Leroy pressed to the glass, heart thudding. On the street below, a man stumbled free from the wreck, half-collapsing onto the cobbles before lurching toward the nearest alley. His clothes hung in tatters, hair matted, movements wild with disorientation.
Two more men clambered from the broken carriage. Their blades flashed in the light, drawn without hesitation as they charged after the fleeing figure.
Elias was already moving, slipping through the doorway with soldier's precision. Leroy snatched up his parchment and followed, stepping into the swirl of chaos outside. That was when his gaze sharpened, and recognition struck.
Hadrian Arvand.
Before he could take another breath, another shout split the air from among the people who had gathered to see if there was anyone else who needed to be rescued.
"There's a woman inside!" someone cried from the carriage wreck.
"And another man!"
The calls twisted, sharper, darker, until one voice roared above the rest: "He's assaulting her!"
