Laughter, fading as they walk away. I hold my breath until the footsteps fade entirely. Twenty years ago. A good place to hide.
A lot of people arrived that year, but narrowing them down wouldn't be impossible. Unless Constantine doesn't want to find the heir. Unless he'd rather believe he is one. The thought stops me cold. Is that why he's so invested in the memory trade? So no one can prove otherwise?
"Well, they have weapons that can kill the Rooks. Between you and me, I hope they don't succeed. We don't need more of Cato's …"
The lights flicker. Through the bond, I feel Malachi's fury spike, sharp and sudden. We've been careful about keeping our emotions contained, but this is different. This is personal. He moves to step out of the alcove. I catch his arm and hold tight. He frowns down at me.
"You can't fight here," I whisper. "You can't spill blood in the Council's territory. Not unless you want both of us dead."
Something flickers in his expression, frustration or understanding, I can't tell. He nods once, scans the shadows, and signals for me to follow. I do. Quickly. Quietly. The stolen books in my bag press against my ribs, a reminder of everything I have to lose.
We slip out the side door and freeze.
Four men in legion uniforms stand in the alley, blocking our path. For one suspended moment, everyone is still. Then someone shouts, and the world erupts into chaos. Malachi moves before I can blink.
He seizes the man nearest him, twists his arm at an angle that shouldn't be possible, and drives him into the wall with a crack that echoes off the stone. The second man lunges. Mal catches him by the collar, drives an elbow into his face, then kicks him backward with enough force to send him crashing into the opposite wall. I only see those two before instinct takes over.
A third man charges at me from the left. My heart slams against my ribs, but I don't run. I plant my feet, wait until he'sclose, and drive my knee up hard. He doubles over with a grunt. I bring my foot up and catch him across the jaw.
He goes down. I pray he stays there. Movement in my peripheral vision. A fourth man, emerging from the shadows while Malachi is occupied.
"Mal!" I rip the blade from my cuff, but I'm too slow.
The man drives a dagger into Malachi's side.
The scream that tears from my throat doesn't sound human. I lunge forward, but hands grab me from behind, wrenching me backward. I don't think. Fire blooms in my palm, hot and bright, and I twist free and drive my blade into whoever's holding me without looking. They release me with a cry.
Please don't be dead.Gods. I hope I don’t know them. I spin around. The man clutches his arm, blood seeping between his fingers, but he's alive. I turn back to Malachi.
He's clutching his side, staring at the blood-soaked blade in the man's hand with an expression I can't read. Confusion. Disbelief. Something darker beneath.
The man who stabbed him grins, blood on his teeth. "I knew this Rook killer would come in handy."
My sigil flares so hot I can feel it searing through my blouse. I'm moving before I can think. Blade high. Arm extended.
I drive the steel into the man's bicep. He snarls and wheels toward me, the dagger rising. Mal is faster. He rips the weapon from the man's grip and opens his throat in one fluid motion.
The man's eyes go wide. So do mine. Blood sprays in an arc as he crumples to the cobblestones. Someone screams.
I think it might be me, but my ears are ringing and my body is shaking so hard I can't tell where I end and the world begins. I tear my gaze from the body and look around wildly. This is the same place. The exact same place where I healed Jordi.
Where the laborers died screaming for families they couldn't remember. And now this. More blood soaking into the samestones. I scan the rooftops for gray birds. The windows for watching eyes. Any sign that we've been seen.
Warmth floods through the bond, sudden and deliberate, and I gasp in a breath I didn't know I needed. Then I'm hauled off the ground. I register Mal's warmth, strong arms, and the feel of his breath against my temple, but I can't seem to stop shaking or take my eyes off the carnage around us.
"Bloodshed equals banishment," I whisper, the words pulled from me without thought.
The first law of Lunaris. The one the Sages always warned us they couldn't protect us from. And I've just broken it in the Council's own territory. These men were wearing uniforms.
Someone will come looking. Someone will find out. I'll be banished. Gone. I'll never see Jordi again. Never help him get home.
Some distant part of my mind whispers that none of this will matter if we succeed. If we break the curse, if the Shroud falls, the Council's laws will mean nothing. Lunaris might not even exist anymore. But all I can think about is what I'll lose.
The chance to fix the elixir. To undo the harm I've caused. To find a way for the residents to remove their amulets without losing themselves to grief.
"Menace." Mal's voice in my ear breaks through my thoughts. "Look at me." My eyes find his face, blurred despite how close we are. "You did nothing wrong."
I nod and try to breathe. Try to feel anything beyond the cold numbness spreading through my chest. My gaze darts back to the bodies. Are they all dead?
