Breaking Engagement

Chapter 1

BRYN



Diamonds are a girl’s best friend! And luckily, I was looking at a whole lot of them, hoping that my eyes would not give away my excitement!

“Here you go, Sir Leighton and Lady Leighton.” The keeper of the bank cells handed me the key and I nodded arrogantly at him, hopefully making him feel worthless. Just like the prick Edward Leighton would do in my place. Selenia, his wife – well, ex-wife now – put her hand into mine and we walked into the Leighton family treasury together, looking like the perfect noble couple that everybody thought the Leightons were.

The bank employee bowed respectfully, then left abruptly. And as soon as we were alone, we got to business. Selenia was grabbing the most expensive jewels. Anything she could sell later to keep her and her son afloat after the ugly divorce. Her ex wasn’t going to give them anything and she had to take matters into her own hands. That was one of the reasons I agreed to that job in the first place. Because the whole case of getting into the biggest and most protected bank did not sound like a good idea at all. But call me weak, women’s solidarity was not just a word to me. In the meantime, I checked all the small boxes – the ones with precious magical artifacts that were worth far more than Selenia could imagine. My task was to get just three of them, but only the three that my leader wanted, nothing else. The first two – a watch and a locket – I found easily. But the third one – a brooch in a shape of a lily flower encrusted with black diamonds – was nowhere to be seen.

The time was almost up, making me nervous. The magical impulse went to the real Edward Leighton the moment we entered his family treasury. But he would need a few good minutes to connect to the bank and let them know that their magical barrier had failed and they had let an impostor inside – me.

Without false modesty – I was by far the best master of illusions in the kingdom of Ruvia. And, if I was completely honest, probably on the Emerald continent as well. No one else would be able to go through all the bank’s checks and enter this vault without getting caught. No one else but me. I tricked everyone and everything, not only copying Edward’s look, but also the imprint of his aura, which I took days earlier. The memory still made me shudder in disgust. I had to flirt with the man for a few good hours to get every single detail. And it was incredibly hard to make him keep his dirty hands off me. Lord Leighton is such a pig! Not what you call a gentleman at all.

And to think that this dirtbag had a wife like Selenia back at home waiting for him! The woman even used to love him a few years back, before she realised what a scum he was!

The only thing that I couldn’t do anything about was that he would be notified as soon as someone entered this room. And since he was the only person who could legally enter this bank cell, as soon as he got the signal, he’d know that someone broke in. Luckily, my organisation, the Shadows, was good at handling things like that as well. And I was pretty sure that at this very moment, some beauty was distracting Lord Leighton and trying to keep him away from his artefacts, winning some time for me to do what I had to do. Not to mention my friends who were creating a diversion right in front of the bank’s windows just in case… However, the faster we were done, the better!

I was swearing under my breath as I searched for the damn flower, when I finally found it on the floor. It must have been with the jewellery that Selenia checked. She probably mistook the black diamonds for onyxes and decided that it wasn’t worth it. In order to live without arousing suspicion, she could only fill only one bag, so she needed the best and most expensive things.

“We need to go,” I told her as I pinned the brooch on my jacket, hiding it away with a layer of illusion.

“Just one more minute!” she exclaimed desperately, and I rolled my eyes. That’s what you got when you went on a job with an amateur.

“Now!” I grabbed her by the hand. “There is no time!”

I practically dragged the woman out. Luckily, that was something very much in her ex’s character, so no one reacted to that in any way. Cowards.

Selenia soon came to her senses, knowing far too well that if something went wrong, I would leave her here alone to deal with the mess. After all, I had what I needed to bring to the Scorpion and ensure that the Shadows were still happy with me.

We walked out of the bank, holding hands, and I helped Selenia into the carriage that was waiting for her. Going to the other side of it, I took the illusion off while nobody could see me, and when the carriage started to move, I was already on the other side of the road.

Mission done! Well, almost. Just a few steps and I would see Len, who would take me safely out from the city and back to the Shadows’ Den.

I felt so much more comfortable in my own skin – wearing an illusion of a man was hard for me. Edward was of a different height and build… And I had to copy all that, which cost me a lot of energy.

I was almost there when I bumped into someone hard enough that I almost fell to the ground, but two strong hands caught me just in time and I ended up staring into a pair of cold blue eyes on a very handsome face with strong, sharp lines. Tense and unwelcoming. Plain but expensive coat, no pins – that was supposed to imply that the owner was not rich, yet the boots were new and shiny, the suit underneath as well, and I noticed that the shirt that poked out was made of Armerian silk satin, which only a small group of people in our kingdom of Ruvia could afford. The man was a noble. Or a filthy rich merchant at least. And those were even worse in terms of arrogance, so I decided I’d better not risk it.

