If she saw him here, clearly following her, he dreaded to think what she’d do, but she’d been in the alleyway for such a long time, he’d started to think her ambush had backfired. Out of curiosity, he waited to see if the woman she’d targeted left the alley too. He was a little relieved to see her peek her pale face round the corner, look both ways, and scurry off down the deserted road. The last thing Aelia needed was more trauma to deal with, and he was glad she hadn’t needed to kill the woman.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling away some of the stress of the last few minutes. The indecision had been torture whilst he waited for Aelia to reappear out of the alley. If he waited too long, he might be out here twiddling his thumbs whilst she was being hurt, or worse, but if he rushed in too quickly, then he’d reveal that he’d been following her for days now. It was a conundrum he had a horrible feeling would keep presenting itself.
With a gentle shake of his head, he pushed out from the doorway and went after the woman. He’d worked out what Aelia was doing whilst he watched her at the docks. The clerk was fastidious, checking every corner of every ship, so the chances were high that she’d have some information on the boats that shipped the humans out. It was a solid plan, Keeran conceded, so long as the woman hadn’t lied or didn’t go running to the Astraea.
So Keeran followed her, unseen despite the clerk’s nervous glances over her shoulder. He longed for that uneasy feeling he had to be wrong, for the woman to go straight home and stay there, but experience had taught him to trust no one. So, he let her lead him through Llmera, climbing well away from the lower levels of the Outer City and up into a far more prosperous area. A sinking feeling settled low in his gut, his suspicions growing as the houses became far too expensive for a clerk to afford. She wasn’t going home.
Music and laughter began to fill the air, the streets becoming busier despite the late hour. His stomach growled as the scent of spiced treats wafted from heaving restaurants, but there was no time to stop and savour it.
The woman stopped outside a huge stone building, the enormous front door framed by an extravagant, columned porch. A muscle twitched in Keeran’s jaw as he saw the black uniform of the guards stationed outside it. He would recognise that uniform anywhere; she’d gone straight to the Astraea.
The clerk looked both ways, fingers white where they clutched the leather strap of her satchel, before making her way up the stone steps that led to the heavy wooden front doors. Keeran sighed, wishing he had better options available to him, but there was no way the woman could enter that building.
He flicked his attention to the part of his mind where his magic waited, jumping to action at his touch. He soothed it,guiding it towards the woman with such careful control that he forgot to breathe, his whole being focused solely on limiting the effects of his power. He willed the magic to life, just a quick flash of heat, perfectly aimed within the base of the woman’s skull. She paused mid-step, blinked once, and crumpled face-first onto the floor, dead before she hit the ground.
The guards rushed down to her, turning her over and shouting for help. Keeran didn’t know if they noticed the tendrils of smoke wafting from her nostrils, he was already headed back the way he came.
Being backin Llmera brought him greater pleasure than he’d ever anticipated. This was his home, the city he’d grown up in. Admittedly, he’d spent most of his time in the Inner City, but just being back on the mountain had hit him with a warm sense of nostalgia.
He doubted he’d get to see the Inner City, which added to the deep, permeating sadness that had gnawed at him since Aelia had left. Even here, in the Outer City, he was risking too much just with his presence.
Every time Keeran sensed a Guard Dog, he had to hightail it in the opposite direction, out of fear of them catching his scent. It might be they were too young to have ever scented a Dragon, but there were plenty in the city who had been around when the Dragons had ruled.
Worst-case scenario, if they did recognise it, he was sure he could elude them for long enough to get off the mountain, but if he ventured into the Inner City, his chances of an inconspicuous escape were nonexistent.
Regardless, getting caught wasn’t an option. Aside from the fact that he’d be the first Dragon to be seen in Demuto in decades, and the consequences of that weren’t something he wanted to consider, he’d also have no choice but to leave Aelia if he was caught. So, he gave the Guard Dogs a wide berth.
The stone buildings that lined the streets were immaculate. The paving slabs on the streets were even and tidy, without a speck of grime or rubbish, and the plants that sprung up to climb over the buildings were artfully manicured. Llmera was somewhere people were proud to live, and the slobbish laziness he’d witnessed in Drias would never be tolerated here. Keeran remembered the sentiment all too well. His childhood may not have been a happy one in the typical sense, but he had always loved Llmera, had been proud and protective of everything it represented. Its beauty was unparalleled; nothing he’d seen elsewhere in Demuto had come close, and even now, he felt a deep connection to the city his ancestors had built.
