “I don’t owe you anything.”
Marcus’s eyes flickered with fear. He knew what she was capable of. The day he’d met her, she had been standing over five dead bodies. Five people who had tried to get in her way.
“If you kill me now, you’ll never get hold of that jewel. I know things you don’t.”
Aprestine pressed the blade closer to his throat. “You’ve promised me the jewel before.”
“I didn’t have the magic you needed before, did I? But now it’s here, right in front of you. You can have it all, I swear.”
Aprestine backed away, just a little.
“What is it you want from me, Marcus?”
Marcus waited a beat before answering. “I want you to help me kill a dragon.”
TWO
Aprestine snorted with mirth. She was so surprised that she lowered the dagger without thinking, interested in what had happened to make him start spouting this nonsense.
“There’s no dragons in these parts anymore. Everyone knows that.”
“Everyone but you.”
Aprestine paused. Avoiding his gaze, she whispered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Knowing he’d piqued her interest, Marcus took a step forward. “I know you let it live, Aprestine. I know you didn’t kill the last one.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
Marcus tapped the side of his nose. “You should be more careful where you have your most private discussions. Someone was eavesdropping when you were rubbing it in to George, wrote it all down in a diary that I happened to stumble across-”
“I wasn’t rubbing it in.” Aprestine interrupted. “I was just…”
“Gloating?”
“George was taking all the credit for himself. King George the dragon slayer, he was going round calling himself.” Aprestine said, frowning at the memory. He’d betrayed her, not long after that conversation, and she’d had to go on the run again. “I thought if I left one alive it might break free and show him up to be the liar he was. But when that never happened, I assumed the thing had died, without its mother to look after it…”
“Well, it lived.” Marcus said. “And now it’s stolen something of mine.”
“What?”
“Not what. Who.” Marcus said. “My sister.”
“Ah.” Aprestine said. “I see. And I’m supposed to risk my life for her, am I? Dragon’s aren’t easy things to kill.”
“Lucky I’ve found an expert then, isn’t it?”
Aprestine broke their eye contact first, thinking. She ran her tongue over her lips as she considered her options. She wanted the jewel. She needed to get to Ezeth, get inside the castle and speak to the king, try and convince him that letting it go would be the best thing for everyone. But to do that, she’d need to get past Princess Edrea, and she wouldn’t be able to defend herself if something went wrong without any magic of her own. She desperately needed what Marcus had stolen. The information he claimed to have.
But how could she trust him, after the last time?
“Aprestine?” Marcus said, placing a hand under her chin and tilting her head towards his, forcing her to look at him. “She’s my sister. I have to get her back. I have to. Please.”
“You don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“Dragons only need to feed once a month. We…we might still have time.”
“Depends how greedy the dragon is,” Aprestine muttered. She pushed his hand away from her face and gestured towards the lantern. “I’ll want all of that first. As a deposit.”
“How do I know you won’t run away the second I give it to you?”
“You don’t.”
Marcus exhaled.
“Before I give this to you, you should know something.” He said. “I never intended to break our deal. I was going to find you the magic you needed. But the catchers sensed I was travelling with a witch. They took my sister, threatened to kill her if I didn’t give you up. I told them where you were living and they handed her over to the dragon anyway. If it makes you feel any better, I killed every last one of them. Apart from Tony, who you just met.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. Aprestine got the impression that Tony wouldn’t be long for this world if Marcus had anything to do with it.
“How do I know you’re not lying to make me feel sorry for you?”
“You don’t.”
Aprestine s
mirked as he threw her words back at her. She weighed her options again. It had been a long while since she’d had an adventure. Even longer since she’d had a friend. Someone she could count on. Marcus was many things, but she’d never known him to be a liar. Mind made up, she said, “Well, you’re just lucky I escaped them, aren’t you?”
“You don’t know how glad I was when I found out.”
“Right. Because who else is going to help you go dragon-hunting?”
“No.” Marcus said, reaching out to touch her arm before thinking better of it, running it through his hair instead. “I was just glad you were alive.”
She held his gaze a moment longer than she felt she should, before reaching out to unhook the lantern from his belt. She brought it up to her face so she was eye level with the specks of magic inside. What had happened to the people this magic belonged to?
She tried to push down the feeling of guilt. The magic was already lost to its rightful owners, so why shouldn’t she take it? She’d had enough taken from her, after all. Closing her eyes, she opened the latch of the lantern and whispered, “Accipio magicis meis.”
She felt the magic swarm towards her, the rush of air as the power sank through her skin and began to swim through her blood. It had been awhile since she had accepted magic this way – as much as she wanted to, she tried to avoid using the powers of others; it felt so ordinary, so mundane in comparison to what her own felt like – but she was so weak now that the new energy left her feeling revitalised and ready to take on the world.
Ready to take on Ezeth.
She contemplated leaving Marcus