Chapter 47

I kept thinking about Elaine's face. Her calculating and piercing glance had sent shivers down my spine as she stared directly at me. I knew that even though I had just about escaped detection, she would still attempt to find me. She had a goal and a purpose for being here, and I suspected it was considerably riskier than we had thought.

I made an effort to alert Lucien about her the following day. However, I could sense the weight of it all bearing down on him since he was preoccupied with meetings and his thoughts were constantly focused on defense and strategy. He hardly had time to listen, and even though he promised to take care of it, I had a sneaking suspicion that I would have to deal with this alone.

In the afternoon, I received a note, which was a single line in crisp, exact handwriting, hidden beneath my room's door.

"Meet me by the riverbank at sunset. alone.