Chapter 17 · The Blood Trail

Marcus was breathing. That was the only thing keeping Evira from falling apart right there on the warehouse floor.

She knelt next to him, her hand still pressed against his chest. His heartbeat knocked against her palm, steady now. Real. The blood on her fingers was drying sticky and cold. Her blood. His blood. She didn't know anymore.

"You need to move." Marcus's voice came out rough, barely more than a rasp. His eyes opened, locked on hers. "They're coming back."

Evira heard it then. Boots on gravel outside. Multiple sets. She pulled her hand away and Marcus sat up, slower than she'd ever seen him move. He looked like hell. Gray under the fluorescent emergency lighting, blood soaked through his shirt, but his eyes were sharp.

"How many?" She was already on her feet, scanning for exits.

"Three. Maybe four." He stood, one hand braced against the wall. "Guild enforcers. Someone called it in."

Of course they did. The rift had been the size of a damn car. Half the district probably felt it rip open.

"Can you run?"

Marcus gave her a look that would've been funny if they weren't about to get swarmed. "Can you?"

Fair point.