Aurora wished she could do the same. But as she skirted by the blackened husks of the market stalls, she could not stop her imagination from turning dark and bleak. There had been dozens of people inside the market each time she had gone. Where were all those people now? Had they survived? She did not feel a stronger than normal presence of souls in this area, but that did not mean there had not been casualties. She was so focused on her imagined horrors that she nearly missed Taven’s sharp turn down an alley strewn with trash and debris and muck of questionable sources.

She stuttered to a stop moments before she would have stepped out into plain view. A quick peek around the corner revealed Taven stopped halfway down the alley. A broken, swinging sign hung over an abandoned apothecary. The windows were boarded up, and the front steps sunken in rot. Hope began to unfurl. This was not the first time she had followed someone to a seemingly abandoned location only to find a different reality. Perhaps the Eye had just moved?

Aurora leaned farther around the wall, trying to get a better glimpse of what was happening. She felt something brush against her arm, and a moment later someone whispered, “I always have your back, novie. But this seems … shall we say, unwise.”

Fear clutched her heart for a long moment, and the distraction made her mental shields waver briefly, sending an overload of sensation into Aurora from the spirits around her—living and dead. She turned and her eyes fixed on Jinx’s familiar grin. After a stabilizing breath Aurora asked, “How did you find me?”

“I saw you fall past my window.”

Frowning, Aurora whispered, “I did not fall.”

“The roll at the end was a nice addition. Looked almost purposeful.”

Aurora did not care to argue, not when Taven might overhear them. But she whispered, “You followed me.”

“Good thing too. Kidnapping that guy will be much easier with two of us.”

“Kidnapping?” Aurora’s eyes widened, and she shook her head fiercely. “No one is kidnapping anyone.” After all, the last kidnapping she planned had come with extreme, unforeseen consequences.

“Are you sure?” Jinx tilted her head. “His information would be incredibly valuable. Plus, if he is anything like the Locke soldiers we met before…”

“He’s not.” At least, Aurora hoped he was not. “I … know him. Knew him. When I saw him walk past the inn, I didn’t think. I just followed him.”

Jinx’s eyes narrowed, and she hummed behind closed lips. “How well did you know him? Because I have a feeling Kiran is about to get his first taste of jealousy if this soldier is the reason you’ve been so secretive.”

“It was not like that. He was … a friend.”

“You were friends with a Locke soldier?”