"And they're probably in Domitian's pay," I reply.Or Marcus'.I'm not sure that would make it better."They'll seize us both, then try to pretend that we're part of Alaric's rebel group.They'll call us traitors, and even if I manage to sort it all out, it will take far too long, with both of us rotting in a dungeon."
“Then we fight them,” Sorrel insists.
"There are too many of them, and you aren't even armed," I point out."We need torun,Sorrel.”
That seems to get through to him, and he sets off across the rooftops, leaping from roof to roof.I can see guards climbing up ahead of us, and I jump down into the streets, rolling as I hit the ground.A guard grabs for me as I rise to my feet, and I hit him, knocking him back.Somewhere in the distance, I hear Sorrel cry out, and through the eyes of a bird, I see him being swarmed by guards and carried away.
I feel the sharp sting of guilt.I brought him here.I led him into danger.Somehow, Domitian has found out about one of my meetings again, and now Sorrel has been caught.
I can’t get to him.I can’t help him, not here.If I get back to the palace, maybe I’ll be able to do something, but not until then.For now, I need to run.I sprint along the streets, dodging past guards and ordinary citizens alike.I keep my cloak wrapped around me tightly, trying to make sure that no one can see my face as I run.
I use my view from above to track the progress of the guards, picking out the best route to avoid them.I duck into an alleyway, trying to slow my breathing even as fear floods through me.I stay still and silent, listening to the guards searching for me, even as I watch them from above through the eyes of the nearby birds.
Finally, there’s a gap in the pattern of their search.I dart out from my hiding place, leaving them behind as I run back to the main section of the city.I’ve avoided capture, barely, but Sorrel hasn’t been so lucky, and that’s my fault.I called him to this meeting, and now he’s in the hands of the guards.Once again, Domitian has worked out where I’m going and sent people to intercept me.
The question is what I can do about it.I don't have enough allies in the Senate anymore.I don't have any control within the games.There's only one person left for me to turn to:
I need to find Alaric.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Finding Alaric is anything but easy when he's actively avoiding the efforts of the guards to capture him along with his followers.I try to locate him by looking through the eyes of every animal I can find, but in a city of so many people, how am I meant to pick him out from everyone else?
I do my best, but my anguish at what's happened to Sorrel is pushing me to greater efforts.I force my mind into those of rats in the crypts, into a crocodile down in even lower, watery depths.I look through the eyes of birds, scanning the city, trying to catch even a glimpse of Alaric's face.
I don’t find him, but Idospot some of his followers, scrawling fresh graffiti on walls, imbuing it with magic so it starts to move even as I watch.I find another bird, a brightly colored parrot housed in the palace gardens.I send it out into the city, forcing it to fly faster, hoping it can get to the protesters before they flee into the shadows once again.
I’m relieved to see them below, still.I send the bird down to them, speaking with its voice, my words coming out mixed with the caws and chirps of the bird.
“Lyra needs to talk to Alaric,” I say.“Tell him to meet with me.”
I don’t know if my message will have any effect, but I don’t have anything else.All I can do is pull my mind back from the bird and wait, hoping that Alaric’s followers will be able to carry a message back to him.
The waiting is agony.I pace, and I look out of the windows of my room.I look through the city using more birds, searching out the prison tower where Alaric's followers are being held.There are plenty of guards around it, and the walls look high and impenetrable.It's not a place I can imagine anyone breaking out of.The only way to get people free from it seems to be to persuade the Senate and the magistrates to let people go.With Domitian and Marcus having so much influence over the Senate, I don't know how I can make that happen.
I’m still watching when a servant slips into my room, holding out a sealed parchment.I open it eagerly.
The sign of the blue flowers.In the merchant district.
A.
It seems that Alaric is willing to meet with me, although he hasn't been very clear about the place.But maybe that's deliberate.Maybe he's hoping that other people can't find us.I don't know if it will be enough, with the way the guards have found me so often.I head out of the palace, making my way to the merchant district while trying to make sure that I'm not seen.I use the birds to watch for anyone shadowing me, for guards or agents serving Domitian and Marcus.
I also look through the sign Alaric mentioned, finally finding it in a spray of blue flowers set above the door to an inn, kept perpetually fresh through magic.I make my way to the inn, slipping inside, apparently ignored by most of the patrons.Yet there are a couple who look my way, hands initially reaching for weapons before they realize who I am.One of them points to a set of stairs.
I head up to a hallway lined with bedrooms.The door to one of them is open, and even as I watch, Alaric steps into that doorway, gesturing for me to step inside.I hurry into the bedroom, and he closes the door behind us.
He looks worried but also good.I hadn't seen him in so long that I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be close to him, to feel the familiar attraction that comes to me even now.
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you,” Alaric says.“I thought you were on Marcus’ side now.”
I can hear the bitterness, even jealousy, in his voice.
“Marcus isn’t who I thought he was,” I say.“I heard him plotting with Domitian, planning to bring back death matches to the games.”
“So you’ve finally seen what we knew all along?”Alaric says, with a sharp edged smile of triumph.He clearly isn’t going to let me off easily for being with Marcus.
“He and the others have been manipulating everything to do with the games,” I say.
