Icheck around the waterfall, weaving through the writhing chaos of people slathered in sweat and sweet-smelling fruit juice, prying myself free from the claustrophobic press of it all when I can’t find her anywhere.
What if something bad happened to her?
Panic flogs my heart, filling it with fiery fear.
Figuring the man guarding the door might have some ideas, I dart up to the mezzanine, snatch my knapsack, and redo my hair, covering the low bun with my cap. I sprint down the tunnel and up the stairs to find him leaning against the door.
“Thought you’d turn up eventually,” he says, reaching for the handle. “She needed some fresh air. Requested that I ask you to meet her at the top of the stairs if you came this way.”
Frowning, I dart past the moment he opens the door wide enough, and charge up the cobbled stairs, whipping off my mask and shoving it in my bag.
My heart skips a beat when I make it to the top and she’s not there.
Sprinting, feet slapping through puddles that splash up my legs, I exit the alley. “Dammit,” I mutter, scanning the busy crowd.
My frantic gaze settles on a figure leaning against a wall a few doors down. Though their face is hidden by the fall of their hood, I’d recognize the swathe of that expensive velvet cloak anywhere—stark against the surrounding squalor.
Relief bubbles up so fast I almost vomit.
I run, snaking between people and swirling clouds of sweet smoke blown from long pipes.
She flinches when I grab her arm, head whipping in my direction.
“Oh,” Gael gasps, hand shielding her heaving chest. “It’s you.”
My heart flips at the sight of her pale cheeks and wide eyes that scan the busy street, gaze darting behind me nervously. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
She sniffs, wiping at a smudge of kohl beneath her eye as she tucks her mask into my bag. “I’m so sorry I left. I know that’s such a shit thing to do. I just had to get out of there …”
“Gael, what happened?”
She draws a shaky breath, nibbling at her lower lip. “I was having a really good time dancing, and I wandered off to pick some more fruit when a man ran into me and knocked off my mask. He was with two others, and one of them recognized me. They backed me against a wall; said something about their kid brother who was earning a wage working at the docks in Mother’s hanger last year. That he started acting strange, then never came home one day.”
I frown. “What does that have to do with you?”
“That’s the thing, I have no idea.” Another sniff. “None of it made any sense.”
“Did you see their faces?”
“No. But they got a very clear look at mine. Meaning they now know I frequent the lair. A secret they can use against me or my family.”
“Shit …”
“Yeah, shit.” She wipes at her nose again. “It completely destroyed my buzz. I threw fruit at them and ran.”
My eyes widen. “You threwfruitat them?”
She nods, spilling a laugh that crinkles her eyes and makes a tear fall down her cheek, letting the sound taper as she wipes at her snuffly nose. “I’m sorry. I know I promised you fun …”
Fun …
Today’s small dose of it might cost me my life. But I’d rather die by the sword of my own decisions than be stripped of the ability to make them.
“I think fun is overrated,” I admit, planting my hip against the wall.
“Maybe I’m growing out of fun,too.”
I tuck a fallen lock of hair behind her ear. “How about we find somewhere that’s quiet and peaceful and just …” I shrug, giving her a soft, lopsided smile, “nothing.”
