Lucian veered left as the mid-bridge crowd thickened, Istra keeping to his pace without question. Sera remained to his right, still muttering about the archive, still marked by the city with the habit of walking alongside him and still refusing to fall half a step behind.
"you keep choosing tight lanes."
she said
"Crowds make clean grabs harder."Until the crowd decides that it does not matter."
Istra's eyes swept the buildings ahead. "Then we do not offer them a stable target"
They passed a tea stall, long since passed its opening time. The owner was gone, a single cup half drawn up on the board. Further on, a woman who'd been arguing price a moment before was not there, her buyer still holding out money in confusion, already working towards not inquiring.
Lucian felt the shift in the air. Not the slow pressure of surveillance building. Something already set in motion
"Sera"
She turned her head. "What?"
