As the sound of footsteps faded away, Emily looked around the room. It was a very simple room compared to the room that Sebastian had given her at the castle. To one side, a pair of tattered curtains covered a small window, underneath which sat a small, battered chest of drawers. Beside the bed was a small nightstand with a half-filled glass of water on it. The nightstand looked as if it had seen better days. If anything else was placed on it, it would probably collapse, she thought.

Opposite the window was the tall wardrobe, which Lewis had removed the clothes from before he left, spanning the distance from the floor to the ceiling. Looking at the clothes he had handed her, she saw the insignia of Tristan’s city guards. Holding it up, Emily watched as it unfolded itself, the frayed hem at the bottom almost reaching her knees.

She knew she should really be out in the city trying to find Charles Hargrove. Sebastian had made that clear. But what could she do? She knew almost nothing about the layout of the city. Before she met Lewis, she had been wandering the streets for almost three hours.

Yawning, Emily realised how tired she was. The adrenaline from the fight in the alleyway was wearing off. In the end, she decided that there was nothing more that she could do until Lewis came back from his patrol. Until then, she might as well try to get some sleep.

Getting changed into the clothes Lewis had left for her, she placed the letter and the tiny vial on the bedside table, tucking the amulet with its broken chain out of sight underneath the pillow.

She had barely even managed to lie down when she slipped into an uneasy sleep. Images of Sebastian’s final moments and Lewis driving the arrow into the neck of the bounty hunter filled her mind as they rolled around on the snowy ground.

As the images began to fade away, they were replaced with darkness. Around her, a small stone room materialised, and she found herself resting her head on a cold metal bar. With a creak, a door opened somewhere nearby, sending a blinding light flooding into the room. The sound of people moaning and screaming in the distance filled her ears. With the snap of a closing door, the noise disappeared, replaced only by the sound of heavy footsteps.

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Pressing her head into the gap between the bars, she peered into the corridor. In the cell diagonally across from her, an old man sat with his back against the wall of his cell, his eyes closed, and his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. His face was a multicoloured patchwork of bruises, all at various stages of healing. His untamed beard was matted with dried blood. At the sound of footsteps, his eyelids sprung open, revealing bloodshot eyes that showed nothing but pain and fear. Before Emily could say anything, the scene swirled rapidly out of focus.

As the scene resettled, she found herself no longer behind bars. Now she was standing in a huge room, sunlight flooding in through the large glass dome above them. All around her, people were rushing in separate directions.

‘Over there,’ someone beside her said quietly. Turning, she found Lewis standing beside her, pointing at someone among the crowd.

Without waiting for her to reply, he moved forward. Slowly, Emily followed him, weaving her way between the people, trying to see who he was walking towards. As Lewis stopped moving, the scene began to shift again as the bright sunlight faded away.

Once again, Emily found herself in a dark, damp room. As she began to move forward, she found herself standing on a ledge overlooking a large room cluttered with statues.

Before she could take in any of the details of the statues, the scene shifted quickly, leaving her standing amongst them. Looking around quickly, she saw Lewis standing to one side with a look of fear on his face.

Turning away, she took a step closer to the huge, tower-shaped statue in front of her. With a crackle, a ball of black sparks appeared at the top of the statue. After a second, it flew towards her as there was a bang in the distance.

With a scream, her eyes flew open. Blinking rapidly, Emily looked around for the ball of sparks, but it wasn’t there. Instead of the giant statues, she was surrounded by the battered furniture of Lewis’ room. Slowly she sat up, trying to wipe away some of the sweat from her face with the sleeve of the shirt, but it was also soaked, sticking to her skin.

Before she could do anything else, there was a second bang. This one was much closer than the one that interrupted her dream.