"Let me do the talking," Brooke says as we come up to the door.
"What do you plan to talk to me about?" a voice behind us startles us, and we flip around to see an older man, sword held out and at the ready. We hadn't seen anyone outside, and he's caught us completely off guard.
When he sees Brooke's face, his jaw goes slack and the point of his very sharp weapon dips slightly.
"I thought you were dead," he mutters before his sharp eyes flicker to me along with the tip of his weapon. "Who are you?"
"He is mine," Brooke says evenly, stepping in front of me. "What do you mean, you thought I was dead?"
He looks sharply back to the mermaid, and shakes his head. "When you vanished after being promoted to full assassin, I assumed that that old bastard, Shemhazau, had killed you."
"Why—?" she asks, but is cut off when the strong man suddenly hugs her to him.
