Briar's scent is nonexistent here. She didn't come this way. I cock a wry brow. I hardly expected her to leave the ball in the safety of my castle to dance with commoners below. But this is the main thoroughfare from the castle into the city, and I know she isn't in the castle anymore. I couldn't track her scent through the doors or out the gates of the castle wall. Now I realize it's because she didn't walk out of it.
Apprehension sweeps through me and I press my lips into a thin, worried line. I’m certain Briar isn’t in the castle and the last place I could find her scent was on the balcony railing. There was another smell there, so faint I didn’t bother with it. Now I wonder if it has anything to do with Briar’s disappearance from the balcony. I turn off the main road onto a side street, stretching my shadows outward in the hopes of finding Briar nearby.
Dark figures writhe on a doorstep and I glance sharply at it, senses on alert. But it’s merely two strangers rutting on the street to the sound of the violin in the distance. I ignore them, striding past a few more solitary late-night revelers until the streets grow empty and quiet. If I continue on this street and follow it down a few staircases, it will lead me directly to the House of Carrion—where the first victim was found. I stare pensively in its direction, wondering if the Nephilim have anything to do with this. But I would have picked up their scent on the balcony if that were the case. I turn away from the popular brothel and go up a street closer to the castle walls. Perhaps I’ll find her scent by the wall near the balcony.
My shadows have yet to discover anything close to Briar and I can feel my blood begin to thrum with anxiety. I scowl. It's been some time since I've felt nervous like this, and I don't like the sensation. I don't like the vulnerability. But, of course, I'm nervous, I rationalize, I need Briar alive and well for my revenge. I stride purposefully down the quiet streets. The only sound is the music and laughter from up above. The houses on the street below my castle are fine, grand manors. Many of them have been built to replicate the style of my castle with its spindly towers and flying buttresses.
Suddenly, I catch a whiff of vanilla and orchid—Briar’s perfume. I inhale deeply, letting the sweet scent permeate my senses. Eyes sharp, I follow its trail, stalking through the streets. Willem and Desona were adamant that I let the city and castle guards complete the search without my interfering, but I know I could find Briar more quickly than the rest of them. And Briar is my bride. A growl rumbles deep in my chest. She is mine. And I won’t let anyone else have her.
I walk quickly, following the fading perfume through the winding streets. Briar has gone a little deeper into the city, but still in the upper districts. Suddenly, the scent disappears, as if the air and stones here were swept clean of it. I narrow my eyes, taking in the neighborhood. It’s residential, dark, and locked up tight. The people that live here likely went to be hours ago as dawn is approaching. I keep walking, hoping her scent will manifest again. When I come to a fork in the road, I choose a direction randomly.
I send my shadows streaking out into the night once more. I keep walking until they return. One carries an odd sensation with it. Sweat, fear, and the sound of bare feet slapping against stone. And most importantly, the faint scent of vanilla. I whirl around, sprinting through the streets, following the shadow’s lead. Anticipation and apprehension make my heart race. I know the shadow found Briar; it’s unmistakable. But the smell of her sweat and her lack of shoes has me worried—real, genuine fear for her.
I growl, my dark power swarming to me, begging me to release it. I feel the urge to level the city with it, I would find her more quickly that way. But I curl my hands into fists instead, letting the shadows pool over me until I’m just a blur in the darkness. I use my power to run faster, leaping around corners and down streets with frightening speed. Briar’s presence is growing stronger and I know I’m close. But there’s something else—that faint scent I couldn’t place on the balcony.
The darkness urges me to take a sharp right, off of Briar’s trail. I heed them and cut through an adjacent street. I pick up the sound of Briar breathing hard, whimpering with fear. I hurtle a low stone wall and land on the balls of my feet on the other side. Briar is ahead of me, running as if her life depends on it. Her dress is ruined, and she’s left bloody footprints in her wake.
“Help!” She screams. Her voice is filled with fear, lilting and striking.
I take off behind her. “Briar, it’s me—stop running.” She glances over her shoulder, eyes wide and mouth slack. She screams again but doesn’t slow. I growl with frustration, tempted to sling my shadows towards her and snag her. But I don’t want to hurt her. “Briar, it’s Kane.”
“Get away,” she sobs, stumbling.
I grit my teeth and lunge forward, wrapping an arm around her waist. She shrieks, and lights flicker on in dark houses. Briar writhes in my arms, clawing at my face. She tears off my mask, but her wild eyes are unseeing. I wrestle her arms into my grip
