The Shadows Grace

Chapter Three: The Taste of Betrayal

The air in the South District was really thick with the smell of ozone and wet pavement. Inside Roses small apartment it smelled like stale lavender and fear.

Rose looked at the man standing in her doorway. He was huge. His presence was so strong that it seemed to take up all the light from the hallway. His face had a lot of scars. A cut on his jaw and eyes that were really hard to read. They were a brown color that seemed old and a little scary. He did not look like the man she had seen before Draco Zuckerberg. That man had been mean and rich. This man looked like a soldier who had been through a lot.

Then she saw something that caught her attention. The sleeve of his jacket had moved up and she saw the tattoo on his wrist.

**The Ouroboros.** The snake eating its tail.

It was the mark that the Zuckerberg family had. The same mark that she had seen ten years ago on the hand of the man who had left her fathers study after he died.

Her hands were shaking as she took the folder from him. "I do not want your help " she said quietly her voice cracking. "I do not want his money. Tell him to leave me alone."

The man did not move. He did not say anything. He just took out a computer tablet from his pocket and turned it on.

*‘I am not here to help the Don ’* the computer voice said. *‘I am Elias. I work for the Vanguard Security Group. Someone anonymous has paid for your protection. My job is to make sure you get to the academy and stay with you all the time. I am mute Miss Maxwell. I cannot talk to you. I cannot leave you.’*

"Someone " Rose laughed,. It was not a happy laugh. "There is no one left in my life who cares about me. We both know who sent you."

Elias. Or maybe it was really Draco hiding behind a mask. Looked at her with a lot of focus. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair to tell her that she was safe now.. He could not do that. If he touched her as Draco she would be scared. If he touched her as Elias he would not be professional.

He walked into the apartment without asking. It was like he owned the place. He started looking around the room checking the door lock, the window locks and the dance shoes by the door.

*‘Pack a bag ’* the computer voice said. *‘The car is waiting. The Vane family is already looking for you. If you stay here you will be in danger by sunset.’*

Rose backed away until she hit her bed. "The Vanes? Why do they care about me?"

*‘Because you saw something you should not have seen ’* the computer voice said. *‘Move, Rose. Now.’*

---

The "Vanguard" car was a black SUV that felt like a safe house on wheels. Rose sat in the back pressed against the door watching Elias drive. He was really good at driving always checking the mirrors.

They were not going to the South District. They were going to the Emerald Sector. The part of Neo-Verona where the grass is perfect and the police do not bother you.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, her voice small.

Elias showed her the tablet. *‘The Conservatory. You have a dance practice.’*

"I cannot dance there " she said, getting a little angry. "That is for kids. I am from the South District. I do not belong there."

*‘You belong wherever you are safe ’* the computer voice said.

When they got to the Conservatory Dracos phone started ringing in his pocket. It was a number. Only a few people had it. He ignored it. He was too busy watching Rose.

She looked out the window. Her eyes got wide when she saw the big gardens and the statues of famous dancers. For a second she forgot to be scared. She just looked amazed. It was the look he had seen before the look of a girl who still believed in magic.

Then she saw something that made her stop.

A white Rolls-Royce was parked at the entrance. A woman was standing next, to it under a parasol.

**Skyler Vane.**

Dracos hands got tight on the steering wheel. He had not expected her to be there.