Quinn
It was easier than I thought it would be to find my way out of the Enclave.
I walked right out the front door, smiling at the healers crowding the ornate atrium at the entryway, all easily identifiable in their matching robes.
The enormous limestone archway that led outside was covered in floral carvings that made me reach for my necklace, the points of the sunflower pressing comfortingly against my palm.
There was a phrase in a language I didn’t recognize emblazoned across the top.
I was letting myself be seen. Practically painting a sign on myself in neon letters that screamed, ‘Come and get me’.
“Excuse me,” I said to a nearby healer, my voice loud enough to be overheard. “Do you happen to know what the lettering means?”
She smiled. “Art is long, life is short. Which is to say…even with the longevity of fae lives, the skill, the technique, the enduring nature of medical knowledge will outlast us all.”
The phrase sounded familiar. I wondered if this was another thing to traverse realms.
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
Maybe it was only my imagination, but I thought I felt more than just her eyes on me as I walked away. My heartbeat picked up as another outpaced it.
The late afternoon sun momentarily blinded me as I stepped outside. I closed my eyes against the glare even as I savored the warmth on my cheeks, the slight saltiness in the air. After so long stuck in a lab, it was glorious to escape.
Not for the first time, I hoped I would have the chance to return to Mayim under better circumstances.
The city was an awe-inspiring maze of staircases and bridges, the marble and lustrous limestone structures bisected by waterways.
Blue accents mirrored the water almost everywhere I looked, their shade an almost identical hue to my healing magic.
I paused at the end of an empty bridge to admire the swirling brass work of the railings and the brightly tiled bridgeway.
While I had some idea of where I wanted to wander, based on where Silvius had been sighted near the Enclave, the most important piece of my plan was to position myself somewhere I could be found.
If we were correct about Silvius’s allies infiltrating the Enclave, then I had essentially painted a giant target on my back simply by walking out the front doors. But he possessed Eva’s and Tobias’s blood, and was a threat to their lives, as well as everyone else I loved.
It was worth the risk if it meant finding him.
We might be quickly working toward a cure, but the longer Silvius stayed free, the higher the chance he would create a viral version—a plague able to wipe out both magic and memory that would not be so easily stopped. Once viral, there was no telling who it would strike or how it would mutate.
And who better to drive him out of hiding than the person actively working to make his efforts useless?
It wasn’t as reckless as Tobias would think.
My only worry was that I was wasting time not being in the lab.
I would need to return soon, once the samples were set.
Marin’s updates assured me daily that Eva’s condition remained the same, yet every day it took me to create a cure made my anxiety rise.
We had no guarantees that her memory loss wouldn’t be permanent. She may not be getting any worse, but even this brief interlude was time she didn’t have.
The street was deserted, but I could sense someone near. Little did they know, I could feel their faint but steady pulse—the one that had been stalking me since I first left the Enclave—quickening as they got closer. My fingers curled, ready to strike first—
A familiar drawl cut through my thoughts. “Where, exactly, do you think you’re going?”
Crap.
My dagger—his dagger—was already in my hand, the move instinctual despite knowing I wouldn’t need to use it.
Tobias leaned against the limestone wall of the alleyway, his arms crossed over his chest. His tendons stood out starkly against his tan skin, his jaw clenched so hard it could cut glass. And his face…
I could practically see the mask he wore, shimmering like a mirage in the heat.
“I told you,” I said as nonchalantly as I could manage. “I needed to get out of the lab for a bit.”
Tobias’s eyes narrowed. “And what’s your excuse for not telling me you were leaving the Enclave entirely?”
His voice was carefully neutral, but there was an edge to it that sounded suspiciously like hurt.
I winced. “I…I didn’t think that you’d want to come.”
Tobias abruptly pushed off the wall, closing the distance between us in an instant. Light flared from his irises, his entire demeanor transforming in a rare display of anger. In a low voice that shivered down my spine, he murmured, “You’re a terrible liar, Sagray. Always were.”
Well, I knew he would follow. I did, however, underestimate how quickly he would find me.
I lifted my chin. Time to try a different tack, even if I wasn’t sure I could convince Tobias to adjust his sails. At the end of the day, we were in the same boat, whether he wanted to be or not.
