The night had deepened considerably by the time Ivelle finally accepted that something was wrong.
She had been standing beneath the golden lantern sign of the inn for so long that the warmth of the day had completely disappeared from the streets. The capital that had seemed impossibly crowded only hours earlier was slowly emptying. Shopkeepers were pulling down shutters, merchants were gathering the last of their goods, and families were disappearing behind the doors of their homes.
The heart of the capital never truly slept, but it changed after dark.
The respectable streets became quieter.
The shadows became longer.
And the people who remained outside seemed to belong to an entirely different city.
Ivelle glanced down the road once more.
Still no Liriel.
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
"Liriel, where are you?"
She had tried to remain patient.
Perhaps her friend had found an employer who wanted to speak with her privately. Perhaps she had become lost. Perhaps she had encountered some difficulty and was simply trying to find her way back.
But Liriel would have found a way to send word.
She always did.
Ivelle finally pushed herself away from the wall.
Waiting was no longer an option, She had to look for her.
She remembered the direction in which Liriel had disappeared earlier that afternoon. Although the streets had become unfamiliar after sunset, Ivelle trusted her memory and began following the route.
The farther she went, the quieter the capital became.
The grand shops that had glittered beneath the afternoon sun were now closed behind heavy shutters. The elegant carriages had become fewer, and the merchants who had filled the streets earlier had vanished.
Ivelle walked faster.
Her injured foot protested beneath her shoe, but she ignored the ache, since she had pierced her leg in the graveyard, it never really healed and she wondered if it was because it got infected and she had no money to give to any physician so she decided to manage it.
"Liriel..."
She called her friend’s name softly at first then louder, but no answer came.
She turned into another narrow street, still nothing.
Another.
Still nothing.
Her uneasiness grew with every passing moment but then she stopped.
A sound had reached her ears.
Faint.
Distant.
Almost swallowed by the night.
Ivelle tilted her head.
There it was again.
Her hearing had always been unusually sharp. In Briarhollow, she had often heard approaching footsteps before anyone else noticed them, and she could distinguish voices through walls when the rest of the village heard nothing.
Now, beneath the silence of the sleeping market, that ability became impossible to ignore.
She heard voices.
Music.
Laughter.
The muffled opening and closing of doors, people were still somewhere ahead.
Ivelle followed the sounds,
The narrow road curved behind several buildings before opening into a street she had never seen before.
She stopped and her eyes widened.
For a moment, she wondered whether she had somehow wandered into an entirely different part of the capital.
The atmosphere had changed completely.
Lanterns glowed red and violet outside establishments whose doors were guarded by heavily dressed attendants. Music spilled through open windows, mixing with laughter and whispered conversations. Women stood beneath brightly colored signs wearing clothes far more revealing than anything Ivelle had ever seen in Briarhollow or her entire life.
Some leaned against doorways, others called to passing men.
Several disappeared inside buildings with strangers.
Ivelle’s cheeks warmed.
She immediately looked away. "What kind of place is this?"
She had heard vague stories about certain districts of the capital, places where people went after dark seeking pleasures they would never openly discuss during daylight.
She had never imagined seeing one.
Yet the thought that Liriel might have somehow wandered into this part of the city made her stomach tighten.
No.
Liriel wouldn’t willingly come here but perhaps she had been brought here and that possibility frightened Ivelle more.
She continued cautiously.
Her presence did not go unnoticed as several men turned their heads as she passed.
Some stared openly while ohers whispered among themselves. Ivelle lowered her gaze and quickened her pace, she did not like the attention one bit. She especially did not like the way some of the men looked at her.
She kept one hand close to the small knife hidden beneath her clothing.
Eventually, she reached a larger establishment whose entrance was decorated with crimson lanterns.
An attendant stood behind a polished counter just inside the doorway. Ivelle approached him.
"Excuse me."
The man looked up and his eyes immediately traveled over her. "Yes?"
"I am looking for my friend."
His expression changed slightly. "What does she look like?"
Ivelle described Liriel carefully. "She has brown hair, fair skin, and she’s about my height. She was wearing a blue dress when I last saw her. She may have been carrying a small bag."
The attendant stared at her for several seconds. "Have you seen her?" Ivelle asked.
Instead of answering, he leaned forward. "Are you looking for work?"
Ivelle blinked.
"What?"
"Work," he repeated. "You look like you would do well here."
"No."
Her answer came so quickly that the man raised an eyebrow. "I am not looking for work." She cleared immediately, "Yes, she is looking for a job but definitely not anywhere near here... She would never do such a thing" she affirmed in her thoughts.
"Then I have nothing to discuss with you." The man told her and Ivelle stared at him.
"I asked whether you had seen my friend."
"And I answered."
"You didn’t answer."
The attendant’s expression hardened.
"Girl, if you aren’t here to work and you aren’t a paying customer, you’re wasting my time."
Ivelle felt frustration rise in her chest. "I’m simply trying to find my friend."
"Then search somewhere else."
She reluctantly stepped away from the counter, her heart was beating faster now, she had not found Liriel and she had not even received a useful answer.
As she stepped back outside, she immediately noticed three men standing across the street.
They were watching her.
Not casually.
Their eyes followed every movement she made.
Ivelle’s instincts screamed at her to leave.
She turned around and walked back toward the entrance.
The attendant immediately frowned.
"I told you to leave."
"There are three men following me."
He barely glanced toward the street. "Then don’t stand in front of my establishment."
"I need help."
"You have no business here."
Ivelle stared at him in disbelief. "I am asking you to let me remain inside until they leave."
"If you aren’t a customer and you aren’t working here, you cannot stay." The words were delivered with such indifference that Ivelle understood immediately.
No one here intended to protect her, She looked toward the street again.
The three men had started walking towards her.
Her pulse jumped and she turned and hurried away.
Her injured foot made every step painful, but fear gave her strength.
She did not look behind her.
She could hear footsteps.
Three sets.
They were following.
Ivelle quickened her pace.
The streets seemed suddenly much narrower than before.
She turned into an alley and the footsteps followed. Her breathing became uneven.
She looked around desperately for somewhere to hide.
Nothing.
Only closed doors, dark windows, and walls rising on either side.
She continued forward.
Behind her, one of the men laughed.
"Miss, why are you running?"
Ivelle’s heart pounded violently.
She didn’t answer.
She ran faster.
The sound of their footsteps grew louder.
She reached the end of the alley and turned sharply—
Only to find another narrow street stretching into darkness.
She froze for half a second.
Then she ran.
She did not know where she was going.
She did not know how to get back but she only knew one thing, she had to get away.... Far away!
And somewhere in this enormous, glittering capital, Liriel was still missing.
Ivelle clenched her fists as she ran deeper into the darkness.
For the first time since arriving in the capital, she realized that the city was not merely deceptive.
It could be merciless.
And tonight, it had begun showing her a side of itself she had never known existed.