Not candles or lamps. This was a dazzling display, as if a giant had grabbed stars from the sky and flung them to the earth. Thehorseless carriagescrawled all over the city, moving up and down the streets like beetles.
Portia clutched the chronomancer’s velvet bag in her claws like it might vanish if she loosened her grip. Albie flew close to her, the tip of his wing nearly grazing hers.
She was young, and we’d flown for a long time. She had to be tired. Dawn approached. We needed to land.
I angled toward the city’s outskirts, where the buildings thinned and darkness pooled between them. A narrow alley caught my eye. It was empty, its brick walls covered in shadow.
Perfect.
I dove. Albie and Portia followed, and the three of us shifted to smoke as we approached our target. We streamed into the alley and shifted to two feet.
Portia stumbled, and I caught her arm and steadied her against me. Albie pushed her clothes against my chest.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, already moving toward the alley’s mouth. “I want to figure out where we are.”
“Wallachia,” I said. I’d recognized the Danube from the air.
He paused, turning back with a smile. “Aye, love, but that might have changed.” Then he was gone, slipping into the street.
A horseless carriage rumbled past the alley’s opening, its headlamps slicing two bright paths through the predawn gloom.
“I think I like this time,” I said.
Silence met me, and I looked down at Portia. Her black hair lay in tangles over her bare breasts. The velvet bag dangled from her hand. Tiny goosebumps covered her arms. My woman was barefoot in an alley, and here I stood gawking at the scenery.
“We need to get you dressed,” I said.
She didn’t reply. She just stood silently, her eyes blank and her lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Portia.”
Nothing. Gods, she was slipping into shock. I’d been foolish to keep her in the air as long as I had. But I’d also been eager to put as much distance as possible between us and the vampires. The leeches were vicious, and we’d killed one of their women. It was the sort of thing that started blood feuds that spanned generations.
Taking Portia by the shoulder, I gave her a gentle shake. “Portia, lass. Look at me, hmm? You’re naked in an alley, and there are humans about.”
At last, she focused on my face. She blinked slowly, then shivered. “I’m cold.”
Relief coursed through me. “Aye, that’s to be expected.” I juggled the clothing in my hands and came up with her chemise. “Lucky for both of us, I’ve got the remedy.”
She let me dress her, obediently raising her arms so I could slip the thin fabric over her head. She was still shivering, so I worked quickly, helping her into her petticoat and then her skirt. I skipped the corset and its ladder of ribbons, which were still wet from the snow. She clutched the chronomancer’s velvet bag like a lifeline.
“I’ll hold that if you want,” I said softly as I fastened the damp ties of her skirt. “I won’t let anything happen to it.”
She waited until I finished before she faced me. “That’s okay,” she whispered, her voice cracking on the last word. Tears sprinted down her cheeks.
“Och,” I said, rubbing the moisture away with my thumbs. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m so sorry about the vampire,” she rasped, her voice breaking completely. “I didn’t mean to interfere. But when she hit him with that whip, I couldn’t juststandthere. She might have killed that thrall.”
“I know.”
“You’re not angry?”
“No.”
“Why?” Portia cried.
I couldn’t help but feel like I’d stumbled into a skirmish, only I had no idea which side I fought on.
