“Deborah needs some air,” Madden said, sternly. “Take her outside.”
Cahir rose, his tight mouth coming into view as his grip on my arm pulled me with him, yet I barely registered the pressure.
Cold wind cut across my cheeks as he guided me out the door, around the café and into a narrow side alley. A startled cat sprang away between trash bags. Cahir pushed me against the brick wall as I fumbled with my hands, watching as my fingers slowly moved again.
He stepped into my space. “I’ll warn you only once. If you draw more attention to yourself, I’ll quiet you the hard way. Understand?”
It had been days. Too many days. I could feel myself losing it, too rattled to think straight. Madden called me by another name, and I—
I braced my palms against the cold brick wall and forced air into my lungs.
Breathe. Breathe.
The rough texture beneath my fingers and the uneven stones beneath my boots grounded me. At least they weren’t white. They didn’t hurt.
I let the cold seep through my fingers until the haze in my head began to recede.
When I opened my eyes again, Cahir had moved to the corner of the building and was gesturing at someone across the street.
A blond man walked hand in hand with a brunette in a navy trench coat, both of them smiling at each other. Another woman in a leather jacket strode past, holding her child’s wristwhile scolding him. Two young women in cerulean uniforms and plaid skirts walked arm in arm, laughing as they crossed the cobblestones, unaware of the hooded figure approaching from the shadows in the opposite alley.
It came to me why this street felt familiar.
The pressure in my lungs eased as I realised this was the same street from my vision. The Sight had been leading me here, showing me this place, this moment.
Ahead of me, Cahir tipped his head in a silent message. The Scion across the street marked the movement, and his attention slid towards the women in uniforms. Ready to ruin lives. Ready to gather more servants for their revolting plans.
Ragged clothes and empty stares flashed through my mind, and I imagined those girls’ faces among the mansion’s captives until I could barely breathe.
The hooded Scion crept closer.
My panic receded, and I could think clearly again.
With my eyes on Cahir, I fell back into the alley, stealthily slipping between buildings. I counted three corners before breaking into a full run, veering from one narrow passage into another. If my sense of direction was correct, I had to turn left at the next corner.
My heartbeat raced as I emerged onto the wider street, stepping straight in front of the two women.
They stumbled, one of them yelping. With no voice to warn them, I pointed frantically behind them, desperation etched across my borrowed features. They followed my gesture and saw the cloaked man withdrawing into the alley.
Recognition widened their eyes. One girl caught her friend’s wrist, offered a single nod, and tugged her into a swift retreat. They vanished down the street.
Cahir lingered on the far side of the street, his murderous gaze fixed on me.
My pulse drowned out the rest of the world. The alley swelled with motion as people noticed the hooded figures in sight, some fleeing, some staring suspiciously at them.
I staggered back as Cahir made for me. He moved slowly as not to call attention to himself.
My instinct overrode fear. I turned and ran.
Too many eyes watched me, followed me as I sprinted down the wet cobblestones, boots slipping as I careened around a corner, catching a glimpse of Cahir vanishing into an alley, away from the humans who couldn’t see him.
Flinging.
I needed to get out of sight and veered into another alley. Each step pounded in my skull. If I could lose them, I could escape.
A Scion shed his cloak in one of the alleys, and I made a turn, searching for another way. A flash of green and gold caught my attention.
My breath hitched.
