In minutes they had entered the Fells, tearing through the lower corner of the territory before entering Demon Row. Sera’s old apartment was not far. He surveyed out the window for signs of her and so he would know when they reached her building. Once Joy had made the turn to Sera’s old street, Kieran opened the door and jumped to the road while still in motion, causing Joy to jerk on the reigns.
Whatever upheaval his departure had caused, he ignored as he crossed the street, searching for Sera. He didn’t know what her exact plan would be, but his stop at Varian’s had surely slowed him down. It was too soon to worry about her not being here yet. The logic of his reasoning did not help him worry less.
Dawn was breaking fast, the sky erupting in warm hues and the light that would appear soft and inviting in Winter did not have the same effect over dirty, cracked buildings and open heaps of garbage. The sight stirred something in him, a strong need to correct mistakes, to serve others that was an ingrained habit for most of his life. But he could ignore it. Because nothing and no one else mattered right now.
He wasnotAlderman Kieran North. He was Kieran, the man who loved Sera Blair.
Kieran swallowed down another surge of panic and instead focused on productive action. Cole likely had a tail on Seth. A quick survey of the street revealed two possibilities. There were two figures watching the building with obvious interest. Then one locked eyes with him and bolted—towardthe apartment rather than away.
Sprinting to catch up, the man easily outmaneuvered Kieran, leaping for the stairs and then rushing inside. The man was impossibly fast. An immortal?
Kieran didn’t know which apartment Seth would be in, but it didn’t matter. He caught the man’s leg as he tried to climb the stairs, sending him crashing down. The stairs splintered and buckled, the wood barely holding together.
Unsheathing his sword, Kieran was prepared to simply run the man through. No talks. No mercy. Just end this and move on to the next problem.
But he didn’t have a chance. The assassin was up and moving with surprising speed after such a fall. In a blink he was in Kieran’s face, lifting his hand to land a blow. Kieran attempted to block, but the force was so powerful that even deflecting the hit to his shoulder had sent him reeling. His back hit a wall, the structure shivering with the strain.
What the fuck?
No one had strength like that. No creature or race was capable of that sort of power. Kieran looked up, rolling sideways just as a punch that would have shattered his skull splintered the wall into fragments.
Kieran rested on a knee, his other leg bent to allow for quick evasion. He was panting, not out of shape, exactly, but it had been awhile since he’d been in a real fight. While theman pushed the dust and splinters from his eyes, Kieran raced forward and slashed at exposed calf.
The man dropped to a knee, but even with blood oozing from the wound and the clear damage to muscle, he was back on his feet and advancing.
Honestly, what the fuck was this guy on—
“Shit.” Kieran dodged another blow, using his more limber advantage to out-pace his attacker.
Divinity. He’d bet anything this man had consumed Divinity, the drug that supposedly boosted the user with blood from the human deity. No creature should have this sort of power. The Divine’s blood fortified humans to contend with races like fae and immortals and demons.
The Divine’s blessing was not intended for other races. This was not only a breach of morality and nature, but a form of sacrilege and he feared the eventual repercussions. For now, though, he just had to stay alive.
A task he had greatly underestimated.
Sera raced through Winter. Tears froze on her cheeks, her heart pounding as she ran. She had to get to Demon Row, had to hope that Cole would follow—
“The look on his face was better than an orgasm.”
Sera jumped, hand clutching her chest as Cole appeared, almost magically, next to her. But it wasn’t magic. It was the drugs coursing through his veins. The drugs that made him a serious threat right now and the only reason she didn’t immediately toss Kieran a knife from the counter, pick one up herself, and rush into that cellar stabbing until Cole’s breathing stopped.
Cole was smiling as he easily kept pace with her, like it cost him no effort to match her rushed steps. The red-almost pink shade of his eyes glittered with joy. “It was worth it. Letting him live so I could see his face when you let him go was better than a quick death. I can always kill him later. After I’ve disposed of Wraith and secured my empire.”
She trudged through the cold, ignoring his boasting. The pain in Kieran’s face had been one of the worst moments of her life. His eyes, pleading with her to stay, were seared in her brain forever.
Thankfully, she’d guessed right about Cole's view of the room. She had kept her back to the cellar as much as possible, mouthed words or whispered only when a crash would muffle the sound. Thank the Divine, Kieran got her message and at least knew that she did not hate him.
She had no plan to continue with any part of Cole’s demands, but she needed a solid alternative that didn’t risk Seth. Her mind raced through ideas, but without something mechanical to ground her, nothing plausible occurred to her.
She needed physics and materials. Gravity she could understand. It was constant and dependable, and she understood the physics of its pull toward the ground based on an object’s mass. But gravity would not kill Cole for her, unless she could push him off something really fucking high.
There was also the very real chance Cole had no faith she’d ever reach the Charm. That he meant her to be a distraction, allowing him to do what was needed. She may have doubted he was capable, but not with Divinity.
Sera crossed the footbridge into the Garrison. Demon Row was about a forty-five minute walk due north.
“You’re being awfully quiet,” Cole commented, a bounce in his step like all his plans were falling into place. “I rememberyou being more chatty. And less scowling. Your face is so much prettier when you smile.”
Her teeth ground into each other. She refused to respond. Refused to rise to his baiting. She had to figure out what to do once she reached Demon Row.
