In her place was something leaner. Stronger.
I wasn’t the same girl from the streets now. The world was no longer black and white. It was more shades of grey.
I hated the king.I despised him.
But could I ever choose to become a Shade?
I dressed quickly in a set of sweats I had kept in the bathroom. When I finished pulling on my shirt. I heard a noise.
Like a footstep.
“Leo?” I called. I stepped out of the bathroom and looked around the darkened room.
But there was no one in sight.
Then I heard it.
A breath.
Not mine.
Not imagined. A shadow ducked around the corner from me.
“Oh no you don’t,” I muttered, and sprinted after them.
Barefoot, I chased the figure through the narrow corridor, shadows gathering around me like smoke. Whoever it was moved fast, but I was faster. I cornered them just outside the training wing, back against the stone. I grabbed his arm as he tried to duck back in through the doorway.
“Alright,” I snapped. “You’ve been following me for days. Time to talk.”
He lifted his hands slowly in surrender. Slim build. Dark hair. Familiar eyes.
My stomach dropped.
“You.”
It was the boy from the infirmary. The one who had been watching me.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said quickly.
“Then why are you following me?”
“I’ve been hoping to get you alone. I have a message for you.”
I stared at him a moment. “Wait a minute, I know you don’t I?”
“Ahh”
“You work for Mother Ashford. You’re one of her runners.” I said.
The kid sighed raggedly. “Yes. She has your friend. Finn. The one who was here.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“He came to us for help,” the boy said quietly, “and she turned him away. Said he was useless. So he broke in—and tried to steal weapons.”
I stared at him, not breathing.
“He got caught,” he finished. “She has him caged. In The Pit.”
