Clockwork Thief Box Set

by Katherine Bogle

  Narra kept silent. He didn’t want to hear anything she had to say, and she tried to understand that.

  “My son was all I had. He was everything to me. I wanted to be there for him… to be a good father.” Tears welled in Asher’s eyes, only pulling on the strings of guilt further. “I wanted him to get better, but now he’ll never have that chance. He’ll never have the opportunity to redeem himself. He’s just dead .”

  Narra’s heart raced as tears spilled down his handsome face. Her eyebrows furrowed, and it took everything in her to stay rooted to the spot. She didn’t want to provoke him, but part of her still wanted to comfort him, to tell him she was sorry, and that she was sure his son loved him.

  But she stayed put because the rest of her knew Ezriel deserved to die. The rest of her knew what she’d done was right. She couldn’t lie to Asher. She couldn’t tell him that his son was redeemable when he wasn’t. Nothing she said would help his grief, because she’d either have to lie or tell the truth, and both would break him.

  So she stayed still, watching Asher cry, and feeling her heart crack in two.

  “Why , Rheka? Why did you have to kill my boy?” He lurched forward a step, coming around the side of the bed. Narra surprised herself by staying still. She didn’t try to run from what she’d done, only conceal why she’d done it for his sake. “Answer me! ”

  Narra looked away. She couldn’t take the look in his eyes any longer, the one that branded her a murderer. She knew what she’d done and what she continued to do for the sake of her thieves. She’d killed before, but never had it been easier than when she’d ended Ezriel’s life.

  Asher lunged forward and grabbed her shoulders, throwing her up against the wall of the hospital room .

  Her breath whooshed from her lungs in a surprised gasp, and she looked back up to meet his gaze. His teeth were bared, a snarl on his lips, but his eyebrows furrowed as if questioning himself and what he was doing. He gripped her biceps firmly, his fingers digging into her almost painfully.

  “Please, just tell me,” he said, his voice hushed.

  Narra couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe with him so close. Their faces were inches apart, and his breath was hot like fire between them. Her pulse raced, pounding loudly in her ears.

  “He deserved to die,” she said, breathless. She hadn’t meant to say it, but the words tumbled from her lips all the same.

  Asher stiffened. “What in Srah’s name is that supposed to mean?”

  Narra gulped as his grip tightened. “He killed my initiates.” Her voice darkened at the memory.

  Blood splashed across her mind’s eye, soaking the floor and walls of the Rupan vault inside the casino. Ezriel had stood there, sword in hand, blood covering him, and he’d laughed . He’d laughed at their pain. Laughed at their anguished moans as he sliced through them. He deserved the death of a thousand cuts. He deserved worse .

  “What?” Asher’s forehead wrinkled with confusion.

  “He killed the Guild initiates that were my responsibility,” she clarified. “Thirteen. Thirteen children .”

  Asher stepped back, stunned as if she’d slapped him. His eyes flew wide and he released her arms. “That can’t be true.”

  “I saw it with my own damn eyes,” Narra growled. Fire kindled inside her, burning through the rage always so close to the surface. “They were my responsibility. They were my initiates. Some were no more than sixteen. They were kids, and he laughed as he slaughtered them!”

  Asher reeled back, turning away from her, hand over his mouth as if he might vomit. “You’re lying.”

  Narra came toward him, circling until she could face him again. “I’m not lying, Asher. I know how much you loved him, but he was a fucking monster. He killed my initiates, just like he killed all of the others. ”

  Ezriel’s confession flickered through her mind. It hadn’t simply been soldiers Ezriel killed, but maids, vagrants, and servants too.

  “He’d never harm a child,” Asher argued, but his voice was small. He didn’t quite believe it himself.

  “You can tell yourself that all you want, but you know it’s a lie,” Narra said. “He killed those kids, and he deserved what he got. He deserved worse.”

