“Maybe you should have used a fireball instead of trying to block him off with a wall,” Cerulean said.

“You know what?” Haken said. “How about you explain to me why you want him dead.”

Cerulean cocked his head, as though listening to something. “Vihaela.”

“She didn’t clear that with me.”

“Guess you’re not in the loop.”

“Don’t fuck with me.” Haken’s voice was dangerous. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”

“Why don’t you tell her that?”

Haken started to answer, then stopped. He looked up, over Cerulean’s shoulder, as though he’d noticed something. A second later, I heard it too: people coming closer, lots of people. The wavering white glows of flashlights were showing through the bushes. Shadows moved and Haken took a step back into a defensive posture. Then a woman stepped out into the light.

chapter 13

When I’d seen Vihaela’s decoy a few hours ago, I hadn’t realised at first that she was a fake. It’s hard to identify someone from a picture—you can match the features, but what really sets a person apart is their actions, the way they move and stand and speak. I’d known that there was something off, but I hadn’t known what it was. Often that’s how it happens, when you see an imitation—it doesn’t look totally convincing, but if you don’t have anything to compare it against, you’ll probably accept it.

Until you see the real thing. And then all of a sudden, you can’t understand how you could ever have been taken in by the fake one.

Vihaela—and I knew this was the real Vihaela, knew it instantly and without needing to check—was tall and dark-skinned, though so perfectly proportioned that the only reason I even registered her height was that standing next to Cerulean, she was taller than him. She wore layered clothes of brown and black and red, with white gloves that stood out in the darkness, and moved with the graceful indifference of a bird of prey. Beautiful, but the kind of beauty that intimidates rather than attracts. Looking at her, I understood why Leo had been so afraid of her. She scared me, and I hadn’t even seen her do anything.

This was way more than I’d bargained for. I’d been planning to lose Cerulean and Haken in the darkness, then either call for backup or gate out. All I could do now was hold very still.

“Hello, Haken,” Vihaela said. Her voice was musical, quite pleasant to the ear. “Where’s Verus?”

“Gone,” Cerulean said.

Vihaela gave Haken an inquiring look. “He ran,” Haken said reluctantly.

Vihaela turned to Cerulean. “Fetch the sniffers. Take the outer guard. Find him.”

Cerulean nodded and slipped away into the darkness. Beyond the ring of Haken’s light, I could hear him giving orders. The men outside the circle drew back; I saw Haken’s eyes flick in their direction and he seemed to relax a tiny bit, though he was still on guard. “This would have gone a lot faster,” Haken said, “if you’d just come to talk.”