“So, then…” Aina began, unable to hold back the question anymore. “Why did you agree to break out Teo with me? I thought you’d insist on finding your brother first.”

He gazed off into the tunnel, the candlelight shining on his dark hair as he thought. “Teo has been helping us, and he’s in this situation because of this job. Besides that, he’s a good person and doesn’t deserve this fate. I can tell he means a lot to you, and I know how it feels to almost lose someone important to you.”

He gave her a pointed look, then, and guilt at how she still intended to kill his brother wormed through her. But while Ryuu’s words were admirable, she still found it hard to believe he was helping her. She couldn’t really trust him while their goals were so different. Yet here she was with a Steel who stood in the way of her job, and he was helping her break Teo out of prison. If she still worked for Kohl, would he help her break out Teo like Ryuu was now? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“So, what happened to you after your parents died?” he asked. “How did you end up as an assassin?”

“Well, the next night after they were killed, I saw people carry their bodies away from across the street. They moved in and made it their house. I was eight, I didn’t know how to tell them to leave, and I didn’t really want to be there either. So after that first night, I slept in alleys, on sidewalks, on fire escapes. Anywhere that people might leave me alone.”

He swallowed hard and avoided her gaze. “Did they? Leave you alone, I mean? It’s kind of surprising—”

“That no one kidnapped me? Yes, I was surprised too. Some tried. Others tried to jump me into their gang. But they mostly left me alone. They figured I would waste away to nothing anyway. How could I work for anyone if I was too high to stand without falling over? So, you had your money, your bodyguards, your mansion, and your brother’s company after your parents died. I had the streets, glue, and the fact that I was too scared to stay in the house with my parents and die like they did.” She paused and took a deep breath before adding, in a bitter tone, “My cowardice kept me alive.”

Her hand moved toward her nose and mouth as if expecting to find traces of glue there.

Ryuu shook his head slowly. “I wish the city didn’t allow orphans to suffer like that. Who knows what your life would be like if you had more opportunities? You still have a chance to do good in the world, Aina. You’re not a lost cause.”

“When did I call myself a lost cause?” she snapped, anger at his assumption rising through her. “What was I supposed to do when I was twelve years old and starving, and the Blood King walked up to me with a job? You’re not going to make me feel bad about being an assassin, Ryuu, because that is what I am. I went from less than twenty kors in my pocket to fifty thousand in savings. I know that’s probably what you spend in a day to maintain your backyard, but to me, it’s a damn load of money, and I’m proud of it, however I got it. Even though my boss took it all back.” She let out a frustrated huff of air, then asked, “What did you do to earn your money? Be born?”