  Asher grabbed her again, pushing her against the wall. His eyes screamed murder, and from the scalpel at her throat, she wouldn’t be surprised if he chose to end her right then and there. His hands trembled, and his knuckles went white around the knife. His chest pressed against hers, pinning her against the smooth surface. The sharp poke of the blade made her raise her chin to escape it, but it only pressed harder.

  Narra clenched her fists. Her mind raced far too fast to come up with a plan. She didn’t want to die. Not here, not now. But did Asher have it in him to kill her? She inspected his dark gaze, which flashed with a thousand indecipherable emotions.

  Even given the treacherous situation, a smile pricked her lips. She shouldn’t find this funny, she really shouldn’t. Asher might very well kill her yet, but somehow she found it comedic. Narra had killed his son for being a murderer, yet she herself had killed a dozen men in only two days. Though they weren’t exactly children, they were still moderately innocent, at least in the way every soldier might be.

  Was she a hypocrite to expect mercy from him? Yet, Asher didn’t know of her crimes, did he? He’d been sequestered in this hospital for days. There was no way he knew his knife was so close to ending the tyranny of a murderer.

  “Tell me you’re lying.” Asher hissed out a breath. His teeth were clenched so hard she heard his jaw creak.

  Narra’s heart slammed against her ribs. She should lie and tell him what he wanted to hear, but she’d never lied to General Asher Grayson, and she wasn’t about to start.

  “I can’t,” she said.

  Asher’s eyes welled with tears, and he pressed the scalpel harder against her exposed neck. Narra gasped involuntarily as pain speared her throat and hot blood trickled down her skin.

  The door burst open suddenly, and they both froze as Avalon appeared, her eyes wide and hair wild.

  She stilled the moment she stepped through, glancing between them both as she assessed the situation.

  Narra’s chest warmed at the sight of the pirate woman. Thank Srah, someone was there to help.

  “Grayson,” Avalon said tentatively. She held a hand out and raised her eyebrows, trying to reason with him. She took a step forward as the door clicked shut behind her. “Put the scalpel down.”

  Asher didn’t move, and neither did Narra.

  “I get why you’re upset,” Avalon continued, her voice soft and smooth as if trying to calm a wild animal. “I know what it’s like to lose a child.”

  Narra’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t realized Avalon had a child, or at least used to. Her gaze trailed over the pirate momentarily. Avalon had to be around thirty years old, so it made sense she could have been married, or had children. She was certainly old enough by Rovan standards.

  “You do?” Asher’s eyebrows furrowed and his grip slackened just a little.

  “I do,” Avalon said. She smiled ruefully and took another step forward. Asher didn’t seem to notice. “I lost my daughter a few years ago. She was my life, my world.”

  Asher nodded, his wide jaw clenched once again.

  “So believe me when I tell you, killing Rheka won’t make you feel any better,” Avalon continued. Her dark eyes were filled with sadness, and her face twisted in pain. Narra’s heart clenched at the sight of this beautiful woman who’d clearly been through a lot more than Narra had ever realized.

  “How do you know this?” Asher asked suspiciously.

  Avalon sighed. “Because I killed the man who murdered my daughter, and it didn’t bring her back. It didn’t make her any less gone .” Her voice broke, and it was like a spear stabbed Narra through the chest.

  She couldn’t understand what either of them were feeling. Narra had never had a child and never planned to, but the hurt on both of their
faces was overwhelming.

  The pain at her throat disappeared suddenly, and the clatter of metal filled the silence left by Avalon’s words.

  Asher fell to his knees, a sob hitching in his throat. Tears spilled down his face, as he buried his head in his hands.

  Narra knew she should step away from Asher—escape while she could—but every inch of her wanted to stay and comfort the father of the man she’d killed. Her chest tightened, and she parted her lips to speak. She nearly reached out her hand to rest on his shoulder, until she saw Avalon shake her head out of the corner of her eye.

  She knew it wasn’t a good idea to stay. Asher had just tried to kill her, or almost tried. Narra hadn’t exactly been sure if he would or not. Either way, Asher wasn’t in a good place right now, and she was the reason he was hurting. Her staying wouldn’t do him any good.

