It wasn't the first time the ten of them had gathered, voices low, minds sharp. But it was the first time it felt like they were all waiting to step off a ledge without knowing the drop.
They sat in the far corner of the training yard, behind a broken wall where the grass grew higher than it should have. The sounds of steel clashing from the main sparring rings were distant, muffled under layers of stone and evening heat. If anyone was watching, they didn't care.
Jacek had taken up position against the wall, one knee bent, one hand flat against the old brick as he looked over the map spread across a crate someone had dragged over. His usual arrogance gleamed in the half-light.
"So," he drawled, tapping the estate's name with the tip of a dagger. "A clean little manor. A little too close to the city for my liking, but nothing we can't handle."
Starling crouched across from him, eyes flicking over the plan again. The manor was well guarded, paid blades, dogs, outer wall patrols. But nothing insurmountable. Especially not for ten trained Crows.
"They rotate patrols every two hours, right?" Ridge asked. He sat beside her, chin on his palm, brow furrowed.
"According to the notes, yes," Tenna confirmed, flipping through the pages of the dossier. "Shifts change at midnight. If we're just doing recon, best to move between."
"Tonight, then?" Brin asked, arms crossed, eyes sweeping the group. "Quick and quiet. Just get eyes on everything; see if the estate matches the notes."
Everyone murmured assent.
Starling was quiet. Not hesitant, just watchful. It felt strange being part of such a large crew. She worked well with Ridge, Cade, and Tenna. But adding Brin, Jacek, Vasha, Neri, Alis, Ledo… that was a lot of blades, a lot of egos. And a lot of room for things to go wrong.
Still... this was the job.
Jacek's smirk sharpened, teeth glinting under the sky. "When we get to the diplomat," he said smoothly, "should I offer the honours to our littlest bird?"
Starling didn't flinch. She smiled, slow and sweet. "I'll just wait until you fail," she said mildly. "Then clean up your mess like always."
A few snorted. Cade gave her a nudge with his boot, grinning. Even Neri cracked a faint smile.
Jacek inclined his head mock-solemnly. "As you wish, your grace."
"Enough," Ridge said with a sigh, though not without amusement. "Let's focus."
They reviewed the map again. Three entrances, two escape routes, a nearby creek that could be used for cover if things got messy. The estate was rural enough that few would be watching from nearby houses but close enough to the city that time would matter.
"Ridge, Cade, and I will take the north side," Tenna said, voice crisp. "Starling, you go with Jacek and Brin to the east. Neri, Vasha, Ledo, you guys take the creek path and get eyes on the west windows."
They nodded. No questions, no objections.
"Meet outside the eastern gate tonight," Brin said. "An hour before midnight."
"Don't be late," Cade added, stretching as he stood.
Starling lingered just a moment longer, watching as the map was rolled up and hidden under Tenna's jacket. As the others began to disperse - some with laughter, others with their usual silence - she felt the first true breath of unease curl in her chest.
Not from the mission. Just a flicker. A whisper of too many knives all pointed in the same direction. She rolled her shoulders and tucked it away.
"See you all tonight," she said lightly, brushing past Jacek.
His voice followed her. "Don't worry, little bird. We'll leave you something to play with."
She didn't turn. Just lifted her hand in a vague, dismissive wave.
Starling adjusted the strap of her satchel across her shoulder as she stepped back into the main hallway, her mind still running through the estate's layout, guard rotations, and how much she trusted Jacek to keep his mouth shut if anything went sideways. Which wasn't much.
She turned the corner and nearly collided with a warm, broad chest that smelled faintly of leather and spice.
Viago.
His hand caught her arm before she could pivot away, thumb brushing against the inner bend of her elbow. It was casual. Easy. An almost possessive undercurrent.
"Come again," he said, voice low and almost lazy. "Tonight."
She blinked, her pulse hitching before her expression settled. Soft and pleasant and a little dismissive.
She shook her head lightly, trying not to let her eyes dart around the corridor, but they did anyway. There were too many Crows in this part of the Hall. Too many eyes.
