Haverglen was still very much alive.
“Put up your hood, Aesling,” he said quietly. The last thing they needed was for one of the Watch to recognize him. Theaesranwould tear this city apart if she knew her precious heir was still breathing. When August only narrowed his eyes defiantly, Felix sighed. “Or I can make you.”
August seemed to weigh his options. Felix had never felt the heavy hand of compulsion himself, but people seemed to dislike it. Immensely.
Personally, he’d put a dagger through someone’s throat if they ever tried it on him.
Finally, August lifted his bound hands and threw his cloak hood awkwardly over his dark hair.
“See now? Was that so difficult?”
August scowled. “Not as difficult as tolerating you.”
“Oof,” said Felix, clutching his chest dramatically. “Nice one, yeah. I’m wounded.”
“Choke on a dagger. Sideways.”
Felix arched a brow. “Are you flirting with me, Auggie?”
“Arunas, help me,” Marlow muttered. “You’re both idiots.”
She climbed out first, and Felix motioned for August to go next.
When he was alone in the carriage, he took a moment to close his eyes and prepare himself. He desperately hoped the crown had stopped hunting him. Ashcroft never would. To a man driven by greed, the amount Felix had cost him was unforgivable. Luckily, the last time he checked, Ashcroft didn’t have any businesses in Haverglen. They wouldn’t run into his people here.
Except the carriage driver.
Felix had recognized the carriage immediately. Sleek, unmarked, shiny black with green and gold curtains that looked torn from the lining of one of Ashcroft’s gaudy suits. There were at least three like it, all used to deliver crates of elixir to the apothecaries in Bedwyck.
Felix pulled in a deep breath, then slipped out onto the busy street.
They were at the far edge of the city, their carriage one of three lining the street. The sun hung low in the sky, peeking lazily from behind a curtain of grey storm clouds, the warm light reflecting in the puddles. The pale stone of the tall buildings shone slick with recent rain, and the crisp air smelled of coal smoke and mud.
It took only a moment to notice the staggering number of City Watch on the streets.
Felix had never worried about being found in Bedwyck. The few Watch still stationed there were more concerned with the creatures than with a handful of fugitives.
Here, they’d have to be more careful.
He glanced over his shoulder at the carriage driver, who took a slow puff from a pipe, eyes narrowed with suspicion as he watched August—sharp, unblinking, too focused.
Solach.
Had he recognized him?
Letting the driver walk away was a risk, and they couldn’t afford risks right now. There were plenty of ways to deal with him, but only one that wouldn’t draw attention.
He set a hand on Marlow’s shoulder, voice a low whisper. “I need you to put the driver down quietly.”
With a furrowed brow, she turned to face him. “Why? He helped us.”
Felix knew she’d recognized the carriage, too. Her empathy made her too soft sometimes.
“He’s a loose end.”
Her frown deepened. “He’s a carriage driver, not one of Ashcroft’s thugs. Doubt he knows who we are.”
They didn’t have time for this. They needed to get off the streets. Needed to find Gideon.
