“He wants to make sure you still have what it takes,” she said.
“Of course I do.”
She shrugged. “You look different.”
I could feel my lips turn down at the corners, and she stepped back, eyes flashing. “Good still, of course. Kind of tortured poet-like, with the shadows under your eyes.”
I could hear the truth in her voice but didn’t care. It was the mere idea of changing after so many years—of not being in control of my body and mind—that bothered me.
“Thank you, Veronica.” I reached into my pocket, withdrew a crisp set of notes, and passed them to her.
She took them and stuffed them in her pocket without looking. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
I nodded, and she disappeared into the shadows, slipping back out into the rain. I turned away, thinking of Carrow.
I needed to find her.
Carrow
Dreams flashed through my mind, hazy and unclear. Grey, of course, always at the periphery of my thoughts. And Beatrix, my friend. She’d died over a year ago, murdered by the man who’d worked for the necromancer. That mystery had drawn me into Guild City, and in a terrible way, I supposed I had her to thank for it.
Poor Beatrix.
A tapping sound dragged me from sleep, and I rolled over, my body weighing a million pounds. Sunlight streamed through the small window set into the white plaster wall. Bright and brilliant, it slanted across the sheets, nearly blinding me when it passed over my eyes.
I blinked, the dark rafters in the sloping ceiling helping me focus my vision.
The tapping sounded again.
I turned toward the window, squinting against the light. A dark shape was silhouetted against the sun—a bird.
As I blinked and climbed out of bed, the bird coming into focus.
Eve’s raven.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
The bird didn’t speak—not to me, at least—but it tilted its head like it understood.
I walked toward the window and forced the rickety thing open. The bird hopped to the side of the sill but didn’t take flight. I looked past it, down onto the street.
“Eve?” I called.
My Fae friend was nowhere to be seen. The street bustled with early morning foot traffic. Supernaturals carried steaming cups of magical coffee that billowed rainbows of steam, the color depending on the enchantment on the dark brew. Energy, charm, luck, or a bit of extra intelligence—all were yours for the taking if you ordered from the right shop.
I looked up into the
sky, expecting to see her hovering on her Fae wings. All I saw were fluffy white clouds against a brilliant blue sky.
I looked back down at the raven. “Where’s Eve?”
The bird just tilted its head, staring at me. Something pulled in my chest. Recognition, almost. Familiarity or connection. The dream of Beatrix flashed in my mind. She stood next to me, smiling and laughing like she used to.
Pain sliced through my chest, and my hand instinctively went to my heart. I’d done a good job of banishing the sadness from my mind, but lately, it insisted on coming back.
So strange.
The bird took flight, launching itself into the gentle wind. It whirled on the breeze, then flew off toward the Shadow Guild tower.