"Can't," she said. "Working."
His brow furrowed slightly. "On what?"
"Reconnaissance." She pulled gently against his hand, not enough to make a scene but enough to test how much he was going to push. "Elihu assigned it. I have to go."
That wasn't a lie. Not technically. And she hated how much she hated lying to him.
His fingers didn't tighten, but they didn't let go immediately either. He was studying her now. Not with heat or charm or hunger - well, not only that - but with quiet calculation, a flicker of doubt in his gaze.
She didn't wait for more questions. "You can take it up with Elihu if you want," she said lightly, tugging free, her voice breezy as a passing cloud. If they weren't allowed to tell the truth, Elihu could come up with the lie.
Then she was gone, boots tapping quickly against the stone floor, out into the sunlight beyond the Hall before he could ask anything else.
She kept her stride even and purposeful. She didn't exhale until she was two blocks from the compound, slipping back into the quieter streets that led toward her apartment.
She hated this part - the half-truths and evasion. She'd never liked lying to Viago or Lucanis. It felt like trying to lie to a pair of wolves while wrapped in bloody linens. They always knew something was off, even if they didn't know what yet.
But she had no choice. This wasn't just about keeping her secret. This was about protecting everyone. Because if this job was as high-profile as Elihu made it seem, and if the secrecy he demanded wasn't just another Crow test, then the fewer people who knew, the better.
Even people she maybe cared about.
By the time she reached her small home, the sun was beginning its slow descent, golden light spilling across her windows. She peeled off her boots, checked her gear, and unrolled her copy of the map again, eyes scanning the red markings she'd made.
Tonight, they'd see what they were walking into.
--
Viago found Elihu exactly where he expected - behind his desk, nose buried in one of those dull ledgers he was always pretending to care about.
The older Crow barely looked up as Viago stepped inside, though there was the faintest arch of an eyebrow. "Viago. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He didn't bother with niceties. "Starling says you sent her on reconnaissance."
Elihu leaned back slightly in his chair, setting down his quill with the air of a man interrupted in something important, though Viago doubted very much it was anything of substance.
"I did."
Viago crossed his arms, weight shifting to one hip. "What for?"
"A small job," Elihu said, calm and smooth. "Nothing outside Treviso. Low-risk. Consider it an evaluation more than anything else, her observation skills, discretion, timing. Early intel-gathering for a contract that's still being shaped." He waved a hand as if brushing away the need for concern. "Nothing unusual. Nothing dangerous."
Viago studied him a long moment. Elihu's face was placid, almost bored. And Viago was just… annoyed. He inclined his head, just enough to signal he'd accepted the answer.
He turned and walked out, the door swinging shut behind him with a quiet click.
His pace was brisk at first, irritation pulsing beneath his skin. He didn't like not knowing where she was. Not after how she'd looked earlier that day, all soft-eyed, tired, curled so trustingly against Lucanis's chest with her leg slung over his hip like she belonged there. Like she'd finally let herself rest.
And now she was gone again. Though at least they knew this time.
He adjusted his gloves absently as he walked the hall, trying to cool the fire running under his skin, but then his thoughts turned to this morning, and it was like striking flint to oil.
Her golden hair had spilled like sunlight over Lucanis's chest, her breath caught between a moan and a laugh, her protests utterly at odds with the way she moved on them. She had told them she had to go - still had to go - even as she sank onto Lucanis's cock, even as Viago drove into her from behind, and her hands scrabbled for purchase, her body betraying every word she spoke.
He took a breath, sharp through his nose. Not here.
His trousers were suddenly tight, and he adjusted them with irritation as he turned a corner too sharply. This was getting ridiculous.
She occupied too much space in his head. Even when she wasn't there, she was. Lingering in his thoughts, tucked into his senses like perfume caught on a collar.
And the worst part? She had no idea. Despite whatever vague acceptance she'd given last night, she still thought she was something temporary. That they'd ever let go of her.
Viago reached the end of the corridor and stopped, bracing a hand against the wall. He needed to focus.
