Lady Mutiny

Eight

Don't believe them-

Cortova didn't desert.

The words scrawled on that note haunted Cass through the rest of the day's obligations, and well into the night as she stared at the darkened ceiling of Baz's bedroom. She had immediately burned the paper in the office's roaring fire, uncertain as to whom had left it, and well aware no one else in the guild needed to see it.

But if Lilia didn't desert, then what the hell happened?

And who in their right mind would have the balls to give her that note now?

Frustrated, she rolled over on her side, kicking off the blanket that now felt too smothering. The loose shirt of Baz's she wore to bed that night barely covered her backside, but the warmth of the room's fire kept her comfortable enough. It was those same roaring flames that held her attention as she tried to piece it all together, and in that moment, she discovered she was missing Baz more than anything.

Cortova didn't desert.

What did that mean?

And was it something she could even tell Baz about once he returned? He had so much to handle within the Guild already - that someone would dare to pass such information along to Cass, as false as it may be, would only further prove the unrest within the Guild. And that, in turn, would be one more thing for Baz to have to deal with, and he had so many other burdens to shoulder...

No, Cass would need to deal with it on her own.

Baz himself told Cass that Lilia's Mark was foiled at the Summer Solstice six months ago, and at first, the Guild supported Lilia's persistence- no one wanted a Mark left open without proper disposal. It would mean disbandment, or worse, should word ever get back.

Not to mention, it's what any decent assassin would do, and Lilia was more than decent.

She was the best.

Or, at least one of them.

But it had been six months.

There was no reason Lilia would have needed six months to meet her Mark. True, he was a Lord from a neighboring kingdom, known but not well enough to cause any underlying issues, or at least Cass would have thought. And he definitely was not someone Lilia would have needed to consider giving up everything.

Unless, of course, the other rumors were true.

She remembered the night of her Trial, and the conversation between the assassins below that had distracted her so.

The other rumors implied that Lilia Cortova, Second in Command of the Guild of Assassins of Lathos, had fallen in love with her foreign lord.

Cassandra would have considered it nothing more than a heinous joke if the facts didn't line up so perfectly.

Lady Cortova was a well-known silk merchant who inherited her business from her father. Lord Millian was new to his money, but still respected by those who knew him, and if the other rumors were correct, he was extremely attractive and more than ready to settle down.

Could Lilia have finally found her match?

And if that match was her Mark, was it enough to consider why she would desert? Rumor or not, that above all else pained Cass the most, in not knowing the truth. That her sister could have possibly left everything behind - left her behind - because she found someone else- someone better...

Don't believe them-

Cortova didn't desert.

If she didn't desert, then who should she believe?