Page 67 of As Darkness Fall
Soulbond, both helping and hindering. Lovely.
“Fine,” I said, realizing I was going to get no backup. “You’re right. As long as you’re remaining true to your contract.”
“I am,” Aaron said, relaxing immediately. “I always honor my contract.”
So far, I had no reason to doubt his word on that. He’d gone above and beyond with his prior contracts. There was no reason for me to believe he wouldn’t do the same with this one.
“That you do,” I agreed, using my words to forge an end to hostilities between us.
I hadn’t realized just how tense Aaron was until now. He’d never raised his voice or looked so angry before. Not at me, at least. For him to lose his composure and snap like that, this must be serious.
“Good,” Aaron said, nodding sharply. “Now, come. I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”
He turned and walked off.
I hurried to keep up. “Should I be expecting a rude welcoming party? I don’t mean to pry, but everyone else here seems to know what’s going on. I just want to be ready.”
Aaron was silent as we continued to descend our path. Yet, I could see the corners of his mouth working.
“I don’t think so,” he said at last.
So, he didn’t expect one, but he was ready, just in case. Well, that was good to know because now so was I. The time for gazing in awe at the city had passed. Now, I needed to be wary of our surroundings, of what I could see.
It took us several hours more to reach the bottom, at which point we promptly plunged straight into Troy.
If only you could see me now, Dad,I thought wistfully, wishing my father could be here to enjoy this, in a different setting.You would have loved this.
The history buff in him would be so excited. I knew because he’d nurtured that bug in me, and I was going crazy with a desire to explore the city, to live in the life of those who had done so in this very place thousands of years before.
It was hard for me to focus as I tried to take mental pictures of everything we passed. I studied the cobblestone streets, the stone walls and doorways, the rooftops, and more. I looked at carvings, dug into the side of buildings, and tried to peer into doorways. I watched the statues on the rooftops and–
I hissed, coming to a hard stop and staring up at the roof.
“Aaron.”
Aaron was at my side in a heartbeat, Vir right beside him. I could hear the rest of the team closing up around us.
“What?” He growled quietly. “We need to move. We shouldn’t pause here.”
I pointed at the building. “There was a statue there when we first came into view,” I said.
Aaron stared at the rooftop. It was empty. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I said quietly, replaying it in my mind. “I don’t know detail. It was hard to see. Covered in shadows. In the dark.”
Now, I frowned. There were no shadows being cast on the building. It was open, exposed. Anything up there shouldn’t have been so dimly lit.
“You’re certain about this?” Aaron asked uneasily. “Absolutely positive?”
“Yes,” I replied. “What does this mean?”
Aaron hissed something under his breath, looking around.
“It means,” he said in a low, hardened tone, “that we’ve been found.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Ready yourselves,” Aaron said, standing straight.
