Azriel

My heart pounded as I yelled into the phone, but Maeve never replied.

What was happening?

As I panicked in my office, a knock came at my door.

"Who is it?" I asked, raking my hand through my hair.

"It's Kalon, sir."

I sighed. "Come in."

Slowly, she creaked the door open.

"What did you need, Kalon?"

She looked vulnerable, rare for her, as she replied: "Where is Maeve? I'm just kind of worried about her."

I looked away, pondering whether I should just tell her.

"Azriel, please. I ask as a worried best friend."

"She went on a mission. A pretty dangerous one. But I'm not sure where she's at, and she isn't replying to transmissions. She's not showing up on the radar."

Kalon let out a soft gasp, gripping the chair handles. "What are you going to do? Are you sending out a search team?"

I looked at her, slowly shaking my head. "You can look for her, if you wish," I offered.

"Where would I even start?"

I shrugged. "She was last at the castle. But I doubt she's still there."

Determination filled her expression. "Still, I have to look. I'll bring her back."

I clenched my jaw as Kalon started to leave. "Check the lowest tier, Kalon." Call it a hunch.

She nodded as she left. A moment later, my phone rang. I answered:

"Hello, who am I speaking to?"

"It's your boss. I'm checking on the progress."

I cleared my throat, unsure of what to do. "I've... lost track of her."

"What do you mean?! You lost her?!"

"She's not replying to transmissions, and she isn't on the radar."

"What about Elyas? He's still on the radar, right? She's likely with him."

"What makes you think that?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

"They were together. They made contact."

I checked the radar and sighed heavily. "He's not on the radar anymore either."

"Fantastic. Find them, Azriel! I don't care what it takes, but you better find them."

***

Elyas

She took me to a small convenience store. It was quaint, but not super well kept. The shelves were stocked haphazardly, and the floor was littered with trash. I followed her to the small clothing section. She grabbed a couple men's t-shirts and sweatpants.

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"Do you have cash on you?" she asked as we headed towards the registers.

"Yeah."

"Good. That way they can't track our purchases," she said in a lower tone.

I paid for the clothes, and she asked for the bathroom key.

"Come with me," she said, leading me to the bathroom. She handed me the key, gesturing her head to the bathroom. "Change. You're being tracked. It's likely the bug is on your clothes."

I furrowed my brows, uncomfortable with the implications. I changed, then skimmed over my clothes. As I looked, I glanced down at my shoes. Slowly, I slid them off, looking at the bottom. In the arch of the shoe was a tiny chip.

I threw it in the toilet, flushing it. I slid my shoes back on, leaving the bathroom.

She eyed me with concerned curiosity. "Did you find it?" she asked.

I nodded. "Bottom of my shoe."

"Okay," she said, before going in the bathroom herself.

As I waited, the full realization of what had happened fell on me as the shock wore off. All in one night, I had attended a gala, danced with a stranger, kissed her, found out she was an assassin sent to kill me, told there was a group of assassins after me, escaped through the sky and even been told the likely murderer of my best friend.

My thoughts stalled on the last part. She was certain it wasn't her, but that it WAS a Mariposa. Was she close to whoever killed him? Just how many Mariposa were there, and how often were they around? Maeve was the same woman I met at Veralis?

It explained why the woman had seemed so familiar. But... that woman didn't have...

Maeve came out, the blonde hair now gone. Instead, I discovered she had a curly pixie cut, with her head being shaved under it. Just like the girl's at Veralis.

"So, it was a wig?"

She smiled, but it was slightly forced. "Disappointed?"

I couldn't say I was, as I looked at her.

I also wasn't going to admit that though. My feelings on her had never been so conflicted. The woman had threatened my life twice tonight, after lying by telling me she wasn't dangerous. And I had wholeheartedly believed her. I looked away, catching the eye of some blonde. A real blonde.

The girl did a double take, her eyes widening. She started towards us at an alarming speed.

"Maeve," I said, not taking my eyes off the blonde.

Maeve looked in the direction of what had me panicking. "Oh shit..." she muttered softly.

She grabbed my hand, taking off running with me. The blonde ran behind us, quickly gaining on us.

"Hang on!" Maeve yelled.

I groaned but did so, grabbing her waist. She tore off, flying through the doors. I glanced behind me to see the blonde hot on our heels. Maeve flew in dizzying patterns, zigzagging and taking tons of sharp turns. After a ten-minute chase, I started to relax. I glanced behind us, but our pursuant was nowhere to be seen.

"I think we lost her!" I yelled to Maeve.

Before Maeve could even reply, a net fell over us, holding us tightly in place. I looked around as much as I could but saw nothing.

"Up," Maeve said, a defeated expression on her face.

I looked up. Hovering above us was the blonde.

"What the hell is going on here?" the blonde demanded to know.

"Let me go, and I'll tell you," Maeve said.

The blonde scoffed, lowering until she was on the ground. "I grew up with you. I know you better than that. You'll just take off again."

I furrowed my brows, then looked at her wings. Monarch butterflies. Just like Maeve's.

"You're a Mariposa," I said out loud.

Maeve sighed loudly as the blonde tilted her head.

"Did you tell this man about us?!"

"This man is the royal prince, Kalon."

Her eyes widened and she looked at me with bewilderment. "What are you doing with the prince?! Here, of all places?!"

"He was my target, Kalon! And I'm not going to kill him!"

Kalon, as Maeve called her, shifted her weight, her eyes hardening. "Why the hell not?"

I grimaced. So much violence.

"Because he's a good guy, Kalon. I'm tired of killing good people. Just trust me on this. I'm doing the right thing. Let. Us. Go."

Kalon stared at us for a long moment, debate conquering her features. "Maeve... I really hope you know what you're doing."

Maeve looked in my eyes, less than an inch away from me in the net. She searched my eyes, assessing me. "So do I," she finally said quietly.

"I'll let you go. But Azriel's looking for you. It's only a matter of time before he sends a search party. If he hasn't already. You need to at least report back. Tell him the prince got away or something."

Maeve closed her eyes, defeat in her expression once more. "Alright, I'll go."

Kalon pressed a button on her wrist gun and the net came flying off us, back into the gun. Maeve and I stepped away from one another, stretching out our limbs.

"I need to drop him off before we go," Maeve paused, looking at me. "You'll have to stay put without me. Think you'll be okay? I'll try not to be too long."

I nodded, though my mind said everything but.

Kalon narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you just let me stay back with him? Azriel wasn't expecting me back for a while."

She shot Kalon a glare. "I don't trust you not to leave him somewhere. Or hell, not to even kill him yourself."

Kalon grinned wryly, shrugging. "Fair enough."

Why does this woman hate me so much?

Maeve and Kalon flew me back to the tent, then took off together into the skies. I watched Maeve go, hoping she'd be alright. I told myself it was for my sake.