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“So you see, Chronicler, you can help because I believe this particular Queen’s guard needs a little magic in its arsenal.”
Harmiston met Nadia’s gaze then, and a smile emerged, making him look like himself again. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“And your first order, as my Haunt, is to banish Trecandís from the city.”
Chapter 15
It was the middle of the day with the sun up, and Nadia wondered at the audacity as she walked out of the building of Harmiston’s apartment and crossed the street. Two small rocks had hit his living-room window, one hard enough to crack it slightly. Nadia could only assume that since she’d seen the familiar figure up on the roof of the high-rise, three buildings down from the Cube, that this was a blind spot with no guards. She took the stairs up and soon walked out onto that roof, spotting Darrow at once.
“I hope no Wraiths were harmed for you to be up here alone and undisturbed,” she said as a way of greeting him, looking around pointedly.
“They stopped the extended watch yesterday.” Darrow didn’t offer a smile, but his face wasn’t twisted in anger either. Instead, he looked almost serene. He wore grays and blacks, a coat that reached him mid-thigh, a dagger showing underneath. The wind up there pulled at his dark hair, and his neck had healed since inflicted with silver five days ago. Darrow nodded in the direction of Harmiston’s apartment. “Is that the new boyfriend?”
Nadia didn’t bother turning around. “Yes.”
“You looked surprised at his magical abilities. You know, the day we took the city.”
“I was. Then I got over it. It was a good lesson in learning to accept people as they are.”
Darrow scoffed and smiled a little. “I told you about your loyalties. You might be too loyal tothe ideaof people sometimes.”
She didn’t deny that. It rang too true.
“I hear you’ve been looking for me,” he went on.
“Yes. Thanks for making it easy on me.”
“I figured, since you put out feelers, you weren’t out to kill me this time. Not that you were any good at it before.”
“Neither were you.”
They both smiled then, resigned and humorous at the same time.
Then Darrow eyed her more closely. “You look different.”
She did, to an extent. Nadia still wore the long coat preferred by the Wraiths and Ghosts alike, but hers was now a charcoal gray, and she wore pieces of blue mixed in with her dark attire. She was, after all, now a little bit of both guards, in her own right.
“I left the Ghosts.”
“You’ve been burning through the Queen’s guards fast lately.”
“Started a new one too.”
“So I heard. The rumors are roaming among those who are beinghauntednow.”
Nadia smiled and then forced it back. “You had me kicked out of the Wraiths. Why?”
“You said it yourself, Nad. I’ve been doing a terrible job at killing you. I didn’t want to see you stranded on the surface.”
“I couldn’t kill you either.”
“Why?”
She felt the old and familiar sorrow eat at her at this and let it show. “Because every time I tried, I saw her eyes.” Nell took after both her birth parents. Nadia couldn’t unsee that.
Darrow was quiet for a moment as he stared out over the city, looking to the darkened Shade far away. “I told you,” he finally said. “I knew you were hiding something.”
“Something more important than us.”
