The look in Selwyn's eyes chilled even me. I had never seen him like this, all pretense of gentleness stripped away to reveal something predatory beneath. Dario saw it too, his face paling as he backed toward the table where his cards lay scattered.

  I held open the tavern door, beckoning Jessie to me with a gesture I'd perfected over years of business dealings. Just enough command to be obeyed, not enough threat to cause panic. The girl moved to my side with practiced obedience, her eyes flicking back to where Dario stood opposite Selwyn.

  "Jessie, this is your one chance. Leave now, or stay and be counted in the consequences of this man's actions."

  Her eyes widened, relief making her shoulders sag.

  "You're very forgiving, thank you, Sir." Without hesitation, she dashed through the door and I let it slam closed, easily relocking it after her.

  The sound echoed in the nearly empty tavern. Dust particles danced in the light of the few oil lamps that remained lit, giving the air a thickness that matched the stench of unwashed bodies and stale beer. I joined the men at the table, sliding into the booth opposite my brother and Dario.

  "So, have we made progress?"

  Selwyn indicated at Dario with his thumb. "Says he just found the collar in the street."

  "Now why don't I believe that?" I leaned forward, studying the man. Sweat beaded on his upper lip, his skin ashen beneath the dirt. "Do you believe that, brother?"

  Selwyn sighed and leaned back, stretching his arms up into the air, yawning widely like we had all the time in the world. The gesture was calculated, I realized. Meant to unnerve. "Sure would be a disappointing end to a long day. Guess we'll have to stay here tonight either way."

  "Y-you can't stay here! You're not invited!".

  I leaned forward, linking my hands on the sticky tabletop. "I guess we don't care very much for your rules right now. If you could just tell us what we want to know, we'd happily leave you alone."

  Dario shook his head, looking from one of us to the other. His eyes were bloodshot, rheumy at the corners. "I don't know anything."

  Selwyn turned to me, something cold in his eyes I'd never noticed before. "I feel like that's mostly true."

  I smirked, playing along. "Perhaps in this one circumstance, he actually knows something." I moved my gaze to Dario again. "I don't believe that you just found the collar in the street. In fact, Jessie very kindly told us that you don't leave this building often at all. So when would you have had the chance to venture out and find it, hm?"

  Dario opened and shut his mouth a few times before a stubborn frown came over his face. He leaned towards me, his stale breath wafting across the table. "I do leave here. I do. I go, and I find stuff, and I bring it here. I didn't know it belonged to Joy. I found the collar and I gave it to Jessie. Jessie likes pretty things."

  I chuckled, the sound dry in my throat. "So why does she like you?" I drummed my fingers on the tabletop, pretending to think deeply. "Oh yes, you give her stolen gems."

  "I told you before that I didn't steal th—" his sentence cut off as a loud thud echoed in the room and Dario's voice rose into a loud shriek of pain.

  I looked down to see that Selwyn had driven a knife through the man's hand, pinning it to the table. My brother's face was transformed by a smile I'd never seen before, his voice lowered to a soft satisfied purr that raised the hair on my arms.

  "That's much better. I trust I have your full attention now?"

  "Brother, was that strictly necessary?" I asked, more curious than disapproving.

  "Oh yes, absolutely." He didn't even look at me, his eyes fixed on Dario's pain.

  We both pointedly ignored Dario's loud whimpering, though I found the sound oddly satisfying. Like the whine of a machine finally operating correctly.

  "Did you hear what he said?" Selwyn kept his hand on the handle of the dagger, preventing Dario from attempting to remove it.

  "He said many things. Which of them provoked this reaction?"

  "Joy." My brother's voice caressed the name in a way that sent an unexpected spike of jealousy through me.

  "Hm?"

  "He said that he didn't realize the collar was Joy's."

  A realization slid into place, and my lips curled up in a smile I knew was cruel. "But we never told you who the collar belonged to, did we?" I fixed my gaze on Dario, on the pain twisting his face into something almost inhuman.

  The man let out a grunting response, clutching the wrist of his pinned hand.

  "Oh, is the knife bothering you?" Selwyn smiled warmly at the man, the expression grotesque against his actions. "Let me help you."

  Selwyn began to move the blade handle from side to side, trying to loosen the dagger tip from the wooden tabletop. His eyes remained locked on Dario's face as the man began screaming, the blade cutting deeper into his hand as Selwyn worked it back and forth.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  I looked from Dario's contorted face to my brother, something like wonder rising inside me. Of the two of us, I had always been the more likely to resort to violence. The harder edge, the practical solution-finder. Selwyn had always been the gentle one, the voice of restraint. The one who'd rather talk than threaten, negotiate than intimidate.

  Yet here he was, causing pain with a precision and detachment that surprised even me. The lamplight caught the planes of his face, revealing a stranger wearing my brother's features. Had this darkness always been there, or had Joy's disappearance catalyzed something new? The thought sent another surge of jealousy through me. What was she to him, that her absence would transform him so completely?

  Selwyn leaned so close to Dario that their noses almost touched, and the man's shrieking reduced to loud panting as he tried to quiet himself.

  "Think very carefully before you answer me now. When did you see Joy?"

  Dario struggled to form words, his voice strained through the pain, eyes roaming around the room without settling.

  "Uh... Joy...?"

