I guess we should…
The words faded in my mind, the connection halting as I peered through the distance to the rooftop a couple buildings over.
Damien’s face turned to me. “Cas?”
My eyes narrowed on the small dark lump on the ridge of the roof, and for a moment I thought I saw it move. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Thalia and Barrett in the alley below us, faces raised to us in confusion.
“Damien, I think we’re being watched,” I whispered, eyes fixated on the shadow.
Damien’s head tilted before his gaze followed mine. “What are you—”
The dark figure rose, and Damien and I tensed. It was a person. How long had they been watching us? My hand went to my dagger, and I wondered why I didn’t sense darklings, didn’t feel that cold presence pressing against my skin. It was in that moment I realized—this wasn’t a darkling.
“I think I saw whatever it is before,” I breathed, my heart rising in my throat as familiar dread crawled over my skin.
Damien’s eyes snapped to me. “When?”
“Right before the Varyos attacked us. I thought I was seeing things because it was out of the corner of my eye. It was gone when I looked, but I swear, I think it was that.”
The figure moved then, turning to run along the rooftop.
“What’s going on?” Barrett called as Damien and I took off down the stretch of rooftop.
Thalia shifted into her flight form, dappled white wings spreading from black mist as she took to the sky. Barrett trailed on foot through the alley alongside us. I reached out to their thoughts.
Someone’s been watching us.
Thalia banked, lowering to fly alongside us as we reached the end of the roof and leapt to the next. I glanced briefly in her direction before pointing to the fleeing figure. Her head tilted toward where I’d pointed, and she took off ahead.
“Don’t let go,” Damien said, grabbing my hand as he turned, leaping off the roof. I gasped as he took me with him. Shadows spread across the pavement below, and Barrett jumped into the black depths along with us.
We passed through the darkness, feet meeting the shingles of another roof not far from the fleeing figure. The person stopped, head whipping to us. The hood barely hid the black mess of curls and black eyes, his tawny skin covered in a sheen of sweat.
“Cole,” Damien growled.
Cole smirked before he took off, faster than before, and we followed. A shrill cry rang out from Thalia as she swooped into him, slamming her wing across his face. He twisted, rolling off the roof and onto the dark road below. We hurried to the edge to find him jumping to his feet, taking off once again into the streets.
Damien lifted me into his arms, and I held on as he and Barrett leapt down to the asphalt below. He set me down, and our eyes searched for any sign of Cole.
“Where the hell did he go?” Barrett barked, stepping ahead of us.
Thalia’s shrill cry alerted us ahead, and we took off, following the direction of the sound. I reached out to Thalia, bridging the connection between the four of us.
Do you see him?
He’s on Vine Street, headed east.
We’d grown closer to the edges of the city, to the neighborhoods surrounding it. Where was he going? Where had he been hiding all this time? I caught sight of him running up the sloped street toward the forests.
“Is he leading us somewhere?” I rasped as we ran, my lungs burning from the icy air. I feared I was holding them back; I couldn’t run as fast as they could, and Cole was slowly gaining distance.
He halted at the edge of the forest, and we came to a stop at a safe distance. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath. I winced as a tinge of pain slipped through my ribs with each inhale. I’d run too hard. I focused on calming my heart rate, on controlling my breathing.Shit. Not now. We couldn’t afford the delay. I couldn’t slow us down, couldn’t let him get away.
We’d only just finally found him... or he’d found us.
A gravelly unease settled into the pit of my stomach. I pulled my daggers from their sheaths, the metal whispering against leather as I prepared for whatever he might have up his sleeve. Barrett and Damien did the same, eyes locked on him.
“Long time no see,” Cole said casually, tugging his hood down.
