She reached the waterfront and heaved a sigh of relief. Dawn was still an hour away, but here and there vapor lamps provided enough light to see the outlines of the windriggers tied up to the docks. The sleek sailing ships creaked in the darkness and water slapped the pilings.
Sariana saw no one as she made her way toward the nearest windrigger. She wondered how long she would have to wait before she found a captain willing to let her book passage.
Sariana was making her way along a pier when the scarlet-toe hissed in her ear. She froze, aware that she was once more being stalked.
Sariana whirled around, dropping the travel pouches and her cloak. A man loomed up out of the darkness. He wasn't more than a few meters away from her. The wings of a short, hooded cape that shielded his features were pushed back over his shoulders, freeing his arms. In one hand he held an object Sariana knew must be a blade bow.
This time there was no place to hide and she could not outrun a blade bow. She was trapped. "You have given us more trouble than we expected," the man grated. "But it's over now. You will
come with me, woman, or I will put a blade through your throat. Come here."
Sariana darted toward the edge of the pier, seeking the dubious safety of the black water below. Anything was better than facing a blade bow. She saw the man's hand lift higher as he swore viciously and took aim. She was never going to make it into the cold waters of the bay. She tried to scream, but no sound emerged from her tight throat.
But in the next instant someone else started to scream. The man aiming the blade bow jerked violently and the sound was choked off. He started to turn toward the dark alley that separated two warehouses but he never made it. He was already falling. He toppled over the edge of the pier, clutching at his chest. There was a moment of horrifying silence and then a soft splash announced his entry into the water.
Sariana swung her stunned gaze toward the alley just as Gryph stepped out into the pale glow of a vapor lamp. He was resealing the weapon kit as he strode toward her.
A dizzying sense of relief swept through Sariana. Without a second's hesitation she ran toward him. "Gryph Chassyn! By the Storm, you bastard, it's about time you got here. This is all your fault, do you
hear me? Twice I've nearly been robbed and murdered tonight. Twice. And it's all your damn fault."
Gryph opened his arms and she flung herself against him. He absorbed the impact easily, locking her
tightly into his strength.
"I appreciate punctuality in a woman," he grated into her hair as she buried her face against his shirt. "But you didn't have to get to the wharf this early. We aren't scheduled to sail for another hour."
In that moment Sariana gave up. She was literally shaking with relief. She buried herself in Gryph's warmth, savoring his reassuring strength. There was no point running from him. A part of her would always be glancing back over her shoulder to see if he was following. She knew that with a deep certainty. For a long moment she clung to him and he held her without speaking, his arms hard and protective.
"It would appear half of Serendipity was following me tonight," Sariana finally muttered, pushing hair out of her eyes.
"If you hadn't convinced yourself that you had to try to escape me, you wouldn't have gotten yourself into this mess." Gryph took hold of her arm and started back along the pier to where she had dropped her travel pouches and cloak. "I want your word of honor you won't pull another stunt like this, Sariana. By the time I realized you had left the villa, it was almost too late."
A large portion of her initial relief gave way to the more familiar sense of frustration. "Why should I promise you anything?"
"Because I'm your husband and you owe me at least some measure of respect." He picked up her travel pouches and handed her the cloak. The first tendrils of dawn lit his eyes as he
looked down at her. Sariana saw his quietly implacable expression and wished she knew how to fight it. She was too tired to figure out what to do next. She had been through too much during the past few days,
"How many times do I have to explain to you that I don't consider myself married?" Sariana asked wearily as she put on her cloak. The scarlet-toe hopped around, adjusting itself until it was happily perched on the shoulder of the outer garment.
"You are married, Sariana. And I want your word that you won't run from me again." "Why? Because you don't want to be put to the nuisance of coming after me?" He shook his head. "No. Because it's too dangerous for you. I almost lost you tonight. As it was,
things were much too close. I don't want to go through that again. By the way, when we're safely on board the ship you can tell me exactly what happened in that warehouse."
Sariana was violently aware of the morning chill in the air. "You found the first man?" she asked in a low whisper.
"I found him. I've been a few minutes behind you ever since you left the villa. Unfortunately, it took me a while to figure out which way you'd gone. By the time I did, those two clanless outlaws had picked up your trail. You'll never know how I felt when I discovered the first one."
"Was he dead?" Sariana was afraid of the answer.
"No. But he won't wake up for quite a while. Probably not until the warehouse manager finds him later on this morning. The assumption will be that he tried to steal a few casks of wine. That should get him locked up for a decent length of time. As for the other one…" Gryph finished the sentence with a careless shrug.
"What about him?" Sariana demanded as Gryph led her along the pier. "We should find a town guard and report this incident."
"None of this concerns the town guards. It's Shield business."
"Damn it, you keep saying that. What do the Shields care about a couple of street thieves?" "The man who ended up in the bay tonight was the one who attacked me the night of the ball. He's
probably the one who killed Brinton. As for the one whose head you dented with a wine cask, he was undoubtedly the accomplice who helped the murderer to escape the first time."
Sariana was dumbfounded. "You didn't tell me Brinton had been killed. You mean you think the two men who trailed me tonight were involved with the theft of the cutter?"
"Yes. But even if they had been just a random pair of thieves roaming the streets in search of easy prey, they would still be Shield business."
"Why is that?"
"Because they chose you to hunt down," Gryph explained. "And you are most definitely Shield property."
"I want to go home," Sariana said in a small voice. "I've had enough of this crazy place. I just want to go home."