She'd be back. Whatever this reconnaissance was, it wasn't meant to take long. Elihu hadn't seemed concerned. He would see her again.
--
The grass was damp beneath her boots as she crouched low beside a hedgerow, eyes fixed on the manor in the near distance. Pale lantern light glowed through high, narrow windows, flickering as someone passed inside. Otherwise, the place was quiet and still.
"Bet you a week's coin that the old bastard in there sleeps with his mouth open," Jacek muttered beside her. "Like a slack-jawed noble frog."
Starling smirked. "Why would I take that bet when I know you'll lose it and then 'forget' to pay up?"
Brin snorted softly from behind them, his back against a tree. "He's still got a tab from Ridge two jobs ago. Paid in excuses and bad jokes."
Jacek turned to her with mock indignation. "Is this slander? In front of the shrubbery? Stars above, I thought we had trust."
Starling kept watching the manor, though her mouth curled upward. "Oh, I trust you. I just don't trust you with money."
A comfortable silence followed. The kind that only came from too many hours spent together in cramped, dangerous corners of the world.
Then Starling spoke, voice low. "Doesn't this all feel a little… off?"
Jacek gave a shrug, adjusting his position without looking away from the manor. "How so?"
"The secrecy. The grouping. Elihu's little 'report to me and me only' speech." She flicked her fingers toward the building. "We're Crows. We do quiet work. But this is… quiet in a different way."
Brin scoffed gently. "You're overthinking. Elihu's always been a bit theatrical."
"Yeah," Jacek added, "and he's not wrong about the payoff. Splitting a purse like that ten ways still means enough to drown in wine for a month."
Starling didn't respond. She just kept her eyes on the guards patrolling near the west wall, counting their steps, noting the gaps. Her stomach had been unsettled since the briefing. Maybe just nerves. Maybe something more. But if the others weren't worried… Maybe it was just her.
After a while, Jacek nudged her lightly with his knee. "We're not getting caught. And we're not the ones planning this thing. So relax. We're the blades, not the brains."
Brin laughed. "Maker save us if Jacek's the brains."
Starling huffed, shaking her head, but she didn't argue again. She kept watching the manor, her eyes sharp, her hands steady. But the tightness in her chest never quite eased.
They stayed another half hour, noting guard rotations, which windows glowed with candlelight, and which remained dark. A gate creaked open and closed, and someone rode out on horseback. Nothing unusual, but she memorised the rider's face anyway. Just in case.
When it was time, they slipped back through the trees to where the others regrouped - Tenna, Cade, Ridge, Neri, Alis, Ledo, Vasha, all huddled in low voices, quietly comparing their sides of the manor. Routes in and out. Watchdog locations. Structural weaknesses. Where they'd strike, and how fast they'd need to be.
It felt like any other briefing, but Starling still felt… off.
The conversation wrapped up. They filtered back toward the city, peeling off in pairs and trios to avoid drawing attention. Jacek had given her a wink and a low, "Don't let the nerves eat you alive, little bird," before vanishing into an alley. She hadn't answered.
Her little place was quiet when she entered, the noise of the tavern below a dull hum. She bolted the door, crossed the room in the dark, and pulled her tunic over her head, the cool air brushing sweat-damp skin.
Her knives were placed carefully in their usual drawer, as though putting them away properly would settle her thoughts. They didn't.
She lit no lamps. She changed into her nightdress by feel, thin cotton, too soft for a Crow, too soft for how she felt. Her fingers lingered at the edge of the neckline, as if waiting for something to pull her back, call her out again. But the silence only deepened.
She climbed into bed, curling on her side. It was too warm. Or maybe she was just too restless.
It's just the size of the team, she told herself. It's the newness. The secrecy. They said it was a special job. That wasn't so strange.
Except… it was. It was all strange. Every piece. Starling squeezed her eyes shut. No reason to panic yet. Nothing had gone wrong. And if something did… she'd figure it out then. She always did.
Still, as sleep took her, slow and uneasy, her hand rested under her pillow, where her dagger waited, cool and familiar against her palm.