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A couple of shifters stumbled past them, clinging to each other as they dropped bags of contraband that would land them in prison for a long time. Orion reached for Nava, pulling her under his wings for protection. His memories might have been patchy, but he knew she’d never experienced the Society of Crows in true pursuit.
Smoke clouded almost everything except for the shadows that approached, unbothered by the spell they were using to punish everyone. They wore gas masks with rounded glass eyes and pointed beaks.
It had been foolish not to think of them anymore after they’d escaped the safe house. All night long, the city had warned him that someone followed him around the streets as they prepared for the attack.
“It’s the Corvus. They finally tracked us down.”
Nava’s stiff movements slowed as she looked over her shoulder. “They are here?” Her wide eyes barely seemed to focus on anything, and her aura flickered on and off as her ragged, panicked breaths intensified.
Out in the main street, where the air was clearer, he could finally think straight. The sooner they were out by the sea, the better they would fare. He moved them farther away from the alley, toward the pier and the ships with their hollering crews. “Try to calm your breathing, Bee. Put the coat over your nose.”
He would have given her the scarf, but at that point, it was best if he kept a handle on whatever was left of his magic, for she had already inhaled too much of the bomb to have full control of hers.
“I can’t feel anything. How am I going to fight them?” Nava asked.
Orion doubted the Crows had spotted either of them yet. They’d been lost in the throng of people who had fled from the market and into the streets. If they got away fast enough, they wouldn’t have to fight them at all.
“Most establishments in town have basic protective wards. It prevents stun weapons—like the bombs—from being detonated inside the shops. My guess is the Crows waited to attack us once we were no longer under the tavern’s protection.”
Nava exhaled. “How long is the effect going to last? I can’t feel my magic…”
Orion peered over her head at what remained visible of the night market. The Crows’ silhouettes loomed clear against the bright light of the lanterns, stalking closer and closer to the main street.
They should keep moving. But something nagged at him. Some detail at the back of his mind that didn’t allow him to continue.
The heavy beating of his heart nearly drowned the screams of the crowds. And then he spotted it: the Corvus were dragging someone behind them. A tall male figure tied with a rope, pulled like cattle into the open streets of the ports. The man stumbled with each step he took, his features hidden behind his messy hair.
Orion’s heart jolted as panic gripped him. Even at this distance, there was no mistaking him. “They have Devon,” he choked out.
This place had been vibrant with colors only ten minutes ago. A haven for illegal trade that was harmless in the grand scheme of things. But the Crows had burst in and released a bomb where a child had been running but a moment ago.
If they had Devon, what would they have done to the small thief?
Orion pulled Nava behind an empty flower stand and crouched down. Its wooden edge dug into his palm as he rested his weight on it.
“How many Crows can you see?” Nava asked.
“Six.”
His wings were too large to hide behind a small cart, but putting them away would use too much of his magic, and he had little to spare.
“Do they normally send that many when someone breaks into a safe house?” Nava flashed a panicked look at him. Then she peered around the corner of their hiding place to where the Crows were gathering in the middle of the main road. “Or is this a routine task and we are in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
“They are here for you and me…” he said, fully focused on the hunched shape of his brother. Devon was clutching his throat, as if he was having a hard time breathing. Of course. He was far too sick to deal with the effects of the bomb.
“But how could they know it was us? We didn’t hold the Vulcan. And this is a large city.”
“They likely used the Vulcan to track whoever broke in,” Orion said. “It might have shown them Devon, and when they found him…”
“They found us.”
Tonight had been the first time the city had warned him that something was wrong. Aristaeus had been right—his connection to the land was strengthening more with each day he remained in the kingdom.
Nava’s brows knitted together, and determination set in. “My mother taught me to fight without relying on my magic because she knew that when we left Willowbrook, I might run into one of these bombs.”
“Yes.” If only Celeste had allowed Nava to learn about the world of magic sooner in addition to that. She’d been a cunning creature and always kept her cards close to her chest. And just like that, his annoyance at Nava’s mother flooded back, like an old foe that had never left him. He was still too angry at her for taking Nava away—for cursing him to become a crow for a decade of solitude.
Fuck, he hated her.