  Narra bit her lip and forced her feet into action, stepping away from the crying man and following Avalon towards the door.

  The pirate woman gave her a long look before she turned and opened the door. She stepped into the quiet hall, and Narra collected her weapons before she paused in the doorway, glancing over her shoulder.

  She hesitated, still wanting to do or say something. But what could she say to comfort someone who’d just lost their child? She looked away, unable to push down the overwhelming guilt rising inside her.

  “I’m sorry,” Narra whispered, and then she left.

  W ith a heavy heart, Narra returned to the alley behind the hospital. Avalon slipped out the back entrance first, and Narra gently closed the door against the brick propping it open. She descended the few steps to the floor and glanced back and forth in search of Caroline.

  Avalon raced to one end of the alley, and then the other, peering down both ends.

  “She’s gone!” the pirate cried. Her eyes widened as she turned back to Narra.

  “What?” Narra’s pulse raced as she inspected both alleys as well. Nothing. Caroline was nowhere to be found. “Would she just leave? Head back to the Docks?”

  Avalon shook her head. “No. This is her first time in Rova City. She’d have no idea where she was going.”

  Damn . Frustration sent hot embers whirling through her chest. It was always something.

  Narra joined Avalon at the far end of the alley. “Stay here. I’ll go ahead and look for her.”

  Avalon flashed her a panicked look. Narra knew what that look meant. Avalon thought Narra was going to abandon her after they’d just rescued her sister. They were certainly even after Avalon saved her from Asher’s knife. Narra didn’t need to go after Caroline, but she couldn’t just leave Avalon alone in the alley without at least helping her search for Caroline.

  “I’ll be back.” Narra tried to assure the pirate with a meaningful look. “I will return.”

  The pirate captain bit her lip, her eyebrows furrowed, and nodded quickly. “All right. Please hurry.”

  Narra nodded. She understood the urgency of the situation. If Caroline didn’t go off on her own, she had to have been abducted, and Srah only knew what kind of person had grabbed a teenager off the street.

  Yanking her grappling hook from her belt, Narra took a few steps away from the pirate before shooting her hook up at the roof of the student building. She held on tight as she hit the release and was pulled into the air.

  Her boots tapped against the wall as she leapt up, sailing just over the lip of the roof before landing.

  She took a deep breath, and scanned the streets below. Out in front of the hospital, a steamwagon had pulled up to the curb. Two men in religious robes dragged Caroline under the armpits and shoved her inside the back seat before slipping in behind her.

  Shit.

  Narra’s heart raced as she shot her grappling hook at the chimney of the roof across the street. This wasn’t good. The religious zealots had been camped out front for days, and Avalon and Narra had just delivered their prophet right to them.

  She ground her teeth and cursed herself. If Avalon hadn’t come back for her, or if Narra had just taken her chance and fled, Caroline would still be safe.

  Narra leapt from the edge of the building and hit the release on her grappling hook. She shot through the air, landing on the building steeple before she shot off again. She followed the steamwagon through the curving streets as best she could, her breathing quick and heavy as she leapt again and again .

  Only after several long minutes did she realize where the steamwagon was headed.

  The palace.

  Narra’s eyebrows furrowed as she followed, keeping the same breakneck pace. If they were headed to the palace, that could mean a million things. Maybe they wanted to turn Caroline in for some sort of reward. Or maybe Marina was playing with fire and involving herself with the Church of Srah. Their numbers seemed to be growing as of late, and taking a side with the Church could give her even more power of Rova City.

  She landed on the flat roof of a shop across the square from the palace. The steamwagon lurched to a stop in front of the main gates, and the man in the front seat rolled his window down. He exchanged quick words with the soldier stationed on the left side of the enormous iron gates before the soldier stepped aside and motioned to his fellow guard.

  From across the street, she had no idea what was said, but then the door cracked open, and the steamwagon went through.

  What is happening ?

  Narra crouched by the lip of the roof, but from her angle downhill, she couldn’t see beyond the wall. Damn. She’d have to get up onto the palace wall to find out what was going on, but with soldiers circling every few minutes, she’d have two minutes maximum to stay and observe.

