Once more, I checked my watch and then my phone, though I would have seen a message on either.

Siro should have sent me a message a half an hour ago.

I checked my watch for the third time.

It was less than an hour until we would leave to go back to the capital. I got out of bed, not having even closed my eyes, the grittiness of sleep making me blink. Feeling the knot in the pit of my stomach grow, I started to pace. Had she just forgotten to send the message?

Maybe Jamine and River had caught her sneaking back in and she couldn’t send anything right now.

I let out a frustrated sound as I went to the window to look out at the city. The sparkling lights were giving way to the light of dawn. The rebuild was fully underway, though it would likely take a year or more to fully recover.

I looked at my watch. Again.

“That’s it,” I muttered to myself, grabbing my shoes. I didn’t know why Siro hadn’t messaged me yet, but I was tired of waiting around and worrying.

If something had happened to her on the way home…

I took a deep breath to quell my fear. It was most likely nothing. She probably just forgot or was distracted by something. That didn’t mean I wasn’t taking the precaution of heading over there and making sure of it. If that meant I had to face Jamine and River, I would. Siro’s safety was more important than my emotional well-being.

That being decided, I opened the door heading out to the hall. Amna and Reelin immediately came to attention. I stared at them, looking fully awake and alert, their clothes crisp. It was uncanny.

“How much sleep did you guys have?” I asked.

“Three and a half hours,” Amna supplied.

I shook my head. Some people were just built differently. Compared to them, I knew I looked rough, though they did get a few more hours than me.

“I need to go track someone down,” I said, closing the room door behind me.

Reelin checked his watch and nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll send out the notification to the rest of the guards. Can you give me the location?”

I rattled off where Siro had told me they’d moved to after their section was completely demolished. I just hoped I could find it easily.

We left that wing and headed outside, the city waking up around us. I got a few lingering looks from people, a couple of friendly waves, but I kept moving. I needed to make sure everything was fine. There wasn’t time to linger at the food stalls, even though I saw Reelin eyeing one of them.

“We can stop on the way back. This won’t take long,” I promised.

He looked back at me sheepishly, nodding. So there was a person under that stoicism after all.

It made me like the man better.

Siro’s family had gotten one of the apartments in a newly constructed area. Single people and couples without kids would have to wait a little longer to receive housing. Our flock wasn’t hit as hard as some, but it was hit hard enough for us to be feeling it for quite some time.

I turned the corner and saw what I thought was the right building just a block away. It had that new feel to it though, it had been constructed to blend in with the old buildings. The shape of it was just a touch too modern to be old.

Okay, I’d just knock on the door and ask if she was there—

A high pitched alarm screeched down the street, echoing around us.

Everyone around us winced collectively as the sound stopped as suddenly as it had started. Then there was a loud buzzing sound...

Belatedly, I realized along with everyone else on the street that I had an incoming message and brought my watch up to look at the screen.

RED ALERT: MISSING TEEN-AGED GIRL, AGE SIXTEEN, CURLY DARK HAIR, DARK EYES, FIVE FEET SEVEN INCHES TALL, NAMED SIRROCCO MARINO. CONTACT...

I stared at my watch. Siro. Siro was missing.

It took a moment for the sound to come back, for me to get through the shock of the blow that text had just dealt me and focus on the world around me once again. Up and down the street, those in crowds started talking to each other, more people spilling onto the road as a city wide search began with one message.

I needed to talk to her parents. I needed to talk to Aaden. I—

Someone jostled me in the chaos, and Amna was suddenly there holding people back on my right while Reelin held everyone back on my left.

“We need to head back,” Reelin said, his expression grim. “We can’t keep you safe in this.”

“Yes,” Amna concurred. “You’ll have to run your errand later.”

My hand clenched on a small piece of faux paper that I hadn’t realized I was holding. Someone must have slipped it into my hand. I looked around, but I hadn’t gotten a good look at the person, and the crowd was too thick now to even guess who it had been.

Reelin and Amna were focused on the crowd.

“That’s fine,” I said, though my voice wasn’t loud enough to carry in the din as they herded me back the way we’d come.

I unfolded the paper as they guided me through the crowd. Keeping it low so the guards wouldn’t see, I continued walking as I glanced down. My hope that Siro was maybe just out having fun with Lugh died.

We have the girl. Meet us at the Crevice in fifteen minutes.

Do not tell anyone.

Do not contact anyone.

We will know.

My hand clenched on the small slip of paper, crumpling it into a tight ball.

Siro.

Someone had Siro.