When she steps back out, I catch her wrist before she passes. Gently, I cup her face. My thumb brushes her cheek.
“When this is over,” I whisper, forehead lowering to hers. “I’m going to worship every inch of you. But right now, I need you safe.”
The moment she realizes it isn’t denial, but protection, her whole demeanor changes.
She nods once, and we make our way out of her apartment.
The street is silent. No footsteps in the fresh snow. No strange scents. Nothing to explain the twisting in my gut.
I pace the perimeter of the building. I should shift and run the rooftops, but I can’t leave her, and I doubt she wants to ride me like a sleigh-hound.
My eyes keep going back to the building directly across from hers. Something in my gut won’t let it go. “I think he was on that roof.” She follows my gaze to the building across from hers—four stories, with a fire escape winding up the side.
“Stay close,” I murmur, reaching for her hand. Her fingers lace through mine—small and warm against my frozen palm.
We cross the street in silence. Every shadow makes my hackles rise. Every flicker of movement has my claws itching to extend.
I stop at the base of the fire escape and scan the metal rungs. There are fresh scrapes in the frost. Someone used this recently.
“Can you climb? It’s slippery.” I ask, glancing back at her.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You go first,” I murmur. “I’ll be right behind you.”
My hand hovers at her lower back as she climbs—ready to catch her if she slips. As soon as her feet touch down, I exhale.
It’s empty, but not clean. Boot prints scatter the rooftop. Pacing patterns worn deep, like someone couldn't stop circling.
The prints cross at the edge by the fire escape, double back toward the far vent, curve toward the chimney, and then trail off toward the spot directly across Lumi’s bedroom window.
My chest tightens, and a low growl coils in my throat.
“Andrik?” she whispers.
“Yes,Saelûn?” Before she can answer, I cut her off. “I don’t think they were watching through the window.”
“Why?” she asks.
“I closed your curtains long before the brick was thrown. I think they were up here to make sure it hit exactly where we were.”
“So how did they know where we were?”
“That’s the part I’m not sure about. Do you have any enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt you?”
Tears pool in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have any enemies. Not after last night.”
“Do you want to talk—” I start.
‘“I really don't,” she cuts in. “You killed Anna’s murderer. There’s no one left to come after me.”
Why can’t I scent them? How did they get the brick past my ward? None of this makes any sense.
“How do they keep getting away without leaving a trace?”
