Behind me, Finn shifted near the grate. “Elle?” His voice was soft, tentative. “Do you think it’s—?”
“Don’t,” I snapped, not taking my eyes off Jasper. My pulse thundered in my ears.
Because I alreadyknew.
Chapter 37
Leo
Tracking Elira through Varrowmere was like chasing a shadow through smoke.
We had been tracking her for hours. Days. Who knew how long. Time didn’t move normally for me anymore. All I could think about was her.
She was everywhere—and nowhere. I caught traces of her in the air, a whisper of vanilla and honey on the breeze, but it vanished before I could follow. She was always just out of reach.
I’ll find you.
It was hard to believe these streets had once been her home. The alleys were narrow and suffocating, steeped in shadow and soot. Crumbling buildings leaned like they might collapse if you looked at them too hard. This place wasn’t a home. It was a graveyard pretending to be a city.
I thought back to the way she’d wrinkled her nose at Shade Tower—how unimpressed she’d been, how sharp her tongue had been about our clean halls and neat beds.
I understood it better now.
I found the ruins first—what was left of a school. Her scent lingered in the dust. I ran my hand over the bed of ratty blankets where she once slept. Finn wasn’t here either, so that told me all I needed to know.
She’d left us for him. For her friend.
It hurt more than I wanted to admit.
I was running my hands over the blankets, when I heard the noise outside.
A scuffle nearby. I rounded a shattered column just in time to see Slade slam a man into a crumbling wall, stone raining down like ash.
The man crumpled, gasping—and I froze.
“Tom,” I breathed. He was one of mine. A wolf shifter I had trained personally.
His uniform was torn, his eyes wild. He looked up and snarled, “Leo! Vasquez sent me. Why would you cut out your brand?”
His gaze flicked to my shoulder. His hands trembled, grasping at his own body like it was moving without permission.
“I have to kill you!” he gasped, voice strained, every word a battle.
Then he lunged.
Slade was faster—his blade pressed to the man’s throat before he could even rise.
I exhaled, tight and grim. “So, it appears the failsafe’s active.”
“Looks like it,” Slade grunted, holding Tom in place. The shifter was practically weeping.
Tom shook. “I don’t want to. I swear—I didn’t want to follow. But it’s like my blood is burning! It pulls at me. I smelled your scent and—gods—I wanted to rip your throat out.” His voice cracked. “Still do.”
Slade sneered. “Lucky I got to you first.”
“There are more of us,” Tom said quickly. “Shades. They’rehere. In the city. They’ve been set loose to find the Shadowmancer.”
A chill went through me. I crouched, met his eyes. “Do you know where she is?”
