“Of course, Lady Seraphim,” I said with thinly veiled sarcasm.
Seth shot from his chair, and it scraped across the floor. “I guess I’ll head to bed. I’ll sit here and worry, otherwise.”
Seraphim side-eyed him. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”
“Why?”
“I figured you’d want to recklessly run off in a random direction.”
“Aethra’s smart. She’d wait for us, here.” He clicked his tongue, calling Whisper. “And Whisper says she’s here.”
The three of us watched him trot up the stairs in silence. Percy grabbed his bag and took a step away. “He’s far too relaxed. Isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Seraphim said. “Something’s not right with him.”
Looking up, I tried to read her expression. “Are you saying . . .”
Percy interrupted me. “He’s probably being eaten up by guilt. I’m going to talk to him.”
“Good idea.” Seraphim nodded. She watched Percy ascend the stairs before turning back to me. “Have you sensed any reason Seth might hurt Aethra?”
“I haven’t managed to read anything about him.” Snapping my journal closed, I shouldered my bag. “I’m going to check a district we haven’t yet.”
“El . . .” Seraphim frowned.
“I won’t get caught.”
Shaking her head, she tapped the table. “Be careful,” she ordered, walking to the bar.
Unfolding the map she’d given me, I stepped outside. The sun had dipped below the horizon. Only a sliver of orange light remained in the growing night. Locating a residential district to our south, I turned in its direction.
With the coming of evening, the crowds had thinned. Focusing on a mother walking hand in hand with her young daughter, both wearing old, dirt-smudged togas, I opened my mind again to theirs.
Typical childhood emotions came from the girl—excitement to go home and see her father. Worry harried the mother’s mind, the only emotion she felt, aside from her wish that tomorrowwouldn’tcome.
The same feelings echoed all around. Beneath fleeting joy or sorrow, this city swam in despair. Dread, humming at the back of my throat, as though it drowned every soul.
An unexpected presence slammed into my mind. Twisting agony bored through my skull like a spear, so sharp and sudden I grabbed the wall for support.
Oh, gods. I’d never felt anything like this before. Waves of pain swept through me, as though I’d been sobbing for hours, but my grief had only intensified with every bout of tears. Weak, drained, tired of the pain. Wishing it would stop.
Pressing a hand to my head, I looked up, seeking the source of the emotion.
There. A man limped past me, grabbing his arm, fingernails drawing blood. Mad light glinted in his eyes as he met my gaze.All-consuming dread washed over me as my mind fractured and broke.
Gods.Hewas a psyche. He was forcing his emotions onto me.
The crowd scattered, giving him a wide berth. Grabbing their children, they hurried away, clutching their heads.
Finally, the mad psyche looked away, and the pressure in my mind vanished.
Standing, I caught my breath.
What waswrongwith this place?
Shadows flitted to my left, and I shrank behind a pillar. Seth emerged from an alleyway, glanced around, and pulled up his hood. Percy joined him, clasping a cloak around his shoulders.
They exchanged a few words and set out into the night.