  She growled her frustration and her fist clenched against her thigh. She really had to stop involving herself in the matters of others. It made her care far too much about people she had no business caring about. But Avalon’s stricken face was enough to urge her from the roof of the shop, across the square, and up onto another building she could vault from.

  Hidden by the clay steeple of a small bookshop, Narra watched the wall guards circle once, then twice before she took her moment and flew from the rooftop, right up beside a stone gargoyle perched on the edge of the thick outer wall of the palace.

  Beyond, the courtyard expanded for nearly forty feet. A pristine cobblestone path led the way to the castle steps, curving into a circle around a large fountain before joining with the original path again.

  Narra held her breath and pressed into the shadows of the gargoyle as the doors to the palace creaked open at the same time Caroline was yanked from the back of the steamwagon. Narra glanced desperately between the steamwagon and the four soldiers that streamed out of the doorway. She’d never be able to fly in and grab Caroline like this. Not to mention there was nothing to vault to at this distance. The cord of her grappling hook was long, but not that long. Even if she could, she’d be down for one hell of a fight, one she wasn’t sure she could win.

  Clenching her fists, Narra watched as a woman slipped from the palace entrance.

  Her velvet gown was a deep shade of red, darker than the amulet at her breast. It hugged her curves, and flattered the dark olive tone of her skin.

  Marina flicked her silky brown waves over her shoulder as she descended the two-dozen steps to meet Caroline and the religious zealots at the bottom of the stairs. Her full lips twitched into a smile, and she reached out to embrace Avalon’s sister.

  Caroline yanked back. Her wrists were tied, and she glared at the princess.

  Marina hesitated, her smile faltering. Then her tinkle of a laugh drifted across the courtyard with the breeze, reaching Narra’s hiding spot on the castle wall. Her chest constricted and her fingernails dug into her palms.

  It had been nearly three days since she’d last laid eyes on the princess, but a fire lit in her stomach every time she pictured Marina’s perfect face. Marina had lied to her. She’d used Narra, and then she’d stolen her thieves from her the moment the opportunity presented its
elf.

  After all Narra had done for this foolish woman, her heart still tightened at the sight of her. But beyond the confusion of her attraction for Marina, her rage burned hot, urging her to end it all now.

  Even from nearly forty feet away, she could land a dagger with precision. All it’d take was a simple flick of her wrist, and Marina would be dead.

  But leaving the empire without a clear line of succession could prove even worse than having Marina as the next empress. The empire would erupt into civil war as everyone with even an ounce of royal blood tried to claim the throne. It’d mean another Century of Blood, and even though Narra desperately wanted her thieves back, ending the empire wouldn’t do them any good.

  Plus, her thieves would still remain under lock and key for the next emperor to do with as they pleased.

  Narra bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to let out a groan of frustration. Her two minutes were up, and as if on cue, footsteps sounded on the wall.

  She had to go, and she had to go now .

  Taking one last look at the woman who ruined her life, Narra watched Marina disappear inside, pulling Caroline alongside her. Then, Narra leapt from the wall and took off into the night.

  Returning to the hospital alley, Narra landed with a soft thump a few feet from Avalon. Her stomach churned with unease. She didn’t want to deliver the bad news, and had certainly taken her time returning.

  Avalon stopped her pacing the moment Narra landed. Her eyes went wide, and she raced over to the thief’s side, a question in her eyes as well as on her lips.

  Narra met her gaze, and briefly shook her head.

  That’s all it took for Avalon’s hopeful expression to collapse into despair. She buried her face in her hands, muffling a scream.

  Narra worked her jaw. She knew the feeling. Everything in the last few weeks had been beyond frustrating, and now this. Just as Avalon had gotten her sister back, she’d been taken away. It wasn’t fair, and they both knew it.

  Once Avalon got herself together, she lowered her hands, her fists clenching. Thunder cracked overhead, and Narra glanced at the sky in time to catch a bolt of lighting zing through the clouds.