Chapter Text
"I am Sam Cortland, and i will not be afraid."
Taking a deep breath, Sam steeled himself and went to step out of the shadows and approach the house when a dark feeling coiled through his gut, making his step falter.
Something seemed... odd.
Not knowing what was making him feel this way, Sam took a step back and assessed the house. That was when he noticed just how quiet it was.
Sure, it was night time, so that explained the lack of people on the street, but it was like the house was dead.
Sam never knew a time when the house wasn't bustling in some way, especially at night. Normally guards would be crawling, stopping people from doing anything like this, but it seemed like there wasn't a single person out. It was then that he also noticed the lack of a carriage for a likely client. Sam had seen a courtesan carriage here every night on patrol so where was it now?
No guards, no maids, no men or women paid to be there. No movement inside at all.
The dark coil raised throughout his entire body and a voice that sounded like his mothers said the words "Trust your instincts. Be brave. Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to back down when you know something is wrong."
Those words had been spoken by his mother the day before she died, having known one of her clients was getting aggressive, and Sam had lived by them since. She had ignored her instincts that night to make money for him to have a better life and she had lost hers in the process. If he ignored them now, he knew it would end badly.
He had to take a step back, had to back down. Something felt wrong, so wrong that going inside would be the biggest mistake he knew he could make.
Instead, Sam turned around and got away as fast as he could. Going by the meet up points along the way to make sure Celaena wasn't out looking for him, Sam stayed vigilant all the way home.
When he walked in the door, Celaena turned to him in surprise mid way through putting her cloak on.
"Hey. I was coming to check the meet up points. You're already done? Faster than i thought." She said with a grin, but it was quickly wiped away by the look on his face.
"I didn't do it."
Celaena frowned, going up to him. "Why? What happened?"
"Something felt... wrong. There was nobody there. No maids, no guards or guests. Not even a carriage on the street for a lady of the night. Nothing." Sam recounted and Celaena's frown deepened, mixing with a look of worry.
"Is it just me, or does that sound-"
"Like a trap." Sam finished for her in agreement.
Neither spoke for a long moment, unsure of what to say, when Sam's eyes widened almost comically.
"What if they planned this from before we had the deal?" When he got a look, he grabbed her arms. "Isn't it weird that right when we need a lot more money to pay off Arobynn, we get a huge deal to take down the crime king and his second? I don't have a way to identify the person who made the deal, so what if it was all a set up from the start? Thinking about it, don't you think it's weird that the deal came right when we needed it?"
"Who would do this to us and why? Wait." She stopped and her look filled with disbelief. "You don't think Arobynn would do this, do you? Sam, he-"
"Celaena. Look at it properly. Since you got back, Arobynn made it clear that he was in love with you, breaking in here to tell you, making it clear how much he wanted you as his. He has always favoured you and given you the best deals. He is violent and petty so don't you think he would do something in retaliation for you picking me over him?" Sam asked.
"He did. He gave all of my money to that whore." Celaena snapped and Sam growled in frustration, gripping her arms harder.
"He did that before you paid him part of the money. He has yet to do anything since. How can you be so naïve to think that he isn't a monster who never allows anyone to get away? There is a reason he is the King of the Assassin's, Celaena. Just think about it."
"I am, but it doesn't make sense. He might be cruel and petty, but he wouldn't betray us like this." Celaena felt her anger begin to rise when Sam growled again and let go off her, stalking off towards the bedroom. She was right behind him.
"Stop looking at him with a filter over your eyes. Arobynn has been keeping work from us for months and then all of a sudden, the biggest deal we have ever had lands right in my lap? The more i think it through, the more I'm starting to see the truth. It was a set up from the start. Always." Sam threw his coat onto the bed and began stripping off his weapons as he talked. "Arobynn has always been possessive in a weird way over you. Why would he allow two of his best to leave without any consequence, especially after he made it clear he hated that you chose me over him? Ever since Ben died, he has given me a bad feeling and it's only getting worse."
"Don't you dare bring Ben into this." Celaena snapped and Sam threw his arms up, turning to face her.
