The auburn-haired Elemental Atlantian riding beside me was surprisingly quiet—and he wasneverquiet.
Emil had joined Hisa and me as we left Wayfair, and a tart and lemony taste gathered in my throat when I glanced over at him. Unease. I couldn’t fathom what could’ve happened to the Ascended that would’ve bothered him or Hisa.
My gaze flicked up to the city as the Golden Bridge came into view, its gilded sides glimmering in the fractured moonlight. Jacaranda trees lined the road, their normally pinkish-purple blossoms taking on a paler, silvery hue in the moonlight as the rows of stately homes appeared.
Something in the air shifted as thinner, arrow-straight trees replaced the jacarandas, and we got closer to the Luxe. It felt…heavy. Not with humidity, but like Setti was trudging through pea soup.
“You feel that?” Hisa asked, speaking in a soft tone I’d never heard from her before.
“Something’s definitely off,” I said, adjusting the hood that concealed my identity. “Can’t put my finger on what yet.” I glanced at Emil as thick clouds moved in, blocking the moon. “You?”
He nodded as Hisa surveyed the shadows clinging to the courtyards’ stone walls. “I do.” He lifted his head slightly. “It’s almost like they can feel it, too.”
My gaze followed his, and I felt myself stiffen atop Setti when I saw about a dozen or so mortals standing in small groups on verandas, wrapped in their house robes. They spoke in hushed tones to one another as they followed us with their gazes, some stares worried while others were openly hostile.
I knew how Poppy felt in crowds.
One look in their direction had concern swamping me while bitter anger pooled in my mouth. Pulling my gaze from them, I quickly constructed a thick wall in my mind, shutting them out until only my emotions resided inside me.
I didn’t know how Poppy did it. If I didn’t already know how to put up mental blocks, the emotion they projected would have choked me. And she’d had to learn how to shut herself off through trial and error—no one had been there to teach her. I knew my wife was strong, but gods, the reminder was a blessing in a way. If she’d gotten through life so far struggling to block out others’ emotions, she could return to us as she was before.
Eather throbbed in my chest as a sudden sense of awareness rose. Instinctually, I glanced at the night sky, seeing nothing but dark clouds.
But Ifeltsomething.
Craning my neck, I caught sight of the shape above. My eyes narrowed—
Large wings sliced through the thick clouds like a blade through smoke, scattering the shadows across the night sky. The draken came straight at us like an unleashed arrow, beams of silver moonlight reflecting off his purplish-black scales.
Feeling a surge of panic press down on me, I tightened my grip on Setti’s reins. Not even a heartbeat later, screams erupted as Reaver dove low.
A gust of wind roared down the road, lifting the edges of my cloak as the draken’s wings skimmed the roofs on either side of us.
Emil’s head jerked up. “What the—?” He cursed as Reaver’s spiked fucking tail whipped through the air inches above our heads, nearly causing Hisa to topple off her horse.
“Asshole,” I muttered. Setti snorted with irritation, shaking his mane.
A loud, rough sound like laughter came from the draken as he suddenly veered upward, sending the mortals fleeing into their homes.
Emil slowly turned his head toward me, his brows raised. “I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”
That fucking draken.
Rubbing Setti’s neck to calm him, I watched Reaver extend his wings and disappear back into the clouds.
“That was…fun.” Hisa straightened in her saddle, her face pale. She cleared her throat. “I’ll ride ahead and let the others know you will be there soon.”
Emil’s gaze followed her. “I have to admit,” he said, one side of his lips curling up, “if I were a draken, I’d be doing that shit all the time, too.”
“No part of me is surprised to hear that,” I replied dryly, glancing at the homes we passed.
Night had long since fallen, but it wasn’t that late. Still, no sounds of music or conversations drifted from the open windows, covered porches, or elaborate courtyard gardens. With the pleasant weather, this area of Carsodonia should be alive with activity, even with all the businesses and establishments closed due to the curfew. Except for those who had been out on their verandas, I saw no one else.
Everything that had happened in recent days likely played a role, but it wasn’t like the mortals were forbidden to be outside at night. They could do as they pleased as long as they remained on their property.
The city was quiet.
But it wouldn’t—couldn’t—stay that way for much longer.
