Fear slithered through my body and nested in my stomach. Would she remember my instructions? Would she stay with Ruru?
I gently closed the hatch on the smuggler’s hold, sending up a cloud of dust. I swallowed hard to keep from coughing. Maz darted around stacks of crates and barrels to get to the door. The whistling faded away, as did the sound of the wagon wheels.
Maz peered into the empty alleyway. “I don’t see anyone. Should we go after them?”
I frowned. “Ruru wouldn’t be foolish enough to take the wagon if it was Wolves. Perhaps it was just a random passerby.”
But the doubt on Maz’s face mirrored the one in my gut. No one but us was desperate enough to be out here with the Wolves.
“Gods damn it, Ruru,” I muttered, then louder, “We can’t do much else without a wagon to unload, anyway. Move the other wagon out of sight, then we’ll follow.”
Maz nodded and raced for the empty wagon while I quietly locked the warehouse.
Fucking Four, little thief, I hope you heeded my warning.
I strode in the direction I’d heard Ruru whistling, Maz quickly catching up with me.
“Rooftops,” I commanded, finding a low building to scale.
A scrape behind me told me Maz was following, but I didn’t wait. I sprinted across the rooftops.
My feet didn’t falter as I leapt from one building to the next, dancing around debris. I slid over domed roofs and ducked under laundry lines. Despite the needles of fear in my chest, my senses were sharpened to a clarity I craved. Even if the cost was steep.
Something caught the corner of my eye, and I skidded to a halt. Maz caught up a moment later, breathing hard.
“The wagon,” I said, pointing to where it was turned sideways in a narrow alley.
“Cargo’s still there,” Maz grunted.
“Kiera and Ruru must be on foot.” My gut twisted. “Or their pursuers caught up with them.”
“Gods damn it,” Maz swore softly. “Which way would Ruru take her?”
He would head south toward more populated areas with more places to hide. “This way.” I jumped over a narrow alley, tucked my body, and rolled onto the next roof. Guilt gnashed at my heels, making me run faster. I had to find them.
Kiera had knives, but could she use them against Shadow-Wolves? How many were there? I’d heard no howls.
My chest burned. I wanted to roar at the night sky, but I needed every last breath to get to her. To them. I couldn’t bear more deaths on my soul.
“There!” Maz shouted and swung down to the street.
We landed in front of a fleeing Ruru. His eyes were wide with panic, and he was covered in dirt and bloody scrapes.
“What happened?” I demanded. “Where’s Kiera?”
He gulped for air, gesturing wildly behind him. “Back... back there. Two Wolves.”
A thousand curses flooded my mind. “Show me,” I bit out.
We ran through a twisted mess of alleys until the sounds of a struggle reached my ears. The next moment, I jerked to a standstill at the scene before me.
A body in black on the ground.
Kiera slashing and stabbing at a Wolf who tried to cut her down with equal fervor.
She was alive. But hurt. Her movements weakening.
My blades were in my hands before I could think. I charged just as the Wolf hit her on the side of her head. She crumpled.
