Page 47 of Veinblood
I change as fast as I can, my hands shaking so badly I can barely work the fastenings. Being vulnerable out here, stripping out of my clothes and into these new ones, makes my heart race even faster.
What if someone comes around the corner? What if someone sees me?
I fumble with the ties on the tunic. It takes three attempts to get them right, and by the time I’m done my palms are slick withsweat, and my breath is coming in short, sharp gasps. I bundle my jeans and sweater into the smallest possible package and take them as far down as the narrow path allows me. I don’t think anyone will bother squeezing their way down here. The only thing I can’t do anything about is my sneakers. The pants cover the tops, so I have to hope that no one will pay much attention to my feet.
At least I’ve fixed one problem. Now I need to find somewhere I can hide, and figure out where I am. I give a second’s thought to staying where I am, but the space is too narrow for comfort and if I’m caught here, there will be no way for me to escape.
I creep along the streets, trying to stay in the shadows, and look for a building that could be an inn or a tavern. Any place where I can try and figure out where I am. I don’t see either of those things, but as I turn a corner into an area where the buildings aren’t quite as tightly packed, and in the spaces between them, I catch sight of something in the distance that makes my stomach drop.
Rising above the buildings, gleaming in the moonlight, is a tower. I stop walking, every thought about being hidden wiped away by what I’m seeing. The shape. The height. The way it catches the light and seems to glow against the dark sky.
No. It can’t be.
I know that tower. I’ve seen it before, up close.
No. No. No.
I’m in Ashenvale. The Authority’s stronghold. The worstpossible place I could have ended up. And before me rises the Lirien Spire.
Terror hits me so hard that my knees buckle, and I have to catch myself against a wall. My vision goes dark around the edges. I can’t breathe. Of all the places in Meridian … all the cities, the towns, even the empty wilderness … the ritual sent mehere. To the heart of Authority rule.
This is where Sacha was High Prince before they took everything from him. Where Sereven sits on a throne that isn’t his. Where Authority soldiers patrol every street.
I’m going to die here. There’s no way I can survive this place. I don’t know the streets well enough. I don’t know who can be trusted. I’m wearing stolen clothes. And I have power that wants to announce itself every time I’m scared.
And right now, I’m scared all the time.
The thought of what they’ll do to me if they catch me makes bile rise in my throat. I saw the aftermath of what Sereven did to Sacha. I know what they’re capable of.
I can’t give up! I can’t curl up in an alley and wait for them to find me. I have to keep moving. Standing still means getting caught, and getting caught means death or worse.
I straighten and push away from the wall, every step feeling like I’m walking deeper into a trap, and then I hear the sound of a patrol marching toward me. And this time, there’s nowhere I can hide.
“You there!” A voice calls out, sharp with suspicion. “Stop where you are.”
Six Authority soldiers emerge from a side street, their crimson cloaks bright against the gray stone of the buildings. The leader points directly at me, with the kind of confidence that comes from years of absolute power.
My heart is slamming against my ribs so hard, I’m surprised it doesn’t burst. I keep my eyes lowered as they approach, falling into the subservient pose Mira and Sacha showed me during our last visit here.
Don’t make eye contact. Don’t look like you’re challenging their authority.
“Yes, sir?” I keep my voice as steady and as meek as I can manage.
“What are you doing out after curfew?”
I don’t know anything about a curfew, but it explains why I haven’t seen anyone other than Authority patrols on the streets. I scramble for a plausible lie.
“I was visiting my mother. She’s sick, sir. She lives in one of the outer districts. I didn’t realize how late it was.”
The patrol leader’s eyes narrow as he studies me. “Which household?”
My mind races. I don’t have enough knowledge to be questioned too deeply. “The large house with the blue shutters, sir. Near the fountain.” I don’t even know if thereareany fountains in Ashenvale. I hold my breath.
“What’s her name?”
“V-Veridia.” I grasp at a name that sounds like it could be from Meridian.
“Never heard of her.” He steps closer. “I think you’re lying.”
