Niall was fuming when they found him on the roof of a fancy inn near the palace entrance. The palace itself gave Gunnar the impression of a sea urchin—a series of slender spires jutting from a rounded hill—dwarfed by the massive whale of a temple that dominated the skyline of the city.

Several Nighthawks had been lost in the action during the past couple hours. Some of the squads had been sent to keep up the chaos in the harbor a little longer. The rest of them gathered on the roof—a dozen members total.

“It’s like they knew we were coming,” Niall groaned as he hastily recounted the three botched assassinations, including his own.

All three targets had been en route to a diplomatic meeting at the palace when the attacks began. Rather than proceeding more hesitantly and cautiously—like the other marks—the nobles had been even more emboldened. While they sent teams of Red Cloaks down to the harbor to join the fighting, the nobles raced fearlessly onward. Two had already reached the safety of the palace.

Leaving one last loose end.

When Niall realized what was happening, he ordered several teams to converge on the last target. But still, Lord Cedric Highship narrowly escaped in his carriage to a guard outpost a half mile from the palace.

“At least you accepted the losses,” Gunnar said. “A lesser man would have tried to get them all and failed.”

“Strangely, I think that’s the first compliment you’ve given me,” Niall said.

“Still no word from Em?” Gunnar asked.

Keto shook his head. The meathead had become the de facto leader of her team in her absence. “She made the kill, and our team scattered. We had quite a few Red Cloaks on our asses. She never made it to the regroup point.”

“Captured then?” Gunnar asked.

“Or else pinned down, hiding somewhere,” Keto said.

“I’m afraid it’ll have to wait for the time being,” Niall said. “We’re running out of time.”

“You’re not wrong about that!”

Everyone spun at Azmar’s voice. The creature dropped from the dark skies in a rush of wings, and landed beside Gunnar.

“Ah,” said Niall, “you must be the familiar.”

Azmar puffed his chest out and flared his nostrils. “I will not be drawn in by your insults. I’m the bigger man.”

“And you also agree we’re running out of time,” Niall said. “So grateful you flew all this way to agree with—”

“I’m assuming you don’t have another fleet coming?” Azmar said.

Niall’s sarcastic tone vanished. “Another fleet?”

“You know, like two waves of pirates or something?”

“No,” Niall said.

“Hey, I was giving you some undue credit. Maybe you were smarter than you look. But appears not.”

“What’s your point, Azmar?” Gunnar demanded.

The creature glared at him. “There are nine ships approaching the harbor as we speak.”

Niall glanced out toward the horizon, though it was difficult to see anything with the massive storm looming just outside the city.

“They’re coming through that?”

“Not traders, then, huh?” Azmar quipped. “I couldn’t make out sails from that far away, but my money is on them being imperial.”

“Imperial?” asked Keto.

“Were they warships?” Niall asked.

“Are warships big?” Azmar asked dryly. “Because these ships looked pretty big.”

Gunnar rolled his eyes. The damn creature needed to learn a little tact, for once.

“Shit,” Niall muttered.

“You said it was as though those nobles knew we were coming,” Gunnar said.

“I’m starting to think they definitely did.”

“But that makes no sense,” said one of the other leaders, a woman named Katana. “We got our number one target.”

“If they knew we were coming,” said Keto, “why would these nobles get away, but not the governor of Thailen?”

Silence hung over the group.

Gunnar’s stomach twisted as he realized the truth. “They wanted him dead, so they let us do our job. Partially, anyway.”

“And the war fleet?” Katana demanded.

“They wanted us to kill the governor, and weaken the Nighthawks at the same time,” Gunnar said.

“We can’t go back to the ships,” Niall said. “Send a messenger down to the harbor. Maybe Black Heart can get out before that fleet pins them down.”

“And how exactly do we get out of here?” Katana asked.

Niall never got a chance to answer. A notification chimed, and judging by the silence that followed, every member of the Nighthawks had received the exact same message.

[Nighthawk Guild Master Kai has been captured by the Red Cloaks!]

The Nighthawks looked at one another, horror contorting their faces. But before anyone could find words, another notification came in.

[Nighthawk Guild Master Bellamy has been captured by the Red Cloaks!]

Followed by another.

And another.

In a matter of minutes, five of the ten guild masters were captured, and one had been killed.

The Nighthawks tensed, waiting on the rooftop for the rest to follow. No one knew what to say as their leaders fell one by one. No one knew what was happening back in Thailen. With each notification, Gunnar waited for Leilani’s name. For Grand Master Faraday’s name. But they didn’t come.

A minute passed, and Gunnar was pretty sure he took his first breath since the first arrest notification. Four of their leaders remained.

But what did all this mean for them?

For the mission?

For their futures?

A new notification arrived—one Gunnar had never received before. A guild-wide DM from the Grand Master.

Grand Master Faraday: The Nighthawks have been betrayed. Our safe house is no longer safe. In fact, it is no more—entirely. Abort the mission. Save yourselves. Await further instructions.

“What the hell is going on?” Katana finally asked.

“The war fleet…” Gunnar realized aloud.

“We’ve been set up,” Niall said. “The empire is taking out our entire guild in one fell swoop.”

“How?” Keto asked. “How could they pull something like this off?”

“Only way they could orchestrate something like this is with someone on the inside,” Niall said. “Someone who knew everything.

“A double agent?” Gunnar asked.

“A traitor,” said Niall. “We’ve got to get back to Thailen as soon as possible, but we can’t go empty handed. Keto, you scouted that guard outpost. Tell me what we’re looking at to take out Lord Hightower.”

“Look man, all this sounds crazy,” Keto said. “Master Faraday just said to abort.”

“The real Faraday knows the importance of this mission,” Niall said. “Our true master would never abort.”

“The real Faraday?” Katana asked. “What are you suggesting?”

“There’s no way that was Grand Master Faraday,” Niall said. “At least not the one we thought we served.”

“You think our own master betrayed us?”

“I don’t know,” Niall said. “But it would set up the perfect opportunity. With the governor gone, Thailen could be ruled by anyone.”

“And the others?” Gunnar asked. “Faraday’s not the only one left.”

Niall shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe some of them were in league with him. Or maybe they’re next.” His voice went low as he spoke, and Gunnar suspected his thoughts were on Mistress Leilani. Gunnar knew she was where his true loyalties lay, and he, too, worried for her.

“It might not be Faraday,” Gunnar said. “Perhaps he’s already been captured, and he was forced to send that message.”

“Either way, we can’t trust it,” Niall said.

“I think you just can’t accept failure,” Katana said. “This whole mission is botched up.”

“If you want to run, then run,” Niall said. “But if you stay, we’re finishing our jobs.”

“What’re you talking about?” Keto demanded angrily. “Those two in the palace are lost, and the last mofo is in a near-fortress. You’re right. I scouted it out. And even if Black Heart has most of the city watch busy at the water front, it will be a bitch to try and infiltrate.”

“It won’t be the last bitch you’ll have to deal with if you bail on this quest!”

Everyone turned at the voice.

Em stepped from the ladder and crossed the roof toward them. Her red hair was dirty and ragged, and there were specks of dried blood on her neck, though she did not appear to be injured.

She scowled as she joined the circle of Nighthawks.

“Nice of you to join us,” Niall said.

“I made my kill,” Em said, “which is more than I can say for several of you. Any other quips, or can we figure out a plan to clean up your shit?”

Niall shook his head with irritation, but Gunnar could tell that he was glad she’d returned. “All right. Let’s do this.”