His mouth straightened. “It’s the only one we’ve got.”
I drifted around the well, sniffing. Then I returned to them and nodded.
Sebastian took us back out to the main street, and we began our search.
3
Anna
Matt, Sebastian, and I moved off the side streets and started searching for the local watering hole.
This was a long shot, and we all knew it. The logic tracked, but there could be many bars scattered throughout this area. And I knew if we struck out at the first, Sebastian might call it and take us to the gate.
I wouldn’t blame him, but I couldn’t shake the sense of urgency that drove me to keep looking, even though the Bellati was likely right—the twins were long gone. My heart ached for them, and for their parents, who must be frantic.
And as for Talakai—my sense of betrayal ran deep. If he was involved in this, I would lay my hands on him and let my monster loose.
I marveled that I was still in denial about the Dragon’s involvement. From what Sebastian had told us, who else would have that much motivation? The bigger question was which Dires he’d recruited to help. Because I’d seen through Trix’s eyes when she’d witnessed Dires at that gate...
The alpha, Darius, was at the top of my list. He and his idiot beta, Aaron. Talakai had seemed to despise them as much as Matt and me did, but it could easily have been a ruse.
Had Aaron’s ambush in the forest been an attempt to kidnap me, along with the twins? The timing had been close enough. But my thoughts sheered away from Talakai being involved in that, as well.
With our cloaks and hoods, we blended as much as possible with the scant foot traffic on the street. Residents made way for those riding the furry four-leggers, but most were on foot.
Almost everyone we passed was similarly disguised. All I could tell was that they walked on two legs like us, but anything could have been hidden beneath their cloaks.
Regardless of what they might look like, however, the average height of the residents was considerably shorter than my two companions. Only a bit taller than me, maybe. Sebastian towered over them, and Matt wasn’t much closer to the average, either.
The hoods of those we passed tilted our way, staring up at them while ignoring me.
“There.” Matt gestured down the street. A few cloaked forms drifted around the entrance to a building beneath a lit sign.
“Stay here,” Sebastian said. “I’ll do the recon.”
I understood that he was the only one trained for this, but I reached out to snag his cloak and stop him.
“The moment you walk in there, everyone is going to stare,” I stated. “You kinda stand out.”
The Bellati drew himself up to his full height, which only helped make my point. “I know how to blend.” His tone brooked no argument.
“No amount of blending is going to shed two feet of height,” I argued.
“She’s right, mate. I’ll go,” Matt said.
I planted my hands on my hips. “Yeah, like that is loads better. You’re all of a few inches shorter. And if those are Dires in there, they’ll get one sniff of you, and you’ll be made. Effing hell, you two. I can slip in and out—no one is going to give me a second look.”
Both males stared, and I gritted my teeth. “Look, I’m not putting up with this crap.” I stepped in front of Sebastian and leaned close. “You are trained to utilize resources wisely. You know this is the only sensible course to take.”
“I be not sending an untrained recruit into what could be a volatile situation,” Sebastian stated in a tone that could level mountains.
It barely sent a quiver through me. “All I have to do is scout for Dires,” I said. “Quick look—in and out. No volatility involved. And unlike you or Matt, I can do it without them noticing.”
I caught a flash of white as Matt curled a lip to reveal a canine, but he conceded, “She’s got a point. You’ll stick out like a giraffe among goats. And if they get one whiff of me, they’ll know the game is up.”
“My understanding of giraffes is that they be considerably taller than I. And there be other Dires in this realm,” Sebastian argued.
“If we’re tracking Darius’s pack, they know my scent,” Matt said.
