Page 51 of Falling Princess

I was so intent on reading the placards describing horrific conditions and brutal tortures that I didn’t notice how quiet the chamber had become until a shadow fell over me.

“Hello there, gorgeous. Remember me?”

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I snapped the notebook closed and glared over my shoulder at the intruder. It’s him—the man I mistook for a tree in the park yesterday.

“Not fondly,” I said crisply. The pestilential man’s grin widened.

I took a good look at him this time, taking in his flat brown eyes and thin mouth, the nose that looks as if it’s been broken a few times and poorly set. Scraggy dark hair stuck out from his skullcap, not unlike Lorcan’s does when he’s in uniform. I tilted my head, examining the insignia embroidered in black floss against black wool.

Oh, shit.

I am in serious trouble. Fear sent my pulse galloping. As always, when my inner turmoil spiked, my exterior was placid—but I sensed the danger I was in with every cell of my body.

“Yeah?” he asked, mocking in his menace, leaning in as I angled my body away. “Does that mean you’re not up for a date, Princess?” Leering, he added, “I know this great little café...”

Slowly, I placed my notebook in my bag and zipped it closed. There aren’t very many Skía; my country has around a hundred thousand people, and a small fraction of them join the Shadows. Why would the malcontented rabble-rousers be here? Nonetheless, one is, and I’m alone. He’s clearly been following me, if he knows about my visits to the Black Sheep.

Where to go? There’s a man in uniform at the end of the hallway. I made a beeline for him. Relief cascaded through my haze of fear. He won’t let anything happen to me. “Excuse me, there’s a man following me.”

“What man?” the guard asked, looking around with genuine confusion.

“In the black hat—” I turned to point him out, but he was gone. Melted into the shadows. I’ve seen Cata do that on a handful of occasions. Lorcan does it, too. Many Skía are defectors from the Covari tribe; it makes sense they would know how to use the same battle tactics.

Panic billowed through me like smoke from a brushfire.

“He was just there.”

“Looks like you’re safe now, my dear. Enjoy the rest of your visit.” The guard means well, I know he does—it’s not his job to protect me from a secret society of assassins. He’s just here to keep tourists from molesting the exhibits.

So much for my theory that nothing bad ever happens in a museum. I guess that only applies to libraries.

Heart pounding, I made my way to the nearest exit, withdrawing the crumpled map from my pocket and scanning it for the best means of escape. Finding it, I broke into a fast walk and made my way back toward the entrance.

Should I leave?

I don’t know what to do. Calling Cata won’t help—she’s a twenty-minute drive away, if she left this instant, without factoring in parking and traffic. Lorcan will be in class, where my stupid ass rightly belongs, too. The local police will think I’m crazy if I try to call them.

I’m on my own.

Outside the front gate, I dared to glance behind me and found the man hard on my heels, hands in his pockets. Does he have a gun? A knife? I don’t want to die by either method. Not today. Not ever.

Clarifying. I’ll have to remember that the next time my depression gets the upper hand.

I broke into a run.

Darting past the gatehouse, I again glanced back. The bastard wasn’t even running, just keeping pace as though he was herding me out of a public area and toward a less-populated location.Fuck.My heart thundered against my ribs. I nearly tripped going down the stairs. I felt shaky with all the adrenaline coursing through me.

Maybe I can cut through the Princes Street Gardens over to the tram stop. Would he kill me on a tram, where there are, presumably, cameras? I don’t know. I’m out of my depth.

I am going to die.

I could call a cab, except that I’ve never needed to before in my life and don’t know how to go about it. Raina handled that in Beijing. Now does not feel like the time to pull out my phone and try to look up the process, either.

Right. All I have is the tram, then.

But there’s no path for me to get to it.

I peered down the wall at the intimidating drop, and then back at my pursuer. The closer he came, the better I could see how his expression was flat and full of hatred.

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