Page 12 of Fateless

“I thought I saw... someone,” I confessed. “On the rooftops across from us.” For a second, I considered telling him what I had overheard in the Temple of Fate. The conversation between the high priestess and the iylvahn. But Jeran and Dahveen were right there, listening. I didn’t want to get any of us in trouble by revealing things I shouldn’t.

Vahn’s gaze continued to pierce through me, expectant. And I was not going to disappoint him. Even if I wasn’t certain of what I had seen. “I... couldn’t really see them clearly,” I began, stumbling over the words. “It was dark, and they were far away. But... it... it might’ve been... an iylvahn?”

Dahveen gave a snort of disbelief, but Vahn’s face went pale. He straightened, gazing around the tavern, as if the iylvahn could be lurking among the barrels or under the countertop. “It’s here,” he growled, mostly to himself, though I felt a chill run up my spine at the words. “It’s already in the city.” His jaw clenched, and he glanced back at us, narrowing his eyes. “Do not leave the guild tonight, Sparrow,” he said, making me blink. “That’s an order. Understand?”

Bewildered, I nodded. “What’s going on?” I asked, but Vahn had already turned away. I watched him stride back through the tavern and duck out the curtained doorway, and tried to ignore the feeling of anxiety spreading through my chest. I considered running after Vahn to ask him more questions, but I knew the Guildmaster. Until he was ready to explain what was happening,I would have to wait and try not to worry about it.

Dahveen blew out a breath and gave me a disgusted look. “You did not see an iylvahn tonight,” he accused. “Stop lying—everyone knows the iylvahn hardly ever leave their hidden city. Why would one be here in Kovass?”

I shrugged. “Maybe to kill a fat noble,” I said, and he snorted again.

“You really saw one?” Jeran asked, sounding warily hopeful. “An iylvahn? You didn’t just say that to impress the Guildmaster?”

I frowned. I didn’t really care if Dahveen believed me, but Jeran’s words stung. “I wouldn’t lie to Vahn, Jeran,” I said. “Especially when someone just died. You know me better than that.”

His gaze dropped, and he immediately raised a placating hand. “You’re right,” he said. “Sorry. Forget I said anything.”

I relaxed and gave him a forgiving nod. He and Dahveen continued talking, about the circus, the performers, and the unexpected death, for several long minutes. I sat there, nursing my drink, and thought about... other things. The iylvahn, the Circle, Vahn’s ominous behavior and his order not to leave the warehouse.

But also, I thought of the brief touch Jeran and I had shared on the rooftop. The look on his face when his eyes met mine, and the strange fluttering in my stomach. And I wondered what might’ve happened, what might have started, had we not been interrupted.

Five

“Sparrow. Get up.”

I jerked awake, muscles tensing to dodge or scramble back before my brain could even register what was happening. I was an extremely light sleeper, and my door creaked horribly, a defect I left unfixed so no one could sneak into my room while I was unconscious. Because nearly everyone in the guild could pick a lock, and because a locked anything announced to others that you might have something to hide or protect, no one bothered locking their doors. But the shadow looming over me had either opened the door without making anything squeak or had ghosted right through it and floated to my bed without touching the floor, because I hadn’t heard so much as a whisper in my dreams.

“It’s me,” the shadow said before I could leap off my tiny cot and scramble upright. Hearing Vahn’s voice, I relaxed, but only a little. He rarely came into my room, and never at night. Had something happened?

“Vahn?” I blinked at him blearily, then gazed at my boarded-up window. Through the slats, it was true dark; the stars glimmered like distant gems, and a thin crescent moon hung against the navy-blue sky. “What’s going on?”

“Get up,” Vahn repeated. “Come with me. Don’t ask questions, and speak to no one. Let’s go.”

Even more confused and more than a little alarmed, I pushed myself off my cot and rose, shivering a bit in the chill. Demon Hour might scorch the skin from your bones, but once the suns went down, the temperature plummeted as well. Vahn said nothing else, just turned and glided silently from my room without looking back. Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I followed.

The guild warehouse was deserted as we made our way down the stairs and onto the first floor. Because nights were so short, guild members took advantage of the darkness while they could and planned jobs around the few hours of true dark. The lights of Rala’s tavern gleamed orange in the corner, but no one sat at the tables or the bar. Rala herself was not in the tavern, either, probably catching a few hours of sleep while the place was empty.

I started toward the back entrance, but to my surprise, Vahn snapped his fingers at me, shaking his head. “Not that way,” he said shortly.

I blinked. “We’re not leaving the building?”

“I said no questions,” he replied. “We’re not leaving by the normal way, is all.” He headed toward the back of the warehouse, then down a long flight of rickety wooden steps to the basement level of the building. This chamber was rarely visited and had been given over to storage. It was large, with dusty stone floors and a low ceiling. Stacks of crates, pots, pallets, and containers had turned it into a miniature maze, and it was impossible to see the farthest corners of the room through all the junk.

Vahn didn’t hesitate, weaving through the labyrinthine aisles without pause, heading for the far end of the room. I followed until we came to the far wall, cloaked in heavy shadow.Bewildered, I gazed around. There were no doors, no exits or entrances, no windows, even. Just crates of junk and flat, solid brick walls.

In the corner, Vahn paused, then turned to me. His dark eyes glimmered a warning in the shadows. “What I am about to show you is of the utmost secrecy,” he said in a low voice. “Under no circumstance are you to reveal what you learn here to anyone, inside the guild or out. Breaking this rule will result in intervention by the Circle. Is that understood?”

A flippant reply rose to mind, but I knew better than to press Vahn when his eyes were hard and scary, so I just nodded. He turned toward the corner. One hand rose, and two fingers pressed into one of the many bricks along the wall.

There was the faintestclick, and the brick Vahn was pressing slid back like it was some kind of large button. Part of the wall detached and became a door that swung slowly outward, making my breath catch in my throat. Beyond the opening, a narrow tunnel snaked away into the darkness.

My eyes widened.

Vahn pinned me with a narrowed gaze. “Remember, not a word of this, to anyone. This door, this tunnel, does not exist.” He jerked his head at the dark space beyond. “Let’s go.”

Heart pounding with excitement and a tinge of fear, I ducked through the secret door into the dark tunnel beyond. “What is this?” I asked once Vahn had stepped inside as well. My voice echoed down the tunnel, making me shiver. “Where are we going?”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t chastise me for breaking the“no questions” rule again. Maybe he realized it was a lost cause.

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