Her hands trembled. He was out there somewhere, close. Sarah lay asleep beside her, oblivious to the burning candle and the pain throbbing through Alexia’s heart. She closed her eyes. She could feel him, not far. Could he feel her? She rose and reached for the door with shaking fingers, but stopped. If he’d wanted to see her, surely he would have come. And it didn’t matter. She didn’t want to see him—not ever again, even if her heart threatened to burst. A shriek bled through the window. She grabbed at her chest, pulse thundering. Someone had not escaped. A cool breeze tickled across the floor as she leaned up against the splintering shutters, squinting between them. Darkness filled the street below—but no! Movement. The shadows twisted. Forms flitted across her line of vision in the street, gone as quickly as a bird in flight. More. And more. She gasped.