“I’m here to get the answers we need to save your sister,” I quickly explained, willing him to understand.
“Given the mixed allegiances in this city, the near certainty that Silvius has spies in the Enclave, and the threat he made on my life…me walking out the front door alone seems like the perfect time for him to show his hand.”
A muscle quivered in Tobias’s jaw, like he was fighting for control. “So you’re hoping someone will try to capture or kill you?” His tone dripped with derision. “Or were you expecting Silvius to find you himself?”
“If I’m lucky.”
I didn’t dare look around. There was still time left for this to work if I could get Tobias to leave.
“Lucky,” Tobias repeated flatly.
“So, if you don’t mind heading back…” I ventured, though I already knew it was a lost cause.
His expression darkened. “Don’t play games with me. I’m not in the mood.”
“As opposed to your usual happy-go-lucky self?”
He swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair. A tousled lock fell back into his eyes and light flared between its strands.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Tobias growled. “Just because you can take care of yourself doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”
“Of course it doesn’t.” I gave him an imploring look. “But the risk is worth the reward.”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “And you didn’t think to tell anyone about this half-cocked plan of yours?”
“It’s not as reckless as it seems,” I muttered uncomfortably. “Having you following me around is exactly what I wanted to avoid.”
Tobias’s hands closed around the railing behind me, one arm on either side, boxing me in. He was close enough for me to feel the tension rippling from him, though he was careful not to touch me. I stared up at him, desperate to change his mind before time ran out.
“If you think I’m leaving you alone here, especially after this stunt, then you don’t know me at all.” His knuckles had gone white where he gripped the railing. “You don’t know him like I do.”
I flinched at the casual reminder of the years he spent under Silvius’s control.
“I know he wants to stop me, considering how close I am to beating him.”
My magic surged in response to the unseen threat, roaring to be used.
“Not stop you,” Tobias snarled, the sudden force in his voice catching me off guard. “He wants to kill you. The only question is if he’ll try to take you alive to use your blood to experiment with or simply attempt to murder you. Not that he’d be brave enough to do the latter himself.”
“Silvius has the answers we need, and our friends have been playing a game of cat and mouse with him that I’m not entirely sure they’re the feline in,” I hissed. “If he sends someone after me, they can lead us to him, which is exactly what I’m hoping for.”
“Without a single person knowing where you are if your plan fails,” Tobias snapped, the anger in his voice palpable. “What happens to Eva if you get captured? What happens to all those poor souls Silvius infects after he kills you?”
I chewed on my lower lip, debating if it was worth explaining why he didn’t need to worry. If, even then, he would be willing to leave me behind.
I would never forget the way Pari’s expression changed from curiosity to suspicion when the truth came out, her interest turning to outright fear. It was like the trust we had built had been eradicated with one short sentence.
Tobias may not have been brought up with the same preconceptions as those raised in this realm, but he had more reason than anyone to hate what I was…and I wasn’t ready for him to stop looking at me like I was his safe place.
But he didn’t deserve me lying to him, even by omission.
I swallowed against my suddenly dry mouth. “If I show you why…”
“Why what?” Tobias prompted, as my voice failed me.
“Why you don’t have to worry about me,” I said in a hurry. I only needed him to back off for a few minutes, if that. “Will it change things?”
Tobias’s eyes moved between mine as if he could find the truth there. Then he crossed his arms, his face unreadable.
“Try me.”
He won’t push you away, I told myself even as I felt my heart start to race—and mine wasn’t the only one. This won’t change things.
My dagger quivered in my hand as I tried not to think about the alternative. Tobias only watched me, his face unreadable.
I nervously dug my fingers into the grip, keeping it at the ready. “If I show you why I’ll be safe, you’ll leave me to my plan?””
“No.”
I recoiled. “And if that wasn’t a request?”
“I’m not asking either, Maris,” Tobias bit out, his voice unwavering.
I wondered if he realized sparks were dropping from his fingertips like fallen stars.
“If I need to throw you over my shoulder and carry you back to that castle, I will. Silvius has already attacked my sister. If you think I’m letting him, or anyone working for him, get anywhere near you—”