Ian's POV
Every footfall I took echoed not just ahead, but behind me. Twice over. As if the air itself was imitating me, mocking my presence with phantom steps. Something was following. I could feel it. No matter how many times I twisted around, eyes scanning the shadows, nothing was there.
I hadn’t gone far when something hit my nostrils and I froze.
Their scents!
All three of them!
Jasmine. Honey. And beneath it, something rancid and smoky. Burnt myrrh. My breath ceased. Luna Vashti’s incense. The signature stench of deceit, of cold temples and colder secrets. Then came the too-sweet, suffocating perfume - Shabari. That cloying, heady scent that always made me want to throw up. Fading, flickering, like his presence often did. And last - Kaelric. His scent was unmistakable: crush
