VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

11.1 || Of Breaking and Entering (...Again)

EVA

EVA NEVER IMAGINED she would lead a life of crime.

For twenty-five years, she had lived squeaky clean, never even making an illegal left-hand turn. The worst offense she had ever committed had been in third grade, when she had forgotten to return her library book before moving to a new town. She had discovered it buried in an unpacked box years later—but, no matter the late fees she would have accumulated, she had more than made up for that slip by putting in hours at her own library.

After leaving her one dastardly deed behind, helping Emrys break into his apartment building was an entirely new experience.

"Can't we just go through the front door?" asked Eva, eyes flitting across the barren alleyway.

A loud thunk echoed off the brick buildings to either side of them as Emrys leapt off the ground, arms stretched toward the drawn-up fire escape. The tips of his fingers connected with the rusted ladder, yet he fell just short of wrapping them around the bottom rung. Letting out a yelp, he clutched his hand. A thin, red line snaked across the pads of his middle and index fingers.

When his irises brightened to a soft gold, Eva stared him down with folded arms until he caught her gaze. As the glow of his eyes dimmed, she shook her head. The last thing they needed was him blowing the power grid by healing a scrape.

"Looks like your cool down is fine now." Eva unfurled her arms once her friend chose to wipe his fingers on his dark hoodie instead. "Seriously, let's just go in the front door. I'll ask for a band-aid at the desk."

"I don't want to arouse suspicion."

"You're renting an apartment as Jensen Hawthorn." She gestured to his body, still masked with the form of her beloved coworker. "I'm pretty sure walking in and unlocking your front door is less suspicious than sneaking up the fire escape."

Emrys' sigh told her otherwise. His sneakers padded softly on the concrete as he approached her, making little noise in the alley's echo chamber. Bending down, he brought his lips to her ear and dropped his voice to a low rumble.

"There are eyes and ears everywhere," he whispered. "Don't assume I'm the only Astraelan prowling these streets."

A shudder sent Eva's nerves into a frenzy. The hairs on her arms stood at attention when Emrys stepped back to inspect the fire escape again. While the bottom rung dangled lower than the average fire escape, and his human form stood just over six feet in stature, Eva doubted his plan would work.

"Are you sure you can reach it?" she asked, eyeing him as he stretched his arms into the air.

Emrys wiggled his fingers, as if mentally measuring the distance between him and his goal. "I've done this enough times."

Before she could question how his neighbors felt about him consistently breaking into his own apartment, Emrys had already crouched and sprung back up in a jump, arms shot high in determination. His fingers wrapped securely around the rusted bar and the ladder followed him back to the ground in a cacophony of screaming metal.

Sneaking in to "lessen suspicion" seemed much less effective when he made enough noise to wake the dead.

Emrys gave the ladder a firm pat and ushered Eva to join him.

A survey of the situation twisted her stomach. The apartment building had been on the east side of town for decades, and while the visible areas were kept pristine, the back exterior had always been neglected. The fire escape had never been stable, and with layers of rust corroding the metal, she wondered how Emrys didn't bring pieces crashing down with him.