The door opened, and Hacinda walked out.
She was exactly as Lucius remembered.
Her inky black, wavy hair was down, framing her pointy ears. She walked with the guard, chatting, dressed in a tight-fitting red dress.
He wanted to run out, chase her, and demand answers for what she had done to him.
He wanted to know why.
Why did she betray him, and what for?
Had their friendship meant nothing to her?
Though Hacinda had been coy with him, Lucius hoped at one point she would want more than friendly chats and nights playing cards.
When she parted with the guard and began walking on her own, he followed.
He tried hiding in the shadows and alleyways behind other humans. As they walked, she stopped once and turned around, almost as if she sensed him.
Her steps hurried, and he might have lost her in the crowd if it wasn’t for her bright red dress.
She stopped at a quaint house. Before opening the door, she looked around, and the laughter she had shared earlier at the Brotherhood building had disappeared. She went inside, and Lucius snuck around the back of the neighbor’s house.
The house only had one entrance but had two floors. Lucius looked around to see if there was a way he could get up and possibly look in through one of the upstairs windows.
If he could get her alone and demand answers, then Tavia and he wouldn’t need to do anything. There would be no reason for a heist.
He would still pay Tavia the coin, and then she could return home.
He circled to the back of the house.
Though the houses in the quarter were tightly next to each other, they each had small yards, little space to grow.
The house next to the one Hacinda had walked into had ivy crawling up the side and a lattice he could climb. He climbed up, hoping nobody would see him from back there, but since they were behind the street, he was somewhat protected.
There was an open window on the second floor, and he could hear Hacinda’s voice calling to someone.
He shimmied around the side.
There was only a little bit more lattice.
He could barely see inside; what he could see wasn’t much—a simple room with a bed.
Hacinda walked in, carrying a tray.
“Where have you been?” a hoarse male voice asked.
“I’m sorry. With the masquerade coming, the Brotherhood has been more demanding. Here, I’ve brought more medicine,” she said.
“We don’t have to do this anymore,” the voice replied.
Hacinda placed the tray on a table. The view blocked most of her. Lucius was desperate to know who she was speaking to.
Was this someone she had met after him? If he was gone so long it would not seem so odd.
“It’s fine,” she said. “Take your medicine.”
“They will always want more.”
