“Going somewhere, initiate?” I heard a velvet voice ask from behind me. I whipped around to find Laryk leaning against the wall, twirling a dagger through his fingers. My mind flashed back to the first night I had ever seen him. When we were near the woods. When he saw my focus for the first time. The event that started all of this.
“I’m not running, but I’m not leaving without seeing Ma one last time,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. The vial weighedheavily in my hand, and I quickly slipped it into my pocket. He could never know about this.
“I thought you two had parted ways,” he said, returning the dagger to his chest and crossing his arms.
“It doesn’t matter. I have to see her before we go. If I don’t come back…” My voice trailed off. “I can’t leave things how they are now.”
“I can’t let you leave.”
“I wasn’t asking.” I narrowed my eyes, motioning toward the gate. “Tell them to let me go. I promise I’ll be back before we deploy.”
Laryk pondered my demand, running a hand through his hair. He clicked his teeth.
“I know you will. Because I’ll escort you there and drag your ass out if I must. We have to leave before sundown.”
“Deal,” I said flatly and hurried toward the gate, shooting him a look of annoyance when he didn’t immediately match my speed.
The city was buzzing with an electric kind of energy as we made our way to the central district. Almost as if it reflected the frenzy currently taking place at the Compound. Every face we passed made guilt bubble up in my gut. If we failed on our mission, they’d never be prepared for what was to come. I couldn’t tell everyone. But I could tell Ma.
Laryk waited around the corner as I approached the doors to the Apothecary. The familiar scent of rosemary filled my lungs, and I paused. It had been so long since I’d been here. So much had changed.Ihad changed.
I stopped right before I made it to the door, retrieving the vial from my pocket and looking around before placing it on the cobblestones below. I slammed the bottom of my boot into the tiny bottle, hearing it crack with the blow. The sensation of air returning to my lungs nearly knocked me over. I stepped back.
The vial lay cracked on the pavement, little blood soaked papers caught between the shards. I knelt down to see the bloodturn from bright crimson to muddy brown as whatever enchantment affecting it evaporated.
I stood and kicked the remains into the canal before turning back to the door of the Apothecary.
The scared girl who’d wandered into this shop six years ago felt like a stranger now. Back then, I’d turned my back on the world, resigning myself to the shadows.
I took a deep breath and reached for the handle.
That girl didn’t exist anymore.
CHAPTER 40
Wind rushedpast me as I pulled open the door and stepped into the shop.
“I’ll be with you in just a moment!” Ma called from the back. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the shop. “For fucks sake.” I heard her grumble.
I made my way to the back to find her hunched down on her hands and knees, sweeping a broken jar into a pan.
“I said I’d be–” Ma grouched as she turned around and saw me. “Fia?” Her brow peaked.
My stomach twisted.
“Erm-Hi, Ma. I’m sorry to just drop in, but…” My voice trailed off as I looked around the room, noticing how tidy it was. The back shelves were stocked and orderly.
“You still use my system,” I breathed, turning to look at her again.
“Yeah, well. Guess I just got into the habit,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.
A moment of silence slipped awkwardly past.
“Why are you here, Fia?” she finally asked, pursing her lips, but the look in her eyes had my heart sinking.
“I don’t have much time–I just… I needed to say goodbye,” I whispered, looking away and trying to distract myself from the moisture that was stinging my eyes.
“You’re leaving Luminaria?” she asked. She leaned onto her desk, her hands gripping it tightly.
