As dawn gave to morning, the Garrison began to wake. The streets filled with bodies and traffic. Sera hugged her arms over herself. She had left in haste that morning, only dressed in her chemise and Kieran’s coat.
Luckily, she had been cold enough to put on shoes so she didn’t have to traverse the streets barefoot. Still, she looked like she’d been recently mugged or perhaps cast out after a scandalous assignation. Cole’s presence beside her would not help those assumptions. Tucking her arms closer, she kept her head down and walked with purpose. Once she reached the familiarity of the Fells, she wouldn’t feel so out of place. She wouldn’t be the only woman in such a state here, so at least she wouldn’t draw overt stares.
Sera pondered while she walked, the workings of an idea settling in her mind. It wasn’t so much a plan as it was a gamble that might be her only option. She hated risking Seth’s safety, but then, Cole all but confessed he wouldn’t keep his word. The best chance would be to wait for the most ideal timing to betray Cole. Then she could find Kieran and hopefully get to Seth in time.
A pang of regret stabbed through the adrenaline and anxiety. She shut her eyes to the lingering memories. Of Kieran’s hand unwilling to let go, the open, raw fear as she had worked his fingers free of her wrist. There was no other choice, Cole was watching, she had to assume he could see and hear everything once they reached the door. Thankfully, he had mistaken Kieran’s expression for heartbreak. She knew hers had shattered letting him go.
But more importantly, he had understood her. He’d figured out her insane attempt to follow Cole’s orders to hurt him with her words in ways that still made her sick. The trust he put in her was intoxicating, enchanting. Trust enough in her to not chase after her, to let her figure out this mess partly of her own making. But, dare she hope, it was love that kept him from letting go of her hand.
Sera brushed more tears from her eyes. She couldn’t dwell on thoughts of Kieran or she’d never get things done. She had to be strong, because Seth needed her. Kieran trusted her. And if she was going to be worthy of either, she had to do one last thing.
As the cool tones and stronger masonry of the Fells gave way to warm hues and patchwork infrastructure, Sera had resolved to her course. Cole stopped her just shy of entering Demon Row, grabbing her arm and yanking her roughly into the shadows of a building.
“I can’t follow you directly in there, but know that I will be watching.”
She tugged her arm free, knowing that she only managed it because he let her go. “Yes, I get it.”
“I know you’ve been scheming this whole time, but let’s make one thing clear, Sera Dear, you’re not nearly smart enough to pull off whatever you’re planning. You think I missed the fact that you’re illiterate? How you’re constantly getting yourself into the worst situations like a beautiful stupid moth ramming face first into bad decisions?” His hand struck, clutching around her face, squeezing her cheeks until it hurt. With his current level of power, he could snap her jaw without effort. Her fingers flew to his wrist, but no amount of pulling could sway his arm.
“Iwas a bad decision. They never see it coming, my web of spies and play things, but you? You made it easy. A walking disaster. Fresh out of a failed relationship and desperate forsomeone to love you. A few simple praises and you were drooling in my hand.”
Tears stung her eyes. From the way his fingers squeezed pain through her jaw as much as from the truth of his words. She was a desperate, stupid girl magnetically drawn to the worst of humanity. And she did it willingly each time. Let herself believe it would be different, only to have reality come crashing back the moment it suited them.
“Don’t think you can fuck with me, pet,” his voice, dripping with honey a second ago, hardened into a cruel drawl. His fingers flexed and she gasped as her bones protested, threatening to snap. “Always remember that you’re a stupid, small, insignificant girl in a world of monsters. The only way you survive is by feeding their desires.”
He threw her backward, her body hitting the ground hard. Pain snapped through her, but the tremble in her limbs was not from the fall.
Gingerly, she rose to her feet. When she looked back where Cole had been standing, he was gone. A quick scan told her he was out of sight, though unlikely to be far. He’d stay where he could watch and hear her.
Her entire soul was shivering, afraid. Cole’s words slithered like venom through her body, hitting every weakness and doubt she had about herself. Her mother’s voice joined the choir, an endless taunt of ‘stupid, stupid, worthless.’
Somehow managing to put one foot in front of the other, Sera entered Demon Row. She purposefully avoided a path that would take her near her old building—she could not be tempted to linger right now, and it was too early to meet up with Kieran. Though every fiber of her being craved his warmth and steady presence, her mind sought out his voice through the muck.
Brilliant.
Genius.
Superior.
Clasping her hands together, Sera focused with her whole heart on Kieran’s voice. Until the tremors subsided. She couldn’t doubt herself. Seth was relying on her. If her plan was doomed…
They were all dead either way. Her only chance was to hope that even if she wasn’t some brilliant strategist, she might at least throw enough of a wrench into Cole’s scheme to get Seth, Kieran, and herself out of this alive.
The architecture shifted as she crossed into the inner hive of larger structures, near the center of Demon Row. Homes that now spanned an entire floor or the entire building. Wraith was settled in farthest from the border, surrounded on all sides by buildings, walls, and gates. Sera had been inside once in her life. An oasis of a home nestled at the heart of the borough. Every building, including the standalone, expansive mansion, belonged to Wraith directly. What use they provided, she didn’t know, but he had guards, servants, and staff stationed all throughout the compound. No one could get in or out without his knowing.
Sera stopped just outside a guard station, glancing around for signs of Cole. He wasn’t exactly ‘stealthy’ with his flashy clothes and more buoyant personality. But then, she saw no indication of his position.
The guard, a grimm judging by the vaguest hint of purple near his forehead and neck, nodded toward her. “Got business inside, missy?”
Once inside, it was unlikely that Cole would be following her. Would he hear her through the walls? Fae senses were more refined, but not boundless. She had to risk it.
“I’m here for Miles,” Sera crooned, hugging her coat closer. It was difficult to pretend her body wasn’t still bleeding adrenaline and that her confidence hadn’t shattered into pieces, but this role was habit. Muscle memory. “He said I could meet him here.”
The guard raised a brow. “Miles don’t usually have escorts meet him inside. He knows better.”
Sera sauntered closer. “What’s your name, handsome?” She waited, gauging the reaction to her flirting.
The guard blustered before answering, “Avery.”
