Chapter 18
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Death demanded payment for seizing a captive so boldly before him.
The attacker’s severed skull tumbled into the alley’s gloom.
Rina began swiveling toward the strange noise beyond her view, but Edwin restrained her motion.
“Keep facing forward.”
His alert sparked her realization, so she eased upright while clamping her lids with desperate force, veins bulging around them.
Amusement bubbled within Edwin as he shuffled closer with intentional clamor to avoid alarming her.
Drawing her into his embrace, he positioned himself to conceal the remains entirely.
“Safe to peek.”
Those sealed eyes remained stubbornly shut.
“Everything’s clear.”
He prodded her lightly a few times, questioning if eternal darkness suited her plans, before violet depths finally met his own.
Tears welled in those purple pools, her body quivering as lingering fear gripped her.
“Timid one, what sparked that bold rush moments ago?”
Playfully chiding, he fished a cloth from his pocket and passed it over.
She pressed it gently against the dampness edging her lashes.
“You gestured for action as you pulled his attention.”
Puzzled, Edwin probed further.
She faltered, sliding the fabric across to her other eye.
“A wink came from you.”
Embarrassment colored her words.
“It signaled this wasn’t simple distraction.”
Hand to brow in wry delight, Edwin marveled at the blunder.
“Shock belongs to me here.”
Teasing laced more than half his words.
Beneath the humor, true anger evaded him.
“No way would I burden Ms. Diaz—a total beginner without practice blade experience—with that move.”
Patience unusually guided his clarification.
“Stay put next time until extraction.”
Future safeguards drew his unyielding tone.
“Luck smiled on you alone.”
Split-second misalignment might have left her lifeless amid the filth.
Skill alone couldn’t guarantee precedence over a knife’s thrust.
Any follower, unskilled or otherwise, would face his blistering wrath for such folly.
Leniency toward her felt oddly foreign.
“Gratitude for the save, Sir Rojas.”
Compliance marked her nod.
Edwin deflected from those piercing violets.
Lecture winding down, she steered conversation elsewhere with care.
“This cloth gets cleaned and returned.”
Before dismissal could form, deft hands folded and pocketed it neatly.
Eyes tracked those precise motions as he acknowledged.
Attention soon snagged elsewhere.
Something nagged persistently, a faint irritant humming nearby.
“Ms. Diaz, lids down, hand forward.”
Prior lesson heeded, Edwin anchored her proximity while nearing sprawled foes.
Injury hadn’t quelled their earlier surge of false courage during the grab.
Chaos had slipped their flight; now feigned oblivion cloaked them.
Her security verified, his blade rose high.
Robbery paled against kill bids in consequence.
Swift ends awaited every one.
Murderous pallor stirred them; bodies scrambled upright into frantic bows.
“Great one unseen by us!”
“Mercy for our blindness—we swear reform, honest paths ahead…”
“Homes hold our kin…”
Icy smirk dismissed the wails.
“Crime invites its toll from the start.”
Mercy graced only fitting souls.
Steel sliced toward the closest jugular.
Dread pinched the man’s eyes shut amid rear interruption.
Halt gripped the arc from that trailing call.
Blade kissed skin a whisper away.
Barely reined fury scorched Edwin’s glare as he pivoted toward Rina.
“Ending them all?”
Open violets, against directive, stared wide with terror.
Unfairness twisted inside him, casting him as the monster in that gaze.
“Death claims attempted killers. Organized scheme? Collective doom.”
Justice framed his measured words.
Yet compassion flooded her glances between blade and broken men.
Acceptance eluded her fully.
“Escape via shield, not slaughter intent?”
Twining fingers betrayed her gentle read of motives.
One-sided smile strained through stern eyes.
She recoiled, stubborn fire dimming as gaze dropped.
Hope flared in scum; they clutched her shadow desperately.
“Solo madness from him alone, lady witness.”
“No blood on our hands—plead for us.”
Childlike sobs fueled survival’s grip on her.
Yielding tenderness deepened in response.
Edwin’s exaggerated exhale echoed deliberately.
Tracking his cue, Rina pressed forward.
“Absolution aside, their deeds demand no graves.”
Courage edged her quiet stand despite innate reserve.
Opposition this fierce marked Edwin’s imperial novelty.
Rage dissolved, soothed by unexpected chill.
“Piety runs deep in Ms. Diaz, pitying assailants raw.”
Tease dripped sarcasm without welcome.
Defenseless, her posture sagged.
Unintended dampening stirred regret within.
Features softened into approximate warmth.
Emboldened faintly, she murmured onward.
“Statutes parse will from error… Joint plot strains belief…”
Tentative lifts of her gaze sparked weary chuckles deep.
Charm cloaked her resolve, irking absent, endearing instead.
Persistence wore him down to rueful laughter.
“Law career evaded your father’s footsteps why?”
Edge blunted, thaw evident.
Shift registered; duty-privacy pout melted into radiant curve.
Feather-light flutters stirred his core at that arch.
Peace’s lull perhaps dulled bloodthirst now.
Pique feigned, he wheeled aside.
“Freedom unfit for law’s foes.”
Measured quiet met his line.
Undetectable menace rumbled toward them alone.
“Her tenderness buys breath.”
Tremors seized limbs at the frost.
“Offense ends permanent.”
Wrist wrenched, cords parted clean.
“Silence holds.”
Grin underscored the grace.
Optimal reprieve sank in; jaws ground tight.
Disarmed for eternity, they trudged to outpost nearest.
Festival’s wild gaze drew merciful close.