“Forgive me, my lord.” I gave him my most charming smile as he helped me to stand back up, still fixing his unpleasant and lifeless gaze on me. “I am so clumsy today. It’s my fault.”

“It is,” he agreed without any emotion, and it took all my inner strength not to roll my eyes. Definitely a noble. A merchant would have loved being addressed as a lord. Oh, well…

“Then pardon me.” I curtsied slightly, even though it was absolutely unnecessary. “I already have taken enough of your precious time!”

Another dazzling smile and I turned on my heels, ready to leave. I was just a few steps away from Len, who was playing a lazy carriage driver today.

“Excuse me.” A strong grip on my arm made me freeze. All right, I did not expect this! The same man was staring at me with a suddenly frustrated look, and since I had to stare at him again, I admired his looks promptly. Mother Nature was kind to this male. “I think you dropped it,” he said, and stretched his other hand to me. On his palm was the brooch that I’d just stolen. White gold and black diamonds all over the damn lily flower. This was a one-of-a-kind piece of jewellery, rare and expensive. And although I was wearing a nice dress and hat, it was only nice enough for a citizen of the capital. Not nice enough for an owner of such a brooch.

However, luckily, the stunning grumpy man clearly didn’t know or simply wasn’t interested in the value of such things and put the lily into my hand.

“Thank you, my lord.” I smiled and moved away as soon as he released his grasp. “That’s so kind of you!”

He wanted to say something, but I couldn’t waste any more time. I turned abruptly and almost ran to the carriage, throwing a long-prepared golden coin to Len, who already looked stressed. I didn’t need to tell him anything – he jumped into his place and grabbed the reins, prompting the horses to start moving. The carriage took off and a sigh of relief escaped me. I looked out of the window and my eyes locked with the stranger’s. It was just a moment, but I was pretty sure I heard a growl. Now that was more interesting. Was he a werewolf or a demon? I haven’t seen those in Ruvia for a while.

“Faster, Len!” I shouted, and my accomplice didn’t spare the poor horses.

Just in time, because at that moment I saw people running out of the bank. We were already supposed to have been gone by now.

But minutes went by, and everything was quiet on the road. An hour later, I relaxed completely and opened the little window to talk to Len.

“I think everything is clear now,” I told him, taking off my hat and throwing it on one of the seats.

“Looks like it,” my friend agreed. “We are still going to change our ride and clothes in a few minutes. You can never be too careful.”

“True.” I nodded. “The Scorpion would kill us if we brought a tail to the Shadows’ Den.”

We stopped at one of our secure places behind the town and quickly changed our clothes. I even put on a new illusion. An older lady this time. Our organisation has strict rules about getting caught and none of us would risk breaking any.

I checked all three artefacts that I got, just in case. They all seemed fine, even the black lily one.

Outside, I took a deep breath of fresh spring air. I never got to enjoy nature anymore.

No carriage this time, as we needed to be faster. So, Len and I got a horse each and spurred them to get to the Den as soon as possible.

The sun wasn’t even down yet when we got to the place. What looked like a fief of some middle-grade lord was actually a hiding place for the most dangerous organisation of criminals in the country – the Shadows. I wasn’t particularly proud of being a part of it, but it wasn’t like I had any choice. When I was sixteen and my family got slaughtered in front of my eyes by vicious werewolves, there weren’t too many places that I could go to. To some extent, I was lucky that our neighbour’s brother was a smuggler. She told me to turn into a boy, brought me to him, and begged him to get me out of the kingdom we lived in. He took pity on me, and also everything that I had left, but he smuggled me to Ruvia. However, it later turned out that he was working for the Shadows. And since he knew that I was from a family of witches, he brought me straight to the Scorpion. That day I would never forget…

“You are right on time!” Amira greeted me with a smile as she walked out of the building, tucking her knives into their harnesses and attachments. “The Scorpion is waiting for you both.”

“Thanks.” I tried not to give away my disappointment. I had really hoped to have some rest before meeting him.

“Let’s not waste any time, then.” Len pushed open the door and I followed him into the dark corridor of our residence. Not many people stayed here, but we were considered the elites and the leader gave us each a room in the main house. Only Len, Amira, and me.

We were almost there when sounds of laughter reached my ears. And I wouldn’t confuse that voice with anyone else’s.

