No sun ever came. Not when the dark night finally evaporated. Dull, sombre clouds consumed the skyline at the city’s horizon. The city block was coated in a grey sheen of mist. They had found the roof of an apartment to reconvene a short distance away from Lucius Church. He cast his gaze over the streets below. People were cautiously emerging from their homes, taking tentative steps, and eyeing for danger like stags in the woods.
Nearly half of his mask was missing. That would be another hundred Denarii from his weak pockets to rent out a forgery in order to fix it. He estimated he could keep up with his rent for another two months if he rationed enough. It mattered not. Rosamund was safe, and so was the city… for the time being. He took a moment to appreciate the calm after the storm. There was a silence. A sweet one. He had become so accustomed to the sounds of screams and fighting. All he could hear at this moment were the birds singing their yearning songs.
Hideo felt an icy breeze caress the bare, unmasked quarter of his face. He gazed back from the sapphire side of his mask to see Amaya and the Queen of Thieves standing in front of him. They made no sounds, no audible breaths. They were ghosts in the wind.
“Why did your little Archer insist on me coming here?” the Thief Queen asked with her casual cadence of scorn. “I held my end of the deal. We’re even.”
Without a word, he unsheathed the Night Fang dagger from his belt. The luminous blue markings on the curved blade flashed like stars in the night. He chucked the blade down and it landed by the Thief Queen’s boots.
The Queen of Thieves stared down at the blade and then flicked her incredulous gaze back to him. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Take it,” Hideo said through his shattered mask. “You and your King spent enough time chasing me for the bloody thing.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The Thief Queen stared at him through her domino mask. Her cloak rippled in the morning wind as she reached down to pick the glowing weapon up.”
“Go ahead,” he insisted curtly. “Make a pretty penny.”
The Queen of Thieves twirled the azure handle with her gloved fingers. The fire in those emerald eyes withered and for the first time, Hideo noticed that the stoic Thief Queen was impressed by something. She looked at the ancient artefact in wonder. She swiftly tucked the dagger away under her cloak and wiped the joy from her face. “Won’t you need this for more of your secret assassinations?”
“I’m done with death,” he said resolutely.
“Does that mean you’ll stop being a thorn in my side?”
He shrugged. “That depends on you.”
The Queen of Thieves gave him a studying frown. Her cloak twirled in the wind as she turned and walked away. When the Thief Queen disappeared over the rooftops, Amaya waltzed closer to Hideo with her enigmatic smirk. The bruises on her face were already beginning to heal. Not the scars, though, and since her time here, they somehow appeared thicker and harsher.
“You’re not planning on returning to Darkfall, I take it?” she asked.
He shook his head. “New Jade would be better off with someone protecting it.”
“The Empress won’t be impressed with you.”
“Tough shit.”
She chuckled mischievously, using her sapphire bow to balance herself. Hideo was not surprised. He himself could still feel waves of pain through his ribs and back. Perhaps he had internal bleeding. He would need to see a physician post-haste. “Where will you go now?” he asked her.
Amaya chuckled again. “Somewhere I truly belong.”
“What?”
The statement confused Hideo so much that he did not notice the Archer reaching down to his belt and grasping one of his azure sandbags. She threw it to the ground and blue dust exploded into Hideo’s eyes. He winced and coughed violently. When the blue dust cloud dispersed, Amaya was nowhere to be seen.
He was alone. He had spent so long being accustomed to it, yet for the first time, it did not bother him. He cast his gaze over the city streets. More people emerged from their homes and taverns. Some went to check their horses at the nearby stables, others fell to their knees and broke down in tears to see their family members and friends alive. The clouds released their downpour and rainfall ricocheted against Hideo’s suit. The horned silver tiger on his chest shined.
As he leapt over the buildings, Titan Tiger had never felt so alive.