if I tried to do it on my own.”
He still didn’t move.
“It’s loose now,” she prompted.
Gavin paused, then with more delicacy than she could’ve imagined from the size of his hands, he lifted the gown slowly from her shoulders.
Arms overhead she wiggled out, crouching down to almost kneeling on the floor.
“Now what do I do with it?’’ he said hurriedly, voice muffled.
“Just hold it there while I get changed.”
“Isn’t there another room or screen or something else for that?” he blurted.
Esme shimmied into the pants, pulled the short overdress back on and reached for the vest.
“It’s safe to look now,” she said. “Just toss the dress down on the bed and I’ll be ready in a minute.
“Ready? Wait a second,” he said, frowning. “That was unfair, you caught me off guard.”
“What was unfair?” she asked as she fastened up the front of the vest. She glanced at him. The color was still high in his cheeks.
Her giant was adorable.
“You distracted me. Why do you think you’re going?”
“Why do you think I’m not?”
“No way, it’s not safe.” He crossed his arms. “From what we learned today, it seems likely that even if the men who took your clan’s children aren’t here, someone who means harm is.”
“All the more reason for me to be out there looking,” she said as she moved towards the window.
His jaw set but Esme cut him off before he could argue further. “I can go with you, or go by myself?” She slid open the shutters, looked into the empty courtyard below. “Which would you prefer?”
“You’ll stay right next to me,” he growled after a long moment of silence.
It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t a request. It was a demand.
Despite the urge to spurn this restriction, Esme knew she’d pushed him as far as he would go.
And to be honest, she hadn’t any plans to be on her own more than she needed to.
She might treasure her independence, but she wasn’t stupid.
“Of course,” she agreed.
She slung one leg out the window, ready to climb down the rough wall when strong hands pulled her back in.
“There’s an easier way,” he said, then leaned around her to open the other shutter and squeeze himself out the window.
“That doesn’t look particularly easy,” Esme muttered.
Gavin perched on a slender ledge, stance as steady as if he was walking down the street.
“Now come on out,” he said softly.
As soon as her head and torso had emerged, he swung her into his arms.
“Hold on.”
Before she could register the warning, he leapt, landing lightly on the stable roof.
Without pausing, he ran towards the edge, jumping clear across the street to the roof of another building.
Esme closed her eyes, buried her face in his chest.
She trusted him.
Of course, she trusted him.
The cool night air tugged at her hair as it loosened from her braid.
She wasn’t about to let go of her grip around his neck to brush it back from her face.
Another burst of speed, and they were sailing through the air again, each landing so light it almost didn’t register.
Then only a few quick steps before the next impossible jump.
She trusted him.
He would never drop her. They wouldn’t fall.
Still, she wasn’t sure she needed to watch this.
The impossible journey continued, until suddenly the rush of wind fell silent.
“Hey,” Gavin whispered, nuzzling her hair. “We’re here.”
She dared to look around, knowing she was safe in his arms.
They were still on the rooftops, high above the city.
The twinkling of lantern lights below looked like stars reflected in the water, the still surface of a lake where hundreds of human lives played out their stories in the depths, all unaware of who walked among them.
Or over their heads.
“Isn’t your brother here yet?”
Gavin laughed, a low deep chuckle. “He thinks he’s the fastest one. But I figured you’d want a minute to catch your breath.” He shrugged. “It was good encouragement to get here quickly.”
“Thank you.” Esme breathed out, the strange exhilaration from their trip still coursing through her while she brushed hair back from her face.
“Have you found anything at all?”
In the moonlight she could see Gavin shake his head. “I don’t think the children are here,” he admitted. “Tonight, we’ll do another round of checking, and tomorrow, see what your friend Hendrick found from his informants. But if they were somewhere within these walls, Jormoi would’ve found a trace of them.”
The words hit Esme like a kick, souring her stomach, the sweet taste of apple cake turning to ash in her mouth.
“Not here,” she whispered. “Then