Chapter 38: Shadows on the Shore, Eyes in the Alley
Hannah all but dragged Mimi back inside the inn, her heart hammering.
She did not stop until they were inside their room again, the door shut and locked behind them.
Bart jolted upright, hand flying to his sword.
"What? What's wrong?"
Hannah stood frozen, her gaze locked on the empty alley where the hooded figure had vanished.
Her blood turned to ice, every muscle coiled like a drawn bow, ready to snap at the slightest movement.
The salt wind off the docks bit at her cheeks, but she barely felt it—all she could see was the flash of a twisted, ink-black mark on a wrist, the same sigil that had haunted her dreams for weeks.
"Hannah? What's wrong?" Mimi whispered, fingers tightening around her arm. Her voice was thin with alarm, eyes darting between the alley and Hannah's pale face.
"You look like you've seen a ghost. Or worse."
Bart noticed at once, his warrior instincts flaring.
