She scowled at the man from afar as he moved through the square. He consumed her attention with a familiarity she couldn’t place. How did she know him?Didshe know him? Or was this eerie sense of recognition merely the ghost of a memory from a past life?
Vi tore her eyes away, bringing them back to the hotel. The Knights of Jadar weren’t her quarry right now. Vhalla was, and she couldn’t miss the moment the young woman departed.
After another hour, a woman emerged from the hotel wearing the same headscarf as Vhalla. She kept her head down, and Vi couldn’t see her face, but she followed anyway. Either this was Vhalla… or Vhalla had switched the scarf with a decoy and, in that case, Vi hoped Taavin had been inside to keep eyes on the real Vhalla Yarl.
Keeping her illusion wrapped tightly around her fingers, Vi followed a few dozen paces behind the woman. Tucked into a side street was a narrow bookstore. Vhalla went inside and Vi took her time strolling by. She saw Vhalla—for now she was sure it was her—retreat upstairs through the window.
Vi stepped into an alley where she could still see the building. At the very top, near the roof, was another tiny window. Vi held her breath, waiting.
A soft blue light subtly illuminated the ceiling of the top-floor room.
“Found you,” Vi whispered.
She began to run.
Vi sprinted through the Crossroads and made record time back to their shop. If she hadn’t known better, she would’ve guessed she’d flown rather than ran. Taking the stairs two at a time, Vi raced upward to their apartment, grabbing the satchel their fake axe was stored in.
She didn’t bother to wait for Taavin or Deneya—she sprinted back to Vhalla’s apartment. Her heart beat in her throat, making it hard to breathe. Otherwise, despite all the running, she was hardly winded.
The shop was dark. The woman she’d seen behind the desk was gone.
Vi rounded the building, looking for a back door. There was none.
“Durroe sallvas tempre,” Vi whispered, approaching the door. She glanced in through the windows, looking for signs of life. When confirmed all was quiet, Vi tried the handle.
Locked.
Vi let out a cry of frustration. She wanted to bang the door down. She wanted to storm in and grab the axe by force if that’s what it took.
But she took a breath and stepped away, releasing her magic.
Vhalla had made a temporary home here. She felt safe. Vi knew where she was, knew she had the axe. All she had to wait for now was an opportunity to take it. The last thing she wanted to do was risk raising Vhalla’s suspicions, sending her on the move again.
Still, Vi stood frozen, staring up at the window. She imagined the feeling of the axe in her hands. Her eyes fluttered closed as the phantom swell of power overtook her.
“Soon,” Vi whispered again.
Soon, that same voice replied in agreement. Louder, this time, than the first.
Chapter Thirty-One
They watchedVhalla in shifts over the next few days. One of them always had eyes on the modest bookstore. Sometimes, Vhalla worked behind the shop counter. Sometimes she wandered. But the other woman—the one Vi had presumed to be the actual shop owner—never left the building.
Someone was always there. And Vi didn’t dare risk entering while they were.
When she wasn’t watching the store, she tried to sleep. But that was an ever-elusive thing. Whenever she tried to still her mind, her thoughts went instantly to the axe. As if she could search for it even in dreams.
“You’re still awake,” Taavin said with surprise as he appeared at the top of the stairs.
“I am.”
“I thought you were trying to nap.”
“I was.”
“Going well?” He made a softhmmnoise.
“Clearly.” Vi tore her eyes away from the ceiling to look at him. Just the sight of the man nearly moved her to tears. “Hold me, please?” she whispered softly.