"Why not? Everything about how he died is suspicious. You know that, i know that, we all know that. There was no reason that he ever should have been there that night. Gregori isn't one of the best, but he is fully competent enough to have managed that deal on his own. Ben never should have been there that night. Has it never occurred to you to think that maybe Arobynn had something to do with it? Ben was his second so Arobynn had to know why he decided to go with Gregori yet he acts as if he never had any idea." Sam yelled and Celaena felt something drop in her stomach.
She and Sam both knew that he was right.
"Why would he do anything to Ben? Ben was a good guy." Celaena tried.
"Yes and he was better then Arobynn in any way. There is no way that Arobynn would have been okay with the fact that we all, especially you, liked Ben over him. He has always needed to be the best no matter what. If he found a way to get rid of the person that was besting him and would probably soon take over from him, do you not think that he would do everything in his power to take that person down?" Sam asked her and Celaena's shoulders dropped, her eyes following and staring at the ground.
"Look, something about tonight is wrong. You and i both know that i never like to back down from a challenge. But the last time i had a gut feeling this strong, my mother was found dead the next morning. She told me to trust what my instincts were telling me, told me that sometimes backing out is braver then going in." Sam continued, his voice more gentle, and Celaena looked back up to him. "There is no way that tonight, after seeing for weeks that Jayne's house is never silent, that it would be so quiet i can hear a pin drop. Farran and Jayne always have guests. So why is there none tonight?"
Celaena had nothing to say to that. As she let the words Sam said roll over her, Celaena thought to all of the moments involving Arobynn since leaving the Guild. Not only had she left and paid out Sam's debts with hers, but she made it clear that she would always pick the younger over the older. She had seen the anger in Arobynn's eyes and been glad at the time, but now she felt worried.
Arobynn was the sort of person to betray people to get what he wants. She had seen it before and turned a blind eye because while he had been cold and mean to her, he had very clearly favoured her over the rest. But looking back now, all she could see were the flags.
Sam was right. About Ben and about the deal.
She felt her heart harden and her brain go into survival.
"If what you say is right, then we need to make a new plan before either of them find out that we know." She said and she knew Sam could feel her energy change when his back straightened.
"Celaena." He warned, but she held up her hand.
"Hear me out. We need the money from this job to get away from Arobynn and from this city. There is no way to get around that, no matter what way we look at it. So what we need to do is come up with a plan that none of them will be expecting. The reward is most definitely real, they wouldn't do this without it just in case it goes wrong for them." Celaena began to pace as she spoke her thoughts.
"Okay. Let's say that we do do this. If we haven't struck by morning, Arobynn and Farran will be heavily suspicious, so whatever we do needs to be done tonight." Sam explained.
The dark and twisted grin Celaena got a few moments later as she stopped in front of him made his heart race.
"That is exactly why we won't strike tonight. We need them to be terrified and confused as to why the plan they knew we would make didn't happen so... here's what i think we should do. In the morning, we need to be seen by Farran in the streets looking like we're just going on a walk. Then, once he has spotted us, we pounce. The middle of the street may scare the citizens, but that's only a small price to pay. He won't expect to be attacked out in the open so if we both take him on, we can take Farran down the fastest. Him working with Arobynn on this makes it clear that he is more in charge then we might think. We will do whatever it takes to kill him, rip his head off if we must. It will send a clear message to Arobynn and everybody else that we aren't here to play. Then, we hunt down Jayne. He will still be at the house if we go early enough wondering why the deal didn't work the way he was told it would and we can take him down before he finds out about Farran." Celaena said and Sam sighed.
"It's a good plan, but how do we know that Jayne will be at the house? Or that it won't still be a trap?" Sam asked and Celaena cursed. It only took her a minute to think of something else.
"We make a deal that he won't be able to refuse. Pose as someone who has only great things to offer. When he comes to meet us, we kill him. He is greedy and won't hesitate to make a new deal that will get him money so offering a hefty sum will work." Celaena put it all out and Sam felt better.
