Page 8 of The Secrets of Jane: Reborn

“Soren,” I breathe out when the brute moves around the corner with a bloodied blade in hand, cloak gone, and his thick chest is on full display. A man trails the Zenith, also seeming to have the same milky eye. The stranger even tries to stop Soren, who scowls almost like an animal defending its space. The violence in his eyes is so different from back at Moore’s Inn with that stupid mayor’s cousin—this isrealbloodshed.

Soren’s gaze is all over the wet, dingy street as he strides forward, his body moving in a straight line toward me through the drizzling rain until he’s close enough that his gaze snaps to me, rapidly taking me in, his chest heaving. Bones steps to the side to keep an eye on the street, Rorge clearing his throat in the background like his chest is a rumbling inferno.

Soren touches my face before trailing that hand down to expose the skin on my chest, slightly pulling my tunic side to side. “No burns...” he comments with clear relief. “You don’t feel like you’re in pain, either.”

I didn’t anticipate the way it would make me feel to have someone like him—an impossible bastard to get close to—analyzing my body as if the state of me matters. To feel me out as if my pain might hurt him, too.

“Yeah,” I state, squinting when rain hits my eye, my mind so effortlessly derailed by him. “I don’t know how I’m not burned. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Soren deeply inhales before his hand moves to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as he looks over his shoulder at the world around us. It’s almost instantaneous how his touch calms my anxiety, especially as I’m pressed right up on his warm, exposed skin, breathing in his sweat while he’s protecting me.

“I wouldn’t hold her close like we’re not taking her, Zenith,” Rorge warns, Soren’s hand still firm on my nape. “We are Ritter’s men. We are here to collect her.”

Collect me.

If I wasn’t so damn curious about my father, I’d be more annoyed at how everyone is pulling on me, as if they’ll win a prize for being the one to catch me. At least with Soren, I’ll be able to tell if they’re lying or not.

In all this madness, my heart leans heavily on him, completely trusting that man.

A tightening of his hand on my nape, along with pulling me even closer, feels like an acknowledgment of what I just felt for him.

“Why did he appear and leave?” Soren asks. Despite fighting what I know has to be exhaustion, his voice easily carries through the quiet street as he addresses them.“Is Shade with you? Was that why he took her just now? To take her for the Scorpion?”

“No, we’re just as shocked at that man’s behavior as you are. The Scorpion appeared at first because he thought it was clear,” the woman named Donna answers from behind, and I glance over my shoulder once again. “But then it wasn’t, so he had to abandon plans. It’s been hard to approach Miss Jane without eyes on us. And clearly, they were,” she explains, biting her bottom lip. “Which is why we need to go.Now. Shade coming for her confirms our suspicions that she’s in more danger than ever because he’s not working with us. He’s working withBlackwell.”

Oh,fuck.

“Well, that dumb cunt will be caught shortly, if he hasn’t already been.” Irritation is undeniable in Soren’s tone. “I want the smoke and mirrors over with, so get us out of these damn streets.”

My heart nearly launches out of my chest at hearing we’re doing this. “Are they actually here for him?” I quietly ask Soren. “Can you feel that they’re with my dad? This isn’t a trap?”

“They’re all stained with his energy,” Soren confirms, an edge in his tone that keeps me apprehensive. “Nothing about this feels like an illusion.”

The old, leaden man who first confronted us grunts. “Your troupe can follow, but if they get in the way, wewillcreate a barrier. Scorpion’s orders.”

Emotions hit through me like a barrel being slung around on a stormy, craggy coastline. My dad gave orders to protect me, too? I… I don’t even have words for what’s happening inside of me. Since when do I have so many people in my life who care this much?

Except for Kathleen…my racing heart calms. Icannotlet my emotions get the best of me when she’s probably still at Rosmertta’s. I need a steady head on my shoulders if I’m to help her.

“Kathleen is at Rosmertta’s. It’s not safe,” I quietly remark.“Someone has to get her.”

“The men with me will have taken care of that.”

I glance at his chest. “Really? She’s a part of your plans?”

“Kathleen is a target of manipulation for you. She’s heavily watched and guarded.”

Oh, that makes sense.

Without much transition, the lot of us move like a current; it’s an awkward integration of who walks where and what formation we take. Soren’s grip loosens on me, but his hand still remains on my back. If I wasn’t certain that he was feeling outevery damn corner, I would be more dubious. But he can feel the energy of the environment, right? Surely his powers will hint at something being wrong?

He didn’t sense Shade, though. Or did he? Is it the blood loss getting to him?

As we pass through the alleys, I notice the same people trail alongside as well in other streets, and I imagine if I were a bird to fly above, I’d see an amalgamation of people all moving in the same direction, wherever we’re going. I’m now paying attention to any abnormalities, or patterns, that could indicate a signal. How will Soren’s men know if they’re needed? They can’tallfit in the narrow alleys. Does he have enough?

Then again, I barely know a thing about how this world works as an adult. And now, after an agonizing era of silence and boredom in my life, two very accomplished Zenith are crossing lines, overme.

Best face on, Jane. It’s time to see Dad.