Before Vi could comment on the sentiment, Ellene was gone.
She stood at her desk, tapping her fingertips on it thoughtfully.Darrus, at least. That was one more thing she needed to keep an eye on before leaving—how Ellene would handle it all. She didn’t want to see the girl running into a relationship purely to fill a void of companionship brought on by Vi leaving.
Then again, Sehra would be certain to ward against that as well. She would not allow her daughter to fall into despair, or resort to less-than-wholesome means to fill the gap.
Vi stood, extinguishing the candles in her study and starting for her bedroom.
It was then, in the silvery moonlight streaming through the windows, that Vi’s eyes landed on the outer edge of Soricium. All Vi wanted was a good night’s rest. But it seemed that would elude her yet again.
Chapter Seventeen
Vi clungto the walls and interior passages of the fortress as much as possible. Some were usually reserved for servants only, but they were vacant at this time of night. If she did run into someone and kept her head down, no one would suspect her to be here.
She hoped.
Because if she was conspicuous… anyone in the fortress would stop her. That person would take her to Jax, and there was no way she could explain what she was doing. Or, perhaps, she couldmaybeget them to take her to Jayme, who would either not believe her or insist on coming as well—and this was something Vi felt certain she needed to do alone.
She’d never attempted to sneak out before. It was all very cloak and dagger—quite literally. She wore her darkest and heaviest cloak, hood pulled high and tight.
Yet despite all her worries, Vi stepped out of a back door at the end of a long stairwell and vanished into the city proper without issue. She glanced back, looking at the fortress in relief.
Her feet slowed and she stared up at the silent giants that extended their leafy arms to the heavens. All her life, she’d stayed put, exactly as intended. Never questioning, never wondering what would happen if she did venture beyond the confines set out for her.
Some part of her felt silly for not doing this sooner. It was so easy to slip out unattended. Likely because she had never really attempted it. There was no guard posted at her door or individual on duty watching her room at all hours of the day.
A smile crossed her mouth, an expression that quickly vanished when two small glints of reddish light flashed into view.
It was only a glimpse, and yet it felt as though someone was staring down at her. Vi scanned the bridges and walkways of the fortress, stretching upward with the trees to merge with the dark sky above. There was no indication of anyone watching, no other bright red spots, and yet she had the distinct, sinister sensation of being observed.
She was imagining it, surely. Maybe she’d never snuck out before because she didn’t have the proper constitution for espionage. Paranoia was her just reward.
Turning quickly, Vi crossed through alleyways and wove around small trees that curved to support signs and rooftops. Vi kept her face down, hood up, and hunched slightly. She’d braided her hair and tucked it away. No one should be able to recognize her… Unless they recognized the cloak itself. But outside of the fortress, no one knew Vi well enough that they’d know her by that alone.
Several times, she could’ve sworn she heard footsteps behind her. But when Vi stopped, so too did the sound, forcing her to believe her mind was just getting the better of her. Still, one time, she called out softly, “Jayme?” thinking that perhaps her friend had sneaked out behind her in an effort to keep her safe.
A response from behind her nearly had Vi jumping from her skin.
“Princess, is that you?”
Her eyes landed on a robed man. Long sleeves were tucked into heavy gloves that went to his elbows. On his face was a pointed mask, crafted in heavy leather, extending like a long beak away from his mouth. The inset glass goggles shone in the darkness, like some kind of terrifying monster.
She took a step back. The voice hadn’t been hostile, yet given the strange garb the man wore…
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The man quickly pulled off his mask, revealing a handsome face Vi instantly recognized.
“Darrus?” Vi blinked from the mask, to the heavy gloves, to his face—indents of the inside of the mask lingering on his flawless skin. “What are you wearing?”
“You haven’t seen one yet?” He lifted the mask slightly. “I would’ve thought…”
“There’s been much going on of late,” Vi answered cautiously.
“Oh right, Ellene mentioned, you’re going back to your home soon.”
Vi resisted correcting him that she’d never actually lived there. The North could be as much her home as the South… if she had ever been fully accepted.
“What is it?” She pointed to the mask, reverting the topic back to safer territory.
“They call it a plague mask. There are medical screens the clerics have made on the inside of the beak to help filter out the White Death. We don’t know if it’s effective yet… but it feels a lot better wearing one than not when you’re around the infected.”
