Chapter 613

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“Let’s make our own mark,” Owen said, guiding her hand as they drew an inverted V in the dirt, deliberately extending the line on the left.
Aria understood his intention and added the symmetrical other half, her eyes seeming to say, “Happy now?”
Owen wasn’t satisfied yet. He kept adding lines and making adjustments, churning up a ring of mud in the process.
Aria couldn’t help but chuckle. “I never knew you had such a childish side.”
“Just wait till we get back. I’ll make a proper design for us.” Owen felt his ears flush slightly.
He thought to himself, ‘Man, I really am acting childish. Maybe being around her just turns my brain to mush. I’m getting dumber by the minute!’
After eating some dry rations, they pressed on.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before Aria and Owen’s expressions hardened in unison. Moving as one, they split apart and melted into the tree shadows.
Voices drifted over from nearby.
Someone grumbled, “Mr. Damon Remar’s gone nuts. Instead of trying to impress Mr. Tyree Remar, he’s out here hunting some heiress.”
“Word is, Ms. Remar’s the one gunning for Aria. That’s why Mr. Damon Remar’s here.”
“Why would Ms. Remar want to kill a Huthailian?”
“Every person Ms. Remar targeted was connected to Mr. Nicholson. Maybe during his business trip, Mr. Nicholson fell for that Huthailian heiress, so now Ms. Remar wants her dead.”
“What’s that heiress even doing out here at the Torrenia border?”
“Who knows?”
Five armed Wolfshade Syndicate members were grumbling as they walked.
Damon knew Aria was a member of the Solemnity Guild, but her true identity remained unknown to him.
The orders got diluted as they trickled down the chain of command. The outer-circle members only knew the basics and weren’t taking this mission seriously.
The leader kicked aside a bush and barked, “Hurry up and find her. The sooner we wrap this up, the sooner we can get back and feast.” Before he could finish his sentence, a silver needle shot into his throat.
Owen sprang from the shadows, dispatching two men with swift dagger strikes.
Aria took down the last two before they even had a chance to fire.
Owen retrieved the silver needle from the body, wiped it clean, and handed it back to Aria for safekeeping.
No blades, no bloodshed, just one silver needle, one kill. It’s incredibly handy for dealing with these grunts.
Aría caught the admiration in Owen’s eyes and teased, “Want me to teach you how to do that?”
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Owen’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “One expert in the family is enough. I don’t need to learn.”
“Makes sense,” Aria said, genuinely agreeing with the point.
Owen searched each of the five bodies in turn, pulling out a map marked with a red line. “The map is freshly made.”
Owen thought, ‘It’s not unusual to find a map, but what’s odd is how clearly the route is marked, with the destination circled in red. Does the Wolfshade Syndicate have another agenda? Or maybe it’s a trap.’
Owen raised an eyebrow. “Wanna go check it out?”
Aria replied firmly, “Let’s go.”
As they followed the red line on the map, Aria and Owen encountered Wolfshade Syndicate members with increasing frequency, mostly outer-circle members.
Each group of five or six carried an identical map. After taking down another group, Owen deliberately left the weakest one alive.
Owen demanded coldly, “Who gave you this map? Spill it, or you’ll die a horrible death.”
Staring at his dead companions, the terrified man stammered, “The higher-ups gave us the map, and they told us to just follow the marked route.”
Owen demanded coldly, “Who issued these orders? And what’s the objective?”
“They were Mr. Damon Remar’s men. They didn’t say what to do,” the terrified underling stammered. “I’m telling the truth, I
swear.”
Owen holstered his gun. “Get lost.”
“What?” The terrified man froze, already prepared for death. “You’re really letting me go?” he stammered.
Owen said coldly, “Then just die.”
The terrified man shrieked, “I want to live.” He stumbled and scrambled away in panic.
After reviewing nearly ten maps, Aria had committed all the routes to memory.
“On the surface, Damon wants us to go to this location,” Owen concluded.
“What about beyond the surface?”
“That means someone is using Damon as a pawn to lure us to this place,” Owen added. “To be precise, they want Madelyn there. I’m just collateral damage. Who do you think is behind this?”