The soturi’s laughter grew louder.
Dario cradled my head, pulling me against him, still making shushing sounds. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling, surprised that despite all we’d been through, he still smelled pleasant.
“What’s this?” said the first soturion. His voice was so clear and so close, I knew they’d reached the alley and could see us.
My heart thundered, and my vision was going out of focus. They saw us. They fucking saw us.
Dario slowly pulled my face against his, his lips just barely brushing against my cheek. “Shhh,” he said again.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my entire body trembling.
“Ah,” said the second soturion. “Leave ’em. Wish I had a girl against a wall. But I want that money more. Come on.”
The first soturion laughed. “Give it to her man. Do it for us!”
They both burst into laughter, but soon the sound faded, their footsteps vanishing.
Breathing heavily, Dario pulled back, and instinctively, I pressed my hands to his chest, pushing him away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his face contorted in pain. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to—” I looked at my hands. “It’s fine.”
“No, I shouldn’t have … but I-I just didn’t know what else to do to hide you. Are you okay?”
“Please, don’t. It’s fine.” And surprisingly, I meant it.
“We need to run again,” he said. “Final burst. Okay, Jules? Can you do that for me?”
It was the first time he’d used my nickname. I nodded.
And we ran out of the alleyway and turned. Dario led us down the length of the street, passing the buildings that hovered over the block until we reached the next one. Checking for soturi, we crossed the waterway and ducked into the next alley, moving through the dark, and then back out to the torchlit street. Five soturi appeared, and Dario pushed me back.
We hid in the shadows of the alley until they passed; luckily they hadn’t noticed and were moving away from us, not closer. The minute the coast was clear, Dario took my hand and started sprinting, racing down the block, crossing the waterway and ducking into an alley.
“How much farther?” I asked. I was out of breath, and my legs were cramping. I knew Dario had slowed down for me considerably—more than considerably—and I was barely keeping up. But I was pushing myself to my limit, and I didn’t think I’d last much longer.
“Just another minute,” he said. “Come on. We’re almost there. You can do this.”
He led me forward. Thene’s temple lay in the distance. The tall building was covered in golden sculptures of seraphim wings. We ran past it, and then up a small hill surrounded by trees. It was the home of our contact with the Purple Sun.
We reached the top of the hill, my stomach painfully tight, my calves burning, and my feet so sore they felt ready to fall off.
A wall encircled the two-story home, almost like a fortress. Someone very wealthy lived here.
A soturion approached the gate. “The hour is too late for visitors. The sun unseen. Go.”
“Dawn approaches,” I said, answering the code. “And the sun rises.”
“And what color is the sun?” he asked.
“Vylette,” I said.
The gate opened at once, and we were shown down a waterway and up a small set of stairs that led into the home.
Our host, an elderly mage, didn’t show his face; I appreciated his secrecy. He was patient as we explained that four more of us were on the way, and that soturi from Ka Kormac would be searching the country for us.
We were shown into a small room to wait for our friends. The elderly mage disappeared briefly, returning with glasses of water for us, as well as a plate of bread, cheese, and sliced apples. He promised to bring more food, telling us they’d started to prepare meals for us once they got the call. I couldn’t eat, but I was thirsty and drained my glass. I immediately refilled it as Dario took a plate for himself and piled everything onto it.
