Huskar felt it the moment he wasn't alone in his home anymore. He even thought he saw someone, at the edge of his vision, but when he turned no one was there.
"I'm here to warn you." The voice startled him, first because it came from behind him and second because he knew the voice. And he was right.
The Phantom Assassin blurred with the shadows around her but it was unmistakably the one he had met in the last town war. He was instantly on alert, because the Veiled Sisters were the best assassins and Huskar had never heard of a creature that had lived through being a target of one of them.
"You only get this one warning because I know you. And because I promised to kill you instantly should you not heed it. Stop looking for information about the Veiled Sisters, no matter what kind of information. Maybe you'll find whatever you are looking for, but then you'll get killed anyway and I can't imagine any information is worth dying."
The Sacred Warrior stared at the Assassin. "So you desperately don't want anyone to find anything out about you and your soulmates."
"We don't have soulmates." Her face was completely impassive, as it had been all the time during the town war. It showed absolutely no emotions.
"So you say." But maybe they just didn't want to have a weak spot. And the weakest spot of a creature was always it's soulmate. They wouldn't want anything like that.
"Stop searching. It gains you nothing."
That was where she was wrong. Because Huskar had never been this intrigued about anyone and he supposed it meant something. Well, it could mean something. It didn't have to. But the fact that the Phantom Assassin had showed up in his home meant they were hiding something.
It posed the question, though, why did she come to warn him? The assassins didn't mind killing creatures, they could've just come over and ended it. If he took his interest in her and her coming over to warn him so he wouldn't be killed, and threw it into a pot with the soulmate topic, it was just possible that she was his soulmate.
If the Veiled Sisters had soulmates, then they had the marks. If they had the marks, they hid them somehow. Or removed them. Either way, they knew what their marks had looked like. If the Phantom Assassin had recognized Huskar's mark, she knew that they were mates. Therefore, even though she was an assassin, the best and deadliest of them all, she'd come over to warn him off. So he wouldn't die.
It was a far leap. A very unlikely event. But it was just likely enough to be possible.
And it left Huskar with not knowing what to do next. He didn't believe that the Phantom Assassin would forever refrain from killing him. She had said she'd do it and he believed her. This one warning was as much as she could do. So he had to stop searching for information about the Veiled Sisters and soulmates.
But then, if the Phantom Assassin and he were fated, how could he get her to like him? How could he get her to be with him and to stay with him? She probably wasn't allowed to have a mate, but did she want one? He wanted one. He wanted his mate.
In contrast to many other creatures (including the Veiled Sisters), Huskar believed in fate. If it had selected them to be soulmates, then it had had a reason to do so. The reason wasn't always obvious, was in fact seldom so, but it was always there.
So, how to seduce an assassin? He had never tried to seduce anyone, well, not into staying at least. Getting laid by a creature was easy enough, but to get someone to want to stay one had to be likeable. Not just hot or available. Huskar wasn't sure he was that likeable.
"If I promise to stop searching, would you do me a favour?"
That had gotten her unawares. "What?" But she was an expert and her face didn't show her surprise, not even for a split second. "There is nothing to negotiate. Either you stop or you die."
"I'd like to go on another town war with you." She was an assassin, fighting was what she did. Maybe he could bond with her over that? A town war was the only thing she might agree to. She'd never do anything with him or for him or whatever. But since he knew she went on town wars, why not go on one together.
And really, she hesitated. Then she nodded. "Okay."
Huskar stared. He had hoped for it but he hadn't actually thought she'd say yes. Then he grinned. A wide grin showing all his teeth. The Phantom Assassin didn't react to it. She was neither disturbed nor afraid by the display. Or maybe she just hid it.
He should try to find out if she was scared of him, though it seemed unlikely. It was way more likely that she was disturbed. Or disgusted. Both things were not uncommon when dealing with human or human-like creatures. They had so tiny teeth they didn't know what to do with a troll and his tusks.
"Tomorrow at midday, at the platform by the inn." Without waiting for an answer, the Phantom Assassin walked out of the house. She'd probably teleport away from outside.
There was only one platform that was referred to as 'by the inn'. It was the most popular one, since it was near a main road and a village with lots of merchants and a huge inn. It was not only a meeting point for all the creatures that wanted to go to a town war together but also a place for anyone who needed a special weapon or was searching for someone or something.
So the Phantom Assassin had agreed to go to a town war with Huskar. Now the troll had only to behave and not screw up. The question from before remained: how to seduce an assassin into wanting to stay? She didn't even necessarily have to stay with him, he'd gladly stay with her. Though he supposed the other assassins of her guild wouldn't be thrilled about him strolling around wherever they all met and lived.
He thought about it the whole night (and got way too little sleep because of it) but he didn't have a solution or a plan as he jogged towards the platform the next morning. He was sure he wouldn't win her with presents, with flowers or other romantic stuff. It would also probably not get him any bonus points when he was protective of her. Maybe he could try to be as charming as possible, but when he thought about what he looked like when he smiled, he wasn't sure if that was the best course of action. Too much teeth for human-like creatures.
Well, he had to find out what she liked, first. Which wouldn't be easy at all. But he'd try. He should try to be not too obvious about it, not that he'd chase her away. Fuck, this was going to be really difficult.
On one hand, Huskar had wished for an easy mate, but then that would be boring as hell. This was at least exciting. And to have a strong mate, an independent mate, one who knew what she wanted and was fully capable to fend for herself, was thrilling.
Huskar shortly wondered when he had decided she was his mate. He couldn't be sure. He knew nothing of her, not even her name.
But when he saw her, waiting by the platform, he couldn't supress a smile. She was beautiful, even though or maybe because she looked absolutely deadly. Her form was a little blurred, making it hard to get a sense of where her body began and ended, which was okay as long as she stood still. As soon as she moved, there only remained a patch of black, dark green, grey and dark blue.
She held a weapon, a strange-looking thing with a handle and blades on both sides, in her right hand, leaving the other free to throw one of the daggers strapped to her waist. Huskar supposed she seldom sheathed her weapon.
She waited until Huskar was closer, then she nodded as greeting and stepped onto the platform. She didn't speak, not now and not when they were ported into the safe zone of the town war. She fully concentrated on herself, but when she was finished with buying stuff and Huskar wasn't, she waited at the entrance of the safe zone. So she was aware of him, she just didn't show it.
It took Huskar some time to get used to the fighting style of the Phantom Assassin. She went back and forth a lot and sometimes didn't even react when an enemy hit her. It took also some time to get used to the constant blur to her shape, even though it wasn't as bad for her allies as it was for her enemies (a construct of the town wars).
The Assassin didn't comment on anything the troll did. Neither good nor bad. She didn't say what she expected of him, which didn't make it any easier for him to do the right things at the right time.
After a while he thought he could more feel than see a change in her expression, in her eyes, whether she liked what he had done or not. He detected it the first time he did something really stupid. Even he cringed afterwards and when he looked at the Assassin he could feel her disdain about the action. Not that her expression had actually changed, she appeared to be as emotionless as sever. But he was sure he saw something.
Since Huskar didn't want to stare at the Phantom Assassin the whole time like an idiot, he wasn't sure what made him think he had sensed a difference in her attitude towards him. Until he died the first time.
Frowning as he appeared in the safe zone of their town, he bought a scroll of teleport and used it to get back to their tower. This time the look the Assassin sent his way was so full of disappointment and disdain it was unmistakable. And she was able to get it across without changing her expression.