Keeran caught up to Aelia easily, the combination of her scent and the pair bond guiding him to her. The bond had grown stronger since the night she’d become aware of it, with him getting flashes of emotion and even the occasional glimpse of her surroundings. That aspect of it was beyond his control, the connection temperamental and unpredictable, but the familiar tugging in his chest was a constant, like his own internal compass guiding him to her.
It took him a while to spot her, as she was standing inconspicuously in a patch of the street just out of reach of the overhead lamps, but when he did, his stomach lurched. Just as it did every time he lay eyes on her. He longed to go to her, to try to explain himself, but really, what was there to explain?
He’d hidden the truth from her, about what he was, about what was going on between them, about his involvement with the Astraea attack. He couldn’t blame her for walking away fromhim, but he’d never forgive himself for not making sure she got back to Callodosis safely, and if that meant resorting to creeping around after her, so be it. He’d done worse.
Aelia surveyed the huge warehouse in front of her, taking in the small windows that peppered its tall walls, the guards leaning casually against the enormous doors that led onto the road. It was no different to the other warehouses that surrounded it, each building squashed between its neighbours in the typical Llmeran style. Space was a luxury few could afford on a mountain that had been crammed full for centuries.
And yet, despite its unremarkable appearance, there was no doubt that it was what Aelia had been looking for. The whole place reeked; of fear, of death, of sweat. He dreaded to think how many people were crammed in there.
Aelia wisely didn’t stay long enough to draw attention to herself, choosing to walk a circuit around the building before heading back towards the inn. Keeran followed at a safe distance, breathing a sigh of relief when she entered the inn without venturing on any side quests. No city was completely safe at night, and if she was attacked, he’d have no choice but to reveal himself. Now she was safely tucked away for the night, the chance of him being put in that situation was next to none. Until tomorrow, anyway.
Keeran waited outside until he saw the light come on in her room, before venturing in himself. It had taken a little persuasion for the innkeeper to give him the room he’d wanted, but a full coin purse had been enough to make him move some of the other occupants around to give Keeran a room next to Aelia’s. One of the good things about Llmera was that there was no shortage of wealthy artemians with full pockets, so Keeran had parted with the money all too willingly.
He ordered some food and took it to his room, not wanting to risk Aelia coming down and spotting him. He ate withoutnoticing much of what was on his plate, his appetite having all but disappeared over the last few days, and kept his ear trained on the room next door.
There was hardly any movement, so he assumed she’d gone straight to sleep. He rubbed his own sore eyes with his thumb and index finger, all too aware how late it was. He pulled off his clothes and headed into the shower. It was hardly lukewarm, the log burners heating the water tank must need topping up, but he was just grateful to be washing in something other than lake water. He rubbed the soft towel over himself, tousling his hair dry the best he could before lying down on the bed. He sank into the soft sheets with a groan, grateful that Aelia had picked a nicer inn than the one they’d stayed at in Drias.
This was the closest he’d been to her in days, with only a thin wall separating them. The thought of her being so close was torture, sweet, agonising torture. His thoughts spun to the night that he’d slept with her in his arms, her cheek pillowed by his chest, and he loathed the moronic part of him that had pulled away from her, that hadn’t seized the opportunity to spend every night with her cradled against him.
He would give anything, absolutely anything, to be in that room with her. He’d always been content on his own, but since she’d left, he’d been devoured by a loneliness that had burrowed into him, leaving him feeling hollow, like a part of him was missing.
He knew it was the pair bond, but he no longer resented it. The only thing he resented was himself, for ruining what could have been, for not grabbing it with both hands whilst he’d had the chance.
He reached for it, the sliver of connection he could sometimes feel between them, but there was nothing besides cold, empty space. Unless they accepted it, this was all it wouldever be, a tenuous ghost of everything they might have shared had he not been so fucking stupid.
All of a sudden, it flickered to life, flooding Keeran with an onslaught of emotions that had him flying upright in bed, his eyes locked onto the wall between them. It only took him half a heartbeat to realise it wasn’t fear that was coursing into him, far from it. His pulse ratcheted up, his lips parting in astonishment at what Aelia was feeling.
Just as quickly as it had hit him, the connection began to wane, but he gritted his teeth and sank his mental claws into it, straining with everything in him to keep the link between them open. To his immense relief, it obeyed, widening in his mind until he could feel her like he’d never experienced before.