This plan felt like it would work, despite how much more risky it was, but they knew it was the only option.
Deciding to go to bed and rest a few hours, they taking turns just in case someone came to the apartment, they went through all of the small details and set up what kind of deal they were going to lure Jayne with.
They were still making final plans when they walked arm in arm down the streets of Rifthold, their cloaks hiding all of their weapons and their masks in the pockets.
Dropping a parchment off at the crime lords house along the way with the deal written, having worn a mask to do so, the couple only had to walk for half an hour before a clearly agitated Farran spotted them from ahead. Seeing his look of absolute confused anger, Celaena grinned and rudely gestured with her finger, making a few older ladies passing by gasp in horror, before she and Sam began walking away.
She couldn't say she was surprised when she saw that the man was following them.
"Let's corner him." Sam muttered into her ear and nodding, Celaena split off down into an alleyway, knowing it would take her around to the one Sam planned to be at.
She was almost worried it didn't work, Farran having not followed her in, when Sam came around the corner with the older male behind him and she grinned when Farran froze.
From where they stood, nobody in the streets beyond could see them and she knew that out of anger, he had left the house without a guard or much protection of any kind.
No words were spoken as Celaena and Sam pulled out weapons and lunged into an attack except for Farran's cursing, using the sword and dagger he had to fend them off, but he soon knew he was overpowered.
Taking a hard kick to the back of the knee by Celaena, Farran dropped to his knees hard and had no time to react as she grabbed his hair, yanking it back and placing a knife to his throat.
"Wait." Sam told her and she looked up angry to see his calculated face. She decided to wait when Sam stood in front of Farran holding his sword to his chest over his heart.
"Tell us what deal you made with Arobynn." He demanded. Farran's response was to spit blood from a punch Sam had landed to his mouth at his feet and Celaena snarled.
"Answer him." She near screamed, holding the knife harder to his skin, and he swallowed.
Farran knew he had lost, but he believed he could maybe get out of it as long as he played the right cards.
"Okay. Just... Arobynn came to me and told me he wanted to get rid of Sam. He was mad that Celaena had chosen him instead and he knew we had a way to take him out if he came to attack." Sam frowned down at him.
"What is that?"
"Gloriella. It's a paralytic agent and was supposed to knock you out when you came into the house. Arobynn told me to do whatever i wanted to you as long as you ended up dead in his house by morning."
"What about Celaena? What's the plan for her?" Sam asked and Farran swallowed heavily.
"He wants to get her caught." He replied and as Sam frowned in confusion and looked to Celaena, Farran went on. "He wants to punish her for choosing Sam so... he wants her to be captured by the Kings guards and... and sent to Endovier."
Celaena and Sam's bodies both went cold.
"He knew that with Sam dead, Celaena would want revenge and so i would use the Gloriella to take her out only after she killed Ion. Then the guards would take her and send her away."
Sam and Celaena both took a long minute to think, but it was Sam who came to a decision first and he went over, gently taking Celaena's hands and removing them from Farran. Farran gasped in relief and dropped his hands to the ground, having barely breathed, only for Sam to slam the butt of his sword into his temple, knocking him out cold.
"What should we do?" Celaena whispered, for the first time being unsure of what needed to be done. Sam took her hands in his again and squeezed them.
"We cover his face up and drag him out of here. I have a sack we can use to cover his face so hopefully no one knows it's him and then we take him to Jayne. Jayne will be mad that Farran was willing to betray him just for some fun. We both know he has fun hurting people." Sam said and Celaena kicked hard into the crotch of the unconscious man, feeling satisfied at the grunt of pain.
"How do we take Jayne out?" She asked.
"We surprise him."
Celaena had no way to truly explain how fast everything had happened after the encounter in the alley.
After putting on their masks, pulling up their hoods and hiding their weapons again, Sam and Celaena shoved the sack Sam had brought over Farran's head and tied his hands and feet so he wouldn't be able to run upon waking up. They then dragged him out, seeing that everyone was just ignoring them drag a man down the street most likely due to not wanting to get involved, and went to the meeting point they had put in the deal for Ion Jayne. Jayne was already there with several guards when they arrived.
