“Are you alright?” I asked, turning her body so we were out of sight from anyone coming up the stairs.
Her eyes snapped to mine, recognition dawning before she closed them and slumped against the stone wall. The sight was so at odds with the fearsome Alchemist from the other night, whose green pools had blazed with dark, cold fire when facing those Shifters.
“I’m fine. I just…need a minute,” she said, her voice softer than I remembered.
I didn’t have a minute. I could hear voices coming from the other end of the hall, far too close for comfort. If the emperor discovered I was here, it could jeopardize our entire planandput my sister and myself in grave danger.
A frustrated noise built in the back of my throat. I glanced to my left before taking her by the elbow and leading her to a nearby alcove, hidden by a large woven tapestry.
“Here,” I said. “Nobody will bother you.”
“Why did you help me?” she asked suspiciously, her face slowly regaining color.
My brow furrowed. “You look like you need help.”
She shook her head. “I mean the other night. In the forest. That was you, wasn’t it? What were you doing there?”
So, shedidrecognize me. I carefully considered my words. “I suppose you looked like you needed help then, as well.”
Footsteps sounded from the other side of the tapestry, and we both instinctively took a step further into the wall, her chest brushing against mine as she held her breath. This close, I could feel the anxious heat coming from her in waves, the scent of florals and something earthy reaching my nose when she turned her neck to look at me.
The air was heavy, neither of us willing to breathe as the voices lingered mere feet from where we hid. Her pupils had finally gone back to normal, but slight tremors still flowed through her body. When she swallowed, I involuntarily tracked the movement beforeflicking my attention to the tapestry. I could no longer see outlines of boots beneath, nor hear voices of guests passing by.
To be sure they had truly left, I opened up the Shifter half of my blood like one would open a door, listening to them retreat further down the stone stairwell.
I instantly realized my mistake.
With my Shifter senses, her sweet scent of lavender and sage mixed with earthy undertones of amaranth—the same herb I smelled that night in the forest—was infinitely stronger, drawing me in and slowly wrapping around me like smoke. The erratic beat of her heart was heightened in my ears, the pulse at her neck thrumming with life as she took a shallow breath, her eyes shifting back to me.
“I think they’re gone,” she whispered. Her words fanned across my cheeks, breath hot against my skin.
I hesitated before nodding, quickly slamming a wall up on my Shifter instincts. Still, neither of us moved.
“What were you running from?” I asked.
“What wereyouhiding from?” she countered.
The corner of my mouth twitched. “I’ve helped you twice now. You first.”
Her lips pursed as she leaned further away from me. I fought the urge to curve my body toward her in response. “I didn’t ask for your help either time, you know.”
My eyes widened slightly.Stubborn, this one. “Most people say ‘thank you’ when someone saves their life.”
“Yes, most do,” she said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear before turning and pushing back the tapestry.
“I hope you can get away from it,” I murmured before she was out of sight. She looked back at me, a question in her gaze. “Whatever it is you’re running from.”
She blinked twice, her eyes flitting between mine like she wasn’t sure what to make of me. “Thank you for helping us that night,” she finally said. “I—I wouldn’t be here if it weren’tfor you.”
“I don’t know if I believe that. You were holding your own there, if I remember correctly.”
The woman faced me fully, features lit with suspicious curiosity as her arms crossed over her chest. The motion drew my attention to her curves, to the way her black shirt hugged her body where it met the top of her tight leggings, before I forced my stare upward.
Get a grip, Leo. Fates, I didn’t even know this woman’s name. I needed to get back to Rissa and the others.
“Why were you in those woods, anyway?” she repeated her earlier question.
I glanced down the hallway, expecting more passersby to appear at any moment. “It’s the Decemvirate,” I answered, my tone low and hurried. “You weren’t the only one who needed help that night.”
