“Good morning!” He reached over and passed her a cup of mint tea.

She glared at him over the rim of her cup. His expression didn’t change. It was too early in the morning to cope with Ryuu’s smiling face and bright eyes without any caffeine. He truly thought she was going to spare his brother’s life. She brushed aside a brief surge of sympathy and turned away from him to drink her tea in a few large gulps.

Teo placed his empty cup on the table with a clink. “We should head out early.”

“You haven’t been to the Stacks yet, have you?” she asked Ryuu. “Rough part of town. Somebody’s body was found cut into pieces and thrown in a trash bin the other day.” She turned to Teo. “Should we leave Ryuu behind? Give him a snack, some soft blankets, reading material—”

“I’m going with you,” Ryuu insisted, keeping his voice steady despite the fact that his eyes flashed when she had mentioned the cut-up body.

Leaning forward, she fixed a concerned expression on her face. “It is dangerous; I won’t lie. If you’d rather wait here, you can just give us the money and—”

He let out a short, nervous laugh. “Why would I do that? And don’t forget, you might need my money for more things after this tracking spell, so you need to keep me around. We’ll follow the deal we made.”

She let out a frustrated breath, then smiled. “Right. The deal.”

While Teo went to get ready, Ryuu finished his tea and Aina moved to sit on the floor next to him.

“Why don’t you carry a gun on you? You can aim, and you don’t flinch when you shoot. Fighting for your life every day might not be the way you live, but you’re with us now and you could actually be useful if we get into trouble later.”

Ryuu shook his head, and his bravery from the warehouse last night evaporated. “After Kouta told me the truth of how our parents died, I had one of our guards teach me how to shoot. No amount of money or protection can really help you if someone wants to kill you enough. My parents and Kouta are proof of that.” His voice grew quiet, and he paused before continuing. “I won’t let anyone take me out the same way. But I also never want to get comfortable taking lives with bullets. I still believe in the Mothers’ teachings to value mercy over revenge, and that life is precious.”

She hadn’t expected such a long confession. With a grimace, she said, “You don’t have to tell me not to love guns, especially after what happened to my parents.”

He frowned. “Don’t you shoot people for a living?”

“Wrong.” She pulled out a knife and placed it on the tip of his collarbone. “I cut them.”

He leaned away from her, a brief flash of fear in his eyes. A bit of guilt wormed through her at the sight. There was no need to threaten him unnecessarily.