Rhysand’s POV

I heard the distant clatter first—the hurried steps of my guards flooding the stairwell, boots striking hard against stone, weapons raised. Too late. By the time they reached the landing, the man I had been tracking was already gone. Vanished. Like smoke dissipating into the shadows.

I gritted my teeth, the frustration curling in my chest, but I didn’t allow it to show. Panic or desperation would serve him more than me. My orders were sharp, precise, measured: seal all ...