through his shoulders. After a beat, he pulled himself away.
Squeezing his hand, I drew his attention. “Are you okay?”
“Zane’s blood runs in my veins.” His brow twitched. “That was his father. I…I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I can feel his displeasure.”
Alarm bells crashed in my head. On our way here, he’d recounted what happened at Oslo’s Ruins. About the vision of a gleaming snake and the questions Oslo asked. Noc assured me that he didn’t want to rule, that he had no intention of rewriting history like the gods seemed to want him to do. But I was beginning to wonder if the gods would take no for an answer.
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Should you really be going to Silvis’s Ruins, then? We can go alone. We don’t need—”
“Noc.” Kost strolled toward us with Oz, feigning nonchalance, but the stiffness of his gait and rigid length of his spine set my nerves on fire. “We need to move. Now.”
All traces of another man’s anger disappeared from Noc’s face. Calculating eyes swept through the crowd. “What is it?”
Oz minutely tilted his head to the left. “Darrien.”
A brief flicker of shock, followed by ire, dominated Noc’s face before he schooled it back to indifference. My heart plummeted to my feet. We’d guessed at Darrien’s knowledge, but to see him here, lingering in the open mouth of one of the many walkways spilling into the courtyard, was more than jarring. Hope of getting through the city unnoticed took a nosedive, and I clenched Noc’s hand tight.
Darrien leaned against a building with a cocky grin. With his brown hair oiled and slicked back, his curls caught on the lip of his high-necked tunic. He was dressed in Wilheimian clothing saturated in greens and gold. Errant hints of shadows drifted from the hems of his pants. A handful of men and women, including Quintus, appeared beside him. Their shadows dispersed, sending nearby locals skittering away with anxious glances over their shoulders.
“Dressed like a Wilheimian and blatantly displaying his powers.” Kost’s nostrils flared. “You know what this means.”
Noc’s jaw was tight. “It means he works fast. The king wouldn’t let Darrien loiter here if he didn’t have something to offer.” Noc tilted his chin my direction, and worry fractured his stoic stare. “We must remain unseen. If Darrien’s claims are validated and you’re here with me…”
Death or a bargaining chip. He didn’t need to say it for me to understand. There was also the matter of my newfound position as Council member, which could be seen as Noc striking an alliance with Hireath. Unease prickled along my skin. “What do we do?”
Grasping my hand, Noc turned his back on the traitor. “Walk away. Don’t draw attention to ourselves.”
The four of us crossed the courtyard as one, our pace toeing the gap between a brisk walk and an all-out sprint. The dull city sounds were suddenly too loud, each peal of laughter or vendor call a screeching alarm. Prying eyes lingered too long on our forms, and I was convinced that they knew. My heart slammed against my ribs. We’d never make it. The winding offshoot of a marble pathway grew closer, and the stacked buildings with hidden alleys promised reprieve from the open eyes of the square. Our feet ate the distance away, and Noc’s hand slackened a fraction in mine.
He kept his voice low. “We’re fine. We’ll loop around and—”
An explosion of onyx shadows erupted before us. Thick tendrils shot outward like vines, crawling across the street and stretching toward our feet. Darrien stepped out of the plume with a wicked grin.
“Hello, Noc. Or should I call you Aleksander?”
Panic clawed at my throat. “What do we do?” Startled citizens yelped and backed away at the sight of Darrien’s shadows. There were offshoots and alleyways tucked between buildings, but they all seemed so far away. Noc’s tight gaze swept over the scene. His jaw ticked. Finally, he squeezed my hand once, and then let me go.
“Run.”
Nineteen
Noc
There wasn’t time to calculate or predict, simply to react. I pushed Leena toward Kost and bolted, running straight for Darrien. I had to trust that Kost and Ozias would protect her. That Darrien would focus his energy on me and not them. Shadows leaped around my body, and I delved into them, only to reappear behind Darrien. He turned on his heels spitting fire, but I kept running. I hoped he’d follow me and give the others a chance to escape the city.
“You