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The safe house was five blocks south. Yet he hesitated to leave what little cover this spot offered them. Out there in the open, they would become easy pickings for the flying guards.
After the torture he’d endured earlier when his father’s concubines attacked him, he was too tired to fight anyone. Especially since they had already encountered three sentinels in the plaza. Nava was probably feeling much the same.
“We aren’t far from the safe house, but using the street is risky right now.”
Nava chewed her bottom lip, as she often did when she was feeling nervous. “Why don’t we wait here until we’re sure they’re gone?” She sighed. “I wish we could just sneak out during the day. Blend in with people.”
“You know that won’t work. I stand out from everyone, including my own kind.” He caught her beautiful, strange-colored eyes as they traveled down his body. Nava had told him once she couldn’t see the dark shadows that always accompanied him. Some comfort, at least.
“You’re easy to see during the day, and I’m easily spotted at night.” She sounded as tired as he felt. “I can’t continue to run this fast without using magic, Ark.”
“I know.” Orion placed his open palm against her lower back. Hope blossomed in his chest when she didn’t flinch away from his touch. For the last few hours, she’d avoided being too close to him, so this was a minor victory.
It was clear that she was angry with him after everything that had happened at the castle. Admittedly, he shouldn’t have locked her inside his chambers and left on his own to get the key to free her from the bracelets. Of course she needed time to forgive that. But why would she seem scared of him after crossing the portal? He didn’t like it.
“We have to reach somewhere safe before daylight. There is a large population of humans in need who live in this area. Knowing my father, he will issue a reward to anyone who turns us in. Come on.”
They walked in silence toward the main street, shielded by the balconies that jutted from the buildings on either side of them. Orion tightened his hand on Nava’s waist, stopping her as they reached the end of the alley. Wind moved the wooden signs of the shops, carrying loose debris along the grimy, open road. It lay dark and empty before them, barely illuminated by gas lamps. All was quiet. Until…
Tap, tap, tap.
A rattle from the rooftops above. Like small pebbles trickling down the terracotta tiles.
The hairs on the back of Orion’s neck stood on end. His skin grew cold and clammy. He pressed his hand over Nava’s lips and pulled her into the shadows of the alleyway. She tensed under his touch but allowed him to move them swiftly beneath the ramshackle balconies.
A shadow drifted from above, and a silhouette appeared against the backdrop of the moon’s silver light. A guard knelt down like a six-foot bird of prey, scanning the streets.
Nava’s breath hitched as she spotted him, too. Orion called for a shielding spell, and his magic poured from him, fibers of power weaving around their bodies and making them invisible to everyone. A frustrating, draining spell, but it might buy them enough time for the Dark One to leave.
Thankfully, the guard leaned forward, his wings flapping. Then he leaped off the rooftop and took flight, vanishing off into the night.
Nava relaxed inside Orion’s embrace, and he uncoiled his arms from her waist. He hadn’t even noticed he held her so close.
A thick mist rolled down the street and wafted into the alleyway. Nava trailed her hand through the humid air, which was thick enough to blur the lanterns’ yellow light.
“Mist is common near the canals.” Orion crept toward the main road, careful not to draw further unwanted attention. “I think we need to hide inside one of these buildings.”
He pointed at the shut-down shops in front of them. Many of them were boarded up. The sign he’d spotted a while back hung crookedly in front of what had once been a glass display, creaking in the night wind.
“I thought you said we should get to the safe house tonight?”
“I did. But that guard will return as soon as the mist clears.”
Unfortunately, many of the shops they passed were still locked, with thick chains wound around their door handles. It would create too much noise if they tried to break into one of them.
His father hadn’t mentioned how terrible a shape this part of town was in—the rats and the filth littering the streets. A decade ago, all these businesses had been flourishing.
“What if they’re waiting for us down the road?” Nava took a deep breath, clearly struggling to keep up with his long strides.
“I doubt it. The guards are aware I can conceal my wings to blend in with the humans.” Orion shrugged, still keeping an eye out for somewhere to hide. He needed to get Nava to some semblance of safety. A place to settle for the rest of the night. “They also know that fighting me can be deadly, as I possess the Curse of the Fallen.”
Or, as his father liked to call it, the Gift of the Fallen.
It wasn’t how Orion saw his particular type of magic.
“Don’t tell me there’s another curse on you I have to break?” Her voice rose to a frantic pitch. Too loud.
He turned to her and pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for her to remain quiet. Nava glared in response. It was almost enough to make him smile.
