“There are pale-bloods nearby; you need to move.”
I don’t need him to tell me twice. I duck back behind the building, cutting between two of them and staying low as I creep toward the fence.
The sound of beating wings fills the air.
“Leah,”Syrus says, and the pain in his voice catches me by surprise.“I have to go. If they suspect you’re hosting a demon, the Concords may not be enough to protect you.”
Then he’s gone, just as I lift my head up to see two figures diving out of the sky toward me. Their huge wings kick up an eddy, making my hair fly around my face. I back up against the fence as they land, catching my wide-eyed reflection in the breastplates of their gleaming armor.
“Halt,” says the male ephilium even though I’ve already stopped moving. That doesn’t stop him from lunging toward me, pinning me against the fence with a strong hand against my shoulder.
“This is Lieutenant Magnus Orisus,” says the female soldier, a brown-skinned ephilium with close-cropped black hair. “I’m Captain Pellery Cazele. Identify yourself.”
“Rose Radley,” I say, testing my strength against the lieutenant by giving my shoulder a little jerk. To my surprise, his grip loosens for a moment, but then his brow furrows and he tightens his fingers.
“What are you doing here? The rift compound is reserved for authorized personnel only,” Captain Pellery asks, her brown eyes bright—calculating—as she sizes me up.
I hold up my hands, schooling my features into what I hope is an innocent, frightened expression.
“Look, I made a mistake. I heard some rumors that there might be work here. Please don’t report me to the wardens. My dad said if we don’t make rent by the end of the week, we’ll be up shi?—”
“What kind of work requires you to breach Assembly property?” Captain Pellery asks, tilting her head and giving me a sharp glare.
“Well, that’s the thing,” I say, giving them a nervous smile. “I heard you wingers were looking to shift some stuff without the Assembly knowing. You know, a little contraband you don’t want them poking their nose into. But it’s not smuggling if it’s your own loot, right?”
Lieutenant Magnus’s expression darkens, and he grabs my tunic by the shoulder, lifting me off the fence and slamming me back against it.
“Tell the truth!”
“I am,” I groan, not needing to fake my wince as pain radiates through my back. “I wanted to see if I could get a slice of the pie. Obviously, I see that was a stupid idea now.”
Captain Pellery studies me. “Search her,” she says.
I’m glad I handed over my gold to Hodges when I got the chance. Having it on me would poke a giant hole through my poor-girl-trying-to-make-rent story. Although that might be better than what Lieutenant Magnus does find tucked into my waistband.
“Look at these runes,” he says triumphantly as he holds up the knife Syrus gave me. “That’s some fancy Cyrax you’ve got there.”
“I’m a scavenger,” I say quickly. “I got that on the plains.”
“Isn’t scavenging illegal?” the captain asks archly.
“Yeees,” I admit. “But that’s Stratan law. It doesn’t concernyou.”
She lifts her eyebrow. “So you’re an expert in jurisdiction, are you?”
“I know enough to be sure that wingers guarding rifts don’t have any business policing minor human crimes,” I say cooly.
Pellery takes the knife off Magnus and lifts it to her nose, appearing to sniff it.
“Does that smell fresh to you?” she asks, holding it under Magnus’s nose.
“Fresh enough.” He grins nastily.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, bucking against Magnus’s hand again. My shoulder is starting to ache, sending shooting pains like little lightning bolts through my body.
“It’s been used recently to sling shadows,” Pellery says. “And there hasn’t been a battle for a week.”
Shit. I didn’t know they could tell something like that, and Syrus definitelydidchannel shadows through the knife during training a couple of days ago. My panic makes me mouthy. “I thought ephilium could only see the future, not the past?” I snap.
