"You know what you have to do," Ayva said, her voice low and steady, cutting through the damp air. "Wait for me at the rendezvous point. Stay hidden—don't let anyone spot you. We didn't expect him to show up here, and he'll probably hound me for a while. So, just… wait in the water."
Her eyes flicked to the oldest of the kids standing before her, a boy with a sharp jaw and sharper instincts.He didn't flinch, his expression carved from stone, but a flicker of defensiveness sparked in his gaze. "What about that bum? He might start flapping his gums and ruin everything."Ayva sighed inwardly.
She'd known this mission would stir unease, especially with the wildcard she'd roped in.
Kali, her so-called benefactor, had saddled her with this task, but she'd seen through his generosity from the start—it came with strings, sticky and suffocating.
So, she'd turned to a third party: the wandering beggar, a man who reeked of the streets but carried an odd glint of cunning in his eyes.
