But no matter how tough she looked, she knew Kohl only ever saw her as the scared girl he’d saved from a bombing and turned into a Blade. He’d never take her seriously until she was as fearsome and unwavering as he was. Maybe her dreams of being Kohl’s equal were a childish fantasy rooted in the mind of a girl who’d found food, a bed, and a roof and convinced herself anything was possible. Maybe she was just a grunt who’d prided herself on selling diamonds behind her boss’s back but would never amount to anything more.

Maybe he was waiting for her to fail.

“After this job, you can start your own tradehouse,” he said finally. “As agreed, you won’t owe me commission like the others. I trained you, so I trust you to manage it well without my help. I’ll extend my protection to you until you have things running.”

Her eyes widened. One more kill, and Kohl would give her all she wanted. She’d been begging for this chance for years. But he’d never indicated a finish line before, had only told her that the choice to set her free was his and his alone.

Good things don’t happen to girls who come from nothing.

She shook the thought away. It was time to take advantage of what Kohl was offering. She nodded once.

“Choose the best partner you can find. I’ll leave you to decide how to split the payment.”

Aina cleared her throat. “That’s generous.”

“We have to take kindness where we can find it. I assume you’ll choose your Linasian friend. The client has given us a week to do the job before he takes his money elsewhere. If you succeed, you get your tradehouse. If you fail…” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

She was well aware of the consequences. If she failed, she would just be a grunt who’d reached too high, someone unworthy of Kohl’s protection … and then she’d be his enemy. There was no choice but to succeed.

For the only time since she was fifteen and on her first assignment, fear wormed through her at the idea of killing someone. She pushed it away as quickly as it arrived. This was her one chance to rise above what she’d been given at birth, to stake out a spot of power in the city that had tried to take her life—and sanity—from her.

She’d decorate the streets in Kouta Hirai’s blood before she let this chance slip away.

“I’ll get to work.” She turned to leave, but Kohl’s hand latched on to her wrist, a flash of silver cuff links appearing at the edge of her vision. She tensed up at first, then relaxed into his grip. “Yes?”

“This is our biggest opportunity yet, Aina. The world is our oyster and Kosín its pearl. You know how valuable certain gems are.” Her blood turned cold, freezing her veins from the back of her neck down her spine, along her arm to where his hand still gripped her wrist. “Are you going to take this one or let someone else sell it for you?”