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“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered. “I think I’m being followed, and it's creeping me out, and I didn’t want to be alone.” My breaths grew clipped, magic prickling under my skin.

“Where are you?” His words rasped over the connection.

I took a quick look at my surroundings. “Fletcher, coming up on State.”

There was rustling down the line. “I’m not far from there. I want you to go into the first shop you come to. Don’t you dare hang up.”

There was no risk of that happening. I had a death grip on my phone, nearly crushing it to my ear. “Okay.” I was still bordering the quad, and I’d have to cross the street first to reach any storefronts. I came up to State just as the crossing light turned red and traffic started to move. I couldn’t help the whimper of fear that slipped out.

“Cordelia? Talk to me.” He sounded a little winded, like he was moving fast.

“I’m stopped at the light,” I said in a strangled whisper. “I can’t cross.” I watched the cars with jerky movements, muscles twitching and ready for the moment an opportunity arose.

“Are they still behind you?”

“I don’t know!” I squeaked, panic like a hand around my throat. “I don’t want to look!”

“That’s okay, you’re doing well. Just take a glance over your shoulder if you can.”

I swallowed my rising fear, feeling like there was a stone wedged against my trachea, but Quinn’s calm words gave me the courage to turn and look down the street. In my periphery, I could see them standing together now, their eyes like impossible voids. They were predators on the hunt, and I was their prey. Helpless tears welled in my eyes, and I’d never been so scared.

“Oh my god,” I exhaled, words shaking. “Quinn, they⁠—”

There was a break in the traffic, and I wasted no time in surging into a frantic dash. I reached the other side in a mad scramble and caught my toe on the curb. The sudden halt in momentum had me stumbling forward with a yelp, my phone escaping my grip. I fumbled after it, bouncing it between my hands, and barely managed to catch it before it could shatter on the pavement. It was practically buzzing from the intensity of Quinn’s shouting on the other end.

I got the device back up to my ear just as I ducked into the first open business I came to. “Quinn!” I gasped over his cursing. “Quinn, I’m alright. It’s alright. Stop yelling.”

“Gods dammit, Cordelia! Where are you?”

Wrangling my heart back down into my chest where it belonged, I choked back a sob and looked around the shop. A display table covered in an artful arrangement of crystals and tarot cards sat just beyond the door. Behind that, along one wall, were shelves lined with books. Patchouli incense assaulted my nose, and some sort of guttural chanting was playing over the sound system. There were several browsing shoppers, and more than a few of them were sneaking furtive glances at the drama that just burst through the front door.

“It’s ah…” I moved to the bookshelves with hurried steps to duck out of sight, away from the large window. “It’s some sort of new age place.”

“Do. Not. Move.”

He didn’t disconnect the call, and I fidgeted while I pretended to inspect the books on astrology and crystal healing. After a few minutes that felt like hours, I heard the store’s tinkling door chime echo in my phone speaker. The weight of relief had me nearly crumbling as I stepped out from behind the shelves.

Quinn’s soft brown hair was pulling free of its bun, his amber eyes wild behind the thick-rimmed glasses he wore before they landed on me. His chest heaved under his navy button-down, and his charcoal tweed waistcoat had come undone. He scrubbed his palms against the dark denim of his jeans before shoving them into his pockets.

“Fucking hell,” he exhaled, stepping over to me. He left a deliberate foot of space between us that felt like a chasm. “Are you okay?”

My magic spiraled toward him, reaching, demanding, pressing against my ribs in an effort to close the distance. He came for me. We’d spoken maybe half a dozen words to each other, once, but he came for me anyway. This time, when I resisted the force driving me toward him, it was for an entirely different reason.

If I really could create this strange bond with each of them, as I had with Bel and Luce, it had to be Quinn’s choice. I couldn’t take that away from him, and I somehow knew that if I reached out a hand now, he’d step back. I stared up at him with wide eyes, feeling the hot tears there but refusing to let them fall. My head tipped in the smallest nod.

He mirrored the motion. “Let’s go.” Once we were back outside, he kept me corralled behind him. “Do you see who was following you?”

People were scattered loosely up and down the sidewalk, but none of them looked familiar. I wrapped my arms around myself like it might suppress my lingering fear. “No.”

“Good.” Some of the tension binding his shoulders eased. “Have you eaten?”

“No,” I said again, feeling my stomach grumble on cue. It had to be close to six o’clock, and I hardly ate lunch.

Quinn’s eyes narrowed in irritation and a muscle ticked under his bearded jaw. “Come on.” He turned and started walking while I tripped over my feet to follow.

“It-it’s okay,” I stammered. I didn’t really want to be alone, but I was feeling guilty about disrupting his day with my silly panic attack. “I can just walk home.”

“Cordelia.” He turned back around, and I had to catch myself before I could collide with him.