Chapter 31

Aria waited several minutes before slipping away from the others. She followed the stairs up to the third floor. There were three doors leading off the hallway. She decided to try the farthest one first.

By sheer luck, she picked the right one. She opened the door a crack and saw Dovesi sitting on one of the two beds in the room. She pushed the door open.

Dovesi saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped up. Her face fell when she saw who it was. "Oh, it's you. I was hoping it was Primo."

"I just came up to tell you that I talked to him, and he should be coming up soon," Aria said.

Dovesi covered her face with her hands. "Oh, do you really think this was a good idea?" She asked, turning away.

"Of course it is," Aria insisted, discreetly drawing her blade. "It's a perfect opportunity."

"For what? For me to make a fool of myself?"

Aria put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Of course not. It's a perfect opportunity for this."

Dovesi glanced over her shoulder, then stiffened as Aria slid the blade into her back. Before Dovesi could register the betrayal, Aria gave the dagger a hard twist and pulled it out. She covered the girl's mouth before she could scream for help and followed her when she sank to the floor.

She kept her mouth covered for several minutes, until she saw that the light had faded from from the Dunmer's eyes. She cleaned her blade on the girl's dress, then stood up and brushed the wrinkles from her dress. This was Vicente's gift to her and it wouldn't do to ruin with carelessness.

Now for the next step. Aria went back downstairs and rejoined the other guests. After a few moments of conversation with Matilde, she went to stand by Primo again. "You owe me," she told him.

"Excuse me?"

Aria looked at him. "I did more than put in a good word for you. Dovesi is waiting for you upstairs, in your bedroom."

Primo's eyes went wide. "Oh. Uh...should-should I go up now? I don't want to seem too eager."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Go whenever you feel like going. Just remember, she isn't going to wait all night."

Primo nodded and quickly excused himself. He immediately climbed the stairs, while Aria found a seat near the fireplace. Time to sit back and watch her handiwork.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a scream echoed through the house, originating from the third floor. Everyone rushed upstairs to see what the problem was. They found Primo holding Dovesi's bloody corpse in his arms.

"No!" Nels shouted. He ran to Dovesi's other side while Aria and Matilde clung together in shock. Neville took charge of the situation.

"Primo," he said calmly, "what happened here?"

"I-I don't know!" Primo insisted. "I came upstairs, opened the door, and-and she was just lying there...in a pool of blood!"

Neville knelt next to the body. "Everyone, go downstairs," he ordered. "I'll be down shortly."

Surprisingly, no one questioned him. Aria followed the others from the room, glancing over her shoulder as Nels ushered her away from the sight. Neville was kneeling by the body, carefully looking at the wound on Dovesi's back. The look on his face said that he could be trouble for Aria. She would need to keep an eye on him.