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"Untie yourselves," she said clearly

Again, nothing happened

Vivenna leaned her head back in frustration Awakening see the number of rules and restrictions it appeared to have Or ue to her because it was so coet this, she thought I ure it out If I don’t, I will be killed

She opened her eyes, focusing on her bonds She pictured the She was like a child, sitting and staring at a leaf, trying toon it

That wasn’t the way her newfound senses worked They were part of her So, instead of concentrating, she relaxed, letting her unconscious ed the color of her hair

"Untie," she Commanded

The Breath flowed fro a piece of herself but feeling it flow into so else becahtly control It was more of a sense of the rope than an ability to move it As the Breath left her, she could feel the world dull, colors becohtly less bold, the wind a little more difficult to hear, the life of the city a littleher wrists to burn

Then the ropes unraveled and dropped to the ground Her ar at her wrists, shocked

Austre, Lord of Colors, she thought I did it She wasn’t certain whether to be impressed or ashamed

Either way, she knew she needed to run She untied her ankles, then scra that a section of the wooden door had been completely drained of color in a circular pattern around her hands She paused only briefly, then grabbed the rope and ran down the stairs She unlocked the door and peeked out the doorway onto the street, but it was dark, and she could see little

Taking a deep breath, she rushed out into the night

SHE WALKED AIMLESSLY for a ti to put space between herself and Vasher’s lair She knew that she should probably find a place to hide, but she was afraid She was distinctive in her fine dress and would be reet out of the slums and into the city proper, where she could find her way back to Denth and the others

She carried the rope tucked into the dress’s pocket pouch, hidden behind a fold of cloth on the side She’d grown so accusto a fraction, even the s Awakeners could recover Breath they invested into objects; she’d been tutored on that She just didn’t know the Co that Denth would be able to help her recover its Breath

Sheto watch for a discarded cloak or piece of cloth she could wrap around herself to hide the dress Fortunately, it seemed as if the hour was too late, even, for ures on the sides of the road, and she had trouble keeping her heart stilled as she passed theht It was just beginning to grow light with h that she had trouble telling which direction she was going The slu in circles The tall buildings loo off the sky This area had once been s held worn engravings and faded colors The square down the street to her left held an old, broken statue of a man atop a horse, perhaps part of a fountain or--

Vivenna stopped A broken statue of a horse man Why did that seeht When he explained to Parlin how to get from the safe house to the restaurant That day, weeks back, seee She’d been worried that Parlin would get lost

For the first time in hours, she felt a sense of hope The directions had been si hesitantly, partially just on instinct After just a few minutes, she realized that the dark street around her looked faht of false daas enough

She turned around, and sure enough, the safe house lay huddled between two larger buildings across froht with relief, quickly crossing the street and pushing her way into the building The main room was empty, and she hurriedly opened the door down to the cellar, seeking a place to hide

She searched around with her fingers, and sure enough, she found a lantern with flint and steel beside the stairway She pulled the door closed and found it h she couldn’t lock it froht the lantern

A set of worn, broken stairs led down into the cellar Vivenna paused, re that Denth had warned her about the steps She walked down carefully, feeling them creak beneath her, and could see why he’d been worried Still, she ht At the bottom, she wrinkled her nose at theon the wall; son

She rounded the stairs The main space of the cellar was built beneath the floor of the upper room She would rest there for a few hours, and if Denth didn’t arrive, she’d venture out Then she--

She froze, jerking to a halt, lantern swinging in her hand Its unsteady light shone on a figure sitting before her, head bowed, face shadowed His arms were tied behind his back and his ankles were bound to the legs of the chair

"Parlin?" Vivenna asked with shock, rushing to his side She quickly set down the lantern, then froze There was blood on the floor

"Parlin!" she said louder, urgently lifting his head His eyes stared forward, sightless, his face scratched and bloody Her life sense couldn’t feel hian to shake She stumbled back, horrified "Oh, Colors," she found herself"Colors, Colors, Colors"

A hand fell on her shoulder She screaure stood in the darkness behind her, half-hidden beneath the stairs

"Hello, Princess," Tonk Fah said He s with Parlin’s body She began to gasp, hand at her chest Only then did she notice the bodies on the walls