“Eiryn Landon!” I smiled brightly the moment I saw my most favourite client.

“Bryn!” She clapped her hands in delight when I entered the room as the feeling was mutual. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for you for so long!”

“Our Bryn is a busy bee.” Zion stood up from his chair and came closer as if to help me with my coat. But in reality, I passed him the small silk bag with the artefacts that I stole today, and just for a moment he held his hand on mine as if we were good friends. Yet only I was aware that it was a signal for me to behave and work with him, my superior.

Eiryn was one of the few clients who were allowed here, because she was our regular. And because she spared no expense and threw money around like it was snow in winter. We were getting more and more money from her with every new order. Zion wasn’t called Scorpion for nothing. He always had a plan in his head.

“It is so lovely to see you!” I wasted no time and went straight for the tea set. Fire magic wasn’t something that I posessed but I could warm up water fast and brew some tea leaves. “What brings you here this time, my dear?” I smiled sweetly as I was arranging the cups.

“The usual!” The werewolf heiress sighed and closed her eyes. “My father is a monster!”

Yeah, yeah… I’d heard all that many times. Alpha Landon was the head of the biggest pack in our kingdom and a duke. He was known to be a fearsome man and had only one flaw – his limitless love for his empty-headed daughter. Eiryn, however, didn’t think so. She was sure that her father was a tyrant who only wanted to make her life miserable. And by miserable she meant sending her to the best schools, hiring her the best tutors, making her mingle with important people, and so on. And since Eiryn hated all of that, she found a perfect solution and hired me to do all those things for her. In the past five years, I’ve been her more than I’ve been me. Not that I could complain.

We were of the same height and build; we had the same dark brown wavy hair and could pass for sisters if we wanted to. All I had to do to look like her was to change my face a bit. She had fuller lips, plumper cheeks, bigger eyes. I had more distinct cheekbones and my eyes were blue, while Eiryn’s were green. Of course, there was the extra stress of copying her aura and passing for a werewolf. But for that, we spent plenty of time together before every task so that I could learn how to behave like her and copy everything I needed to copy.

Over the years, thanks to Eiryn, I had attended a prestigious school for nobles, learned sword fighting, chess, etiquette, dancing, and Gods know how many other useful things. Not to mention the numerous events of the higher circles of Ruvia that I had to attend. All of which made me only more valuable to the Shadows. And to the Scorpion.

My eyes met Zion’s and a vague smile touched the corners of his lips.

“Cut to the chase, Lady Landon,” he said, addressing Eiryn. “Our Bryn just returned and is very tired. As you can imagine, she is very busy now.”

“Of course.” The heiress fixed her frilly dress and looked at me. “Brynnie, you have no idea! This time he found me a husband!”

“Is that so bad?” I chuckled. “You knew that it would happen sooner or later. It’s normal in your circles.”

“Well.” She gathered up and a small tear rolled down her cheek. “But he is a horrible man! A womaniser and a rude, tactless beast!”

Zion and I threw quick glances at each other again. He was a warlock and was a witch. For us, all werewolves were tactless beasts.

“You are not hoping that I will be his wife in your stead, right?” I handed her a cup of tea and then brought one to Zion as well, before gracefully sitting on a small sofa in front of my client.

“Of course not! I can’t let my name be ruined like that!” She snorted and took a sip. “What I want this time is for you to help me get rid of him! Please, Bryn, only you can do it!”

“I am pretty sure you can do it yourself!” I raised my eyebrow and gave her a long, challenging stare. One thing I told her immediately when we met was that I hate being lied to. Ridiculous, given my profession now. Yet I can’t help it.

“I can’t, Bryn!” The rich girl sniffed and nervously ruffled her perfect locks. “I am in love!”

“Oh.” I smiled at her. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” she sighed, fluttering her eyelashes. “He would never want me to even spend an hour with that brute! He is too jealous! And that’s when I thought of you…”

“I see…”

So, it was fine for me to deal with that brute? Interesting!

“Did you discuss the potential p*****t?” I looked at Eiryn seriously and she nodded.

“Yes, Lord Scorpion here named his price,” she said, and I received a nod of approval from Zion.

“Well, then.” I exhaled heavily just to create more drama. “Tell me more!”

“I will show you!” The girl eagerly produced a scroll from her bag and unwrapped it before my eyes. “Meet Alistair North! The Alpha and the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Phevran.”

Oh. No.

"Breaking Engagement" by Marion Artwood, exclusively for Stary Ltd (Dreame, Ringdom, Innovel). All rights reserved.