Page 19 of When Storms Collide

“I’m under strict instruction that ifDiana Kotovacame here—” the cashier began, before he was cut off by Saanvi.

“Good lord, man,stopsaying her name.” Her hand grasped the blade fastened at her waist as she narrowed her eyes at him.

He had the decency to blush with embarrassment, his mouth falling closed.

“Go on,” I urged, motioning with my hand for him to spit it out.

His voice fell to a deep whisper. “I am under strict instruction that if…you… were to come here, that I give you this piece of paper.”

He rifled through the drawer on his left until he removed his hand, a folded piece of parchment within his grasp. I snatched it out of his grip, unfurling it and flattening it to the glass countertop.

1178 Wilder Way.

I gazed up in confusion.

“What is this?” I asked, uncertainty creasing my brow.

The cashier reached out, sliding the paper his direction so he could read it. “An address.” He wordlessly slid the paper back.

“Butwhere,” Puck seethed, appearing as if he might punch the cashier in the face at any moment.

“The Shadow,” he replied, his gaze flitting between each of us once more, as if realizing who we were in truth.

“Where, in The Shadow, mate?” Puck asked through his teeth, losing whatever modicum of patience he had left. “It’s not as if we frequent the place or have google maps.”

The cashier took a step back, away from Puck, as his gaze moved back to me.

“It’s by the mountains,” he replied with a deep swallow.

“Mate, I am trying myhardesthere not to rearrange your face. You do realize that The Shadow is completely closed in onbothsides by mountains, correct? Please, please, for the love of whatever mortal God or the Mother above it is that you pray to, do not make me ask you another question.” Puck had lost his last vestige of composure and his hand curled into a fist at his side.

We were wasting too much time, and the longer we spent lingering around in Prins the greater the chances were of us being spotted and captured. The cashier held his hands out as if to calm us, but a muscle ticked in Puck’s jaw as he took a deep breath, moving forward.

“It’s on the left. The left coming from here. You go down the stairs, past the brothel district, past the Old Cat pub and keep going, towards the Siraway Sea. It’s near the edge of The Shadow on that side. That’s all I know,” he spit out, speakingfast enough the words were practically running together, his palms lifted towards us defensively.

“Thank you. You have beenmosthelpful,” Puck replied, his words dripping with sarcasm, as he retreated towards where Tess stood at the threshold of the shop.

Back the way we came, then.

Alastir had seen us coming. He had known I was going to come to Dragon’s Hollow searching for him, and he had left an address for us. What else had he seen? Was it Alastir at this address, or the answer to our questions?

Either way, we had better get going. And quickly.

I turned away from the counter to join the others on the cobbled street outside the charms shop, the crinkled parchment with the lone address tight within my grip.

We retracedour steps out of Dragon’s Hollow and back towards The Shadow, the morale of the group slowly dwindling. It wasn’t until we had crested the hill and had come back down on the other side that I realized I had forgotten to get any glamours.

If we couldn’t find Alastir, we would need to return to the seaside cabin. We couldn’t risk staying in Prins and being seen. It was far too risky, and the Noctani and the rest of Donika’s soldiers were likely on high alert, searching the realm high and low for us.

Saanvi stayed in her human form as she led us down the steep stone staircase back into the depths of The Shadow once more. We passed through the heavy, spelled door and traversed the long alleyway beyond it.

The hair on the back of my neck raised as if my magic could sense something in the air, and I shot Tess a sidelong glance.Her eyes flashed with worry, telling me she sensed the same thing. The sooner we found Alastir and got out of The Shadow, the better.

Puck led the way towards the Siraway Sea, into the brothel district where the buildings were shuttered closed. The only light escaping those townhomes was the open door as patrons passed in and out. We kept our heads down and walked onward, trying our best not to draw any attention to ourselves. The cobblestone road turned and brought us into an area of The Shadow I had never explored before. When we passed the Old Cat pub, I knew we were heading in the right direction. The street curved around the ramshackle buildings and the mountains could be seen immediately beyond, through rips and tears in the awnings strung overhead.

“Any idea where we are going now?” I asked at Puck’s back, a nervous trickle crawling up my spine.

“Your guess is as good as mine. Our friend at the charm shop wasn’t the most helpful, to say the least,” Puck replied as he cast a glance over his shoulder.

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