  "Yes, Joy. You know, tall, gorgeous, bright eyes, big horns that go up into the air." Selwyn's description sent another spike of possessiveness through me. The way he spoke of her...

  I raised an eyebrow at his words but remained silent. Something had pushed Selwyn to this level of behavior, and although I had growing suspicions, far be it from me to step in and stop his performance. It was entertaining to watch, especially for someone with my particular interests.

  Dario nodded eagerly at Selwyn's words but seemed unable to focus enough to respond.

  "Yes, yes... I know J-Joy... long time now."

  Selwyn dragged his eyes away from Dario and glanced over the table at me, something like triumph in his expression.

  I tilted my head at the man, using the tone I reserved for underlings who'd disappointed me. "Strange, she's never mentioned you. Not once. I guess you didn't make much of an impression."

  Selwyn released the handle of one blade with a warning finger pointed at Dario. "Don't touch it, and I won't either."

  Dario grunted in response, swallowing hard and flexing his grip on his wrist where the blade protruded.

  I watched him curiously, noting how he'd stopped struggling against the pain. "He takes pain rather well. I'm almost impressed."

  Selwyn smirked slightly, thinking for a moment. "Joy would be impressed."

  The words struck me like a physical blow. The thought of Joy watching this, of her approving of Selwyn's methods, of her being drawn to this side of him... My hands clenched involuntarily under the table.

  Dario let out a pained chuckle, drawing our attention. "She's not so good—"

  Selwyn moved his hand towards the blade handle and Dario winced, drawing a smile from my brother. "Now, we can't just ignore that sort of comment."

  I sighed, sitting back in the seat. The wood creaked beneath me, reminding me of the decayed state of everything in this forgotten corner of the city. "Stop playing with him, brother. Dario, why would she come here to you? To this pigsty?"

  Dario puffed out his chest. "I'm trustworthy, you know."

  Selwyn and I exchanged looks, and he leaned forward with a mocking chuckle. "And who trusts you, Dario? I can't see anyone trusting you."

  Dario glared at Selwyn and then across at me, his voice rising with indignation. "I am trusted! Everyone trusts me! Marcelo trusts me, Joy trusts me!"

  Dario fell quiet, his anger dissipating as his form seemed to shrink. He mumbled to himself, perhaps realizing what he had just revealed in his anger.

  I smiled warmly, adopting the tone I used to close difficult deals. "Come now, you've gone this far, you may as well continue."

  "Marcelo," he whispered, the name barely audible.

  "Pardon, I didn't hear you?"

  "Marcelo paid me. I have to keep the bar shut, and—"

  "And what? Answer me, Dario." My patience was wearing thin, the image of Joy's collar in another's possession burning in my mind. Had she given it up willingly? A rejection of me and everything I offered her?

  "I had to get Joy here. Wasn't anything hard."

  I waved my hand dismissively at Dario's impaled hand. "Do what you have to. We need to find where Joy is now."

  At those words, Dario’s attention flicked behind me, and I spun in the seat, seeing his gaze moving to a door partially concealed behind a tapestry. I stood quickly, drawing the attention of both men, and pointed over at the door. "What's behind there?"

  Dario's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically, sending droplets of sweat flying. "It's just my bed. That's where I live."

  "Well now, a secret area away from prying eyes. Doesn't that sound worth looking at, brother?"

  Selwyn nodded, a gleam in his eye I'd never seen before. "Absolutely, but whatever shall we do with this one? If we leave him here, he's simply going to remove the dagger and run away."

  Dario looked between us, nodding and then shaking his head at the words like a broken puppet. "I won't. I'm trustworthy, remember?"

  Selwyn grinned widely, something predatory in the expression. "Actually, I might have something quite suitable. I had this made, never got the chance to show it to you yet."

  He grasped the handle of the blade currently impaling Dario's hand to the table and pressed a small lever on the side. Selwyn moved his hand away and the handle stayed in his palm, leaving the blade embedded through Dario's hand and into the wood.

  With a smile, Selwyn stroked the flat edge of the blade with his finger. "To remove this, he'd need to grab this with his other hand, which would be torn to shreds by the blade edges." Selwyn's eyes drifted to Dario as he spoke, amusement crossing his face at the horror on Dario's.

  I stared at my brother, my face going slack for a moment, equally impressed and wary of his ingenuity. I hadn't realized that Selwyn was so interested in bladed objects and their functions, and he seemed far too pleased with what he was doing for this to be casual interest.

  I hoped it was merely the enthusiasm of our current hunt driving his behavior, but the dagger had been custom made before any of this happened. Something cold settled in my stomach at the thought of Joy seeing him like this. From what I knew of her tastes, Selwyn acting this way would very much interest her. The idea of them together, bonding over this shared darkness... I pushed the thought away.

  Satisfied that Dario was securely pinned to the table with no escape route, I stood, brushing dust from my clothes. With one last chuckle at Dario's predicament, Selwyn followed my lead. We moved to the door Dario had indicated and found it locked, though it didn't seem particularly sturdy. Together we pressed our shoulders against it and used our weight to push through, breaking it open with a louder noise than expected.

  As the broken door crashed to the floor, another loud noise rang out, and we realized it wasn't the door but the sound of a man screaming in pain from somewhere below us. With one final glance over my shoulder at Dario, Selwyn and I rushed down the revealed staircase, into darkness that smelled of damp stone and copper blood.