“Take care of her,” she said to Lumi. And then she darted from the alley, drawing her dagger.
She managed to stab the guard closest to her in the leg as she darted by.
She ran.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SOFIA
She turned left down a particularly narrow alley, hoping the shadows might hide her, but sharp footfalls echoed closely behind her. As she passed under a gas lamp, she glanced back and saw that only one guard was following. She could only hope Lumi and Flor had been smart enough to get away without being seen. Perhaps she’d even saved the girl who had been on her knees.
The cobblestones were uneven beneath her feet, and it took all her focus to not trip in the dark. Her lungs were already burning, icy in her chest, and she knew she wouldn’t make it far.
She needed a plan.
“I’m coming.”Chalia’s voice was a distant rumble in her chest.
“No!”She almost screamed the word out loud.“Stay where you are until I tell you.”
Chalia’s coming would end any hope of Sofia getting information while she was here. She came to help her people, and so far, all she’d done is almost get Flor and Lumi caught.
A cough clawed up her throat, sharp and brittle. And another. She snatched the small token from her pocket, tossing it the moment she took her next turn, letting it fall behind a few crates. She’d rather not have anything traced back to the poor maid Lumi had stolen it from.
Her legs gave out as one, knees crashing against the stones as she fell. She prayed Lumi and Flor had escaped. She wheezed, her hand grabbing at her chest as if she might pull her lungs out and shake them for their nerve.
“You’re under arrest for attacking a man of the king, high treason, and resisting arrest,” the man said as he caught up to her. His callused hands gripped her arms and yanked them back as she choked on her own breath. Her shoulders throbbed in pain and her lungs ached, but she tried to remain calm, despite feeling Chalia’s panic escalating with every passing moment.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,”she chanted in her mind, half to convince herself as the guard hauled her to her feet and began dragging her back to the gate from where they’d come. She needed to think and plan. She needed information.
Her only comfort, as her breaths came in short bursts and coughs, was that the other guard was still there, blood dripping from his left eye and empty-handed.
“The girl got away,” he said.
“Don’t worry about her,” the guard holding her said, half-tossing Sofia to his companion. “We’ve got the important one.” He pointed at the poster on the wall, his smile wide. “The other dragon-filth will get caught before long.”
“Are you going to take her to the dungeons?”
“And let some other bastard take credit?” he said. “We caught the damned dragon witch. I’m taking her straight to the chief commander. There’s a stack of gold coins with my name on it.”
“You mean with our names on it. I helped catch her.”
“You let the other Dragonborn girl escape!”
“A damned bird came out of nowhere and nearly ripped my eye out,” the guard snapped as he twisted her around and snapped a pair of iron cuffs over her wrists. “Besides, yours already looks dead on her feet.”
Sofia didn’t bother trying to puff herself up and pretend otherwise. It was better that they think she was weak—even if it was half-true in the moment, as another cough reminded her.
Her head was spinning as they dragged her through the royal district and into the military district. Harlow’s manor seemed to mock her as it came into view, towering in the ever-graying sky. She could almost feel the undercurrent of unease at being taken to the front of the house instead of to the back servants’ entrance, and a small snort escaped her. As ifthatwere the real problem here.
She took a slow breath, despite the ache in her chest. The air tasted acidic, so different from the forest. She could make getting caught work to her advantage. She needed information, and the chief commander was just the man to have it.
A hawk screeched from above. She couldn’t make out more than a shadow, but she knew it was Lumi.
“I’m glad I got caught,” she said, keeping her eyes on the sky. She needed Lumi to hear her. “I can’t wait to talk to Harlow about his murdering of the people of Suvi.”
“A resistance spy talking of murder?” the guard said. “How rich.”
“I forgot you don’t call it murder when it’s sanctioned by the kingdom.”