Revealing Farran and telling Jayne about the plan Farran and Arobynn had made, the couple waited until Jayne turned his back to speak to his men to strike and Celaena pulled a sword, stabbing the man through the chest.
They made quick work of the guards with him before they took both Farran and Jayne's bodies back to their own house and, using all of their muscles as people around them stopped to watch, Sam and Celaena lifted Jayne and hung him over the fence, making sure the spikes went right through him.
They waited for Farran to wake before doing the same to him.
They got away right as the royal guard geared down the road.
"We don't have long to finish packing." Sam said once he and Celaena were home and Celaena nodded.
It was when she went into the bathroom to rid her skin and clothing of blood that the situation wore down on her.
Arobynn had betrayed her. Out of jealousy. The man who had saved her life as a child and raised her into an assassin had tried to betray her and Sam, wanted her to go to Endovier, the mining slave prison camp, all because he was jealous. It made her heart clench and eyes begin to itch. It wasn't until Sam came up behind her and pulled her into his arms that she realised she was crying.
Sam silently drew her a bath and climbed in with her as she continued to cry and Celaena leant back into him, feeling a safety she hadn't felt since she was younger in Sam's arms.
"It's going to be okay. I love you." Sam whispered into her ear and Celaena turned around enough so she could rest her head on his chest.
The love Sam had for her was felt as he washed her skin and hair, as he got her out of the bath, dried and dressed her in something soft before laying her in the bed and as he held her, Celaena held him as tightly as she could.
"We need to finish getting ready to go." Sam mumbled into her hair after some time had passed and she had stopped crying, and Celaena huffed, feeling her own breath on her nose where it was pressed into Sam's throat.
"Thank you." She whispered into his skin and Sam smiled, lifting her chin and kissing her gently.
They were putting the last box onto the pile when a loud knock came at the door and when Sam checked, he was glad to see that it was proof of payment for services rendered. The man who handed it to him was gone the moment the parchment had left his hand.
"I'll go to the docks and double check with the captain i paid and then go to the bank to transfer the last of the money. Then i'll withdraw the rest and bring it back here where we will have all of our stuff in a carriage to go straight to the ship." Sam organised the plan as he geared himself up in case of a fight and Celaena nodded.
Biting her lip, she felt a fear she didn't understand go through her and it was only when Sam went to leave that she realised what it was and she quickly rushed to stop him.
"I... it sounds stupid, especially coming from me, but... i don't want you to go anywhere alone, not here. If Arobynn went to all that trouble to take you out..." Celaena was sure Sam was going to laugh at her, but when he lifted her head, his eyes were nothing but understanding.
The plan then changed. Getting herself geared up as well, Celaena went with Sam to the docks to double check on the deal before they took a carriage back to the apartment. Loading the carriage full of all of their items, the two took it to the bank and went in to transfer what they owed into Arobynn's account.
They were getting back into the carriage after they had withdrawn all of their money into trunks that they put into the carriage with their things that Arobynn found them.
"We transferred the last of the money. We no longer owe you a cent." Celaena said coldly and the look Arobynn gave was near deadly, paired with the fakest smile she had ever seen on his face.
"I'm guessing you heard the news." He stated and Sam nodded.
"We did. Truly sad. Our condolences. Now if you don't mind, we have to leave." Sam snarked and Arobynn stayed quiet. That was until Celaena went to close the door.
"I wonder how your family feel, seeing you now. A lost princess truly abandoning her kingdom." His murmur struck Celaena in the chest, but not in a way it would have just the day before.
No, now it just made her smile.
"Oh, I'll be back. And when i get back, knowing how to use what i have to the fullest, I'll take delight in using it to rip you apart and taking everything from you." She snarled and she was truly satisfied when his face filled with truly genuine fear.
The amulet that he threw through the door at her as she slammed the carriage door shocked her.
It was the Amulet of Orynth.