Chapter 170: Being Followed
The Knight didn’t take him back toward the main road.
Instead, she turned down another narrow street, one Denzel hadn’t noticed before. The buildings here were older, their upper floors leaning slightly over the road as if trying to hide it from the rest of the city. A few lamps burned along the walls, but most of them had already gone dark.
Denzel followed without asking where they were going.
For now, he trusted her enough to know that asking wouldn’t make the answer appear any faster.
They walked for another five minutes before the Knight stopped in front of a plain wooden door.
There was nothing remarkable about it.
No sign.
No guards.
No symbol carved into the frame.
She knocked twice, waited, then knocked once more.
A lock clicked from the other side.
The Knight pushed the door open.
"Inside."
Denzel stepped through.
The room beyond was small.
A table occupied most of the center, with two chairs on either side. There was a fireplace along the far wall and a narrow staircase leading upward. Nothing about the place suggested luxury. It looked more like somewhere designed to be forgotten.
The Knight entered behind him and immediately closed the door.
Then she locked it.
Denzel looked at the lock.
Then at her.
"Cozy."
She ignored him.
Instead, she crossed the room and checked the window.
Then the second window.
She pulled the curtain aside just enough to look outside before letting it fall back into place.
Denzel watched her.
She checked the door again.
Then the staircase.
Only after that did she finally seem satisfied.
Denzel dropped into one of the chairs.
"You know, most people just say whether we’re safe."
"We are."
"That wasn’t very convincing."
"It wasn’t supposed to be."
She moved toward the table and sat down opposite him.
Denzel leaned back.
"So?"
"So what?"
"Are we being followed?"
The Knight didn’t answer immediately.
Her fingers rested against the table.
"We might be."
Denzel stared at her.
"You might want to stop saying things like that so casually."
"I didn’t say it casually."
That wiped the faint amusement from his face.
The Knight looked toward the curtained window.
"When we left the Elder’s territory, I noticed someone watching us."
Denzel’s expression hardened.
"When?"
"Before we reached the second street."
"And you didn’t tell me?"
"You were already looking for someone behind us."
Denzel frowned.
"I was?"
"You kept checking over your shoulder."
"I was checking whether you were checking."
The Knight stared at him.
Denzel shrugged.
"Apparently, that worked."
"It did."
A small silence followed.
Denzel glanced toward the window.
"So someone followed us."
"I said someone was watching us."
"There’s a difference?"
"Yes."
She leaned back slightly.
"Being watched doesn’t mean they followed."
Denzel considered that.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You suspected enough to bring me here."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because this place is difficult to find."
Denzel looked around.
"Doesn’t look difficult."
"That’s the point."
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Instead, he looked at the door again.
"So what happens now?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"We wait."
Denzel stared at her.
"You dragged me through half the city, brought me to a secret room, checked every window twice, and now we’re waiting?"
"Yes."
"For what?"
"To see if anyone comes looking."
Denzel’s expression flattened.
"That’s reassuring."
The Knight’s mouth twitched.
Barely.
Denzel noticed.
He pointed at her.
"You almost smiled."
"I didn’t."
"You did."
"You imagined it."
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You actually have a sense of humor."
"I regret showing it."
Denzel leaned back again.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The tension didn’t disappear.
But it loosened enough for Denzel to breathe normally again.
His eyes drifted around the room.
Then settled on the Knight.
There was something else bothering him.
Something that had been bothering him since the alley.
"You knew what the carriage meant."
Her expression went still.
Denzel continued.
"You recognized the organization."
No response.
"You knew the woman who opened the door for Sophia wasn’t a servant."
Still nothing.
"And you knew enough about the Elder to be afraid of him."
The Knight’s eyes narrowed.
"That’s quite an impressive list."
"I’ve had a lot of time to think."
"You’ve had about twenty minutes."
"Productive twenty minutes."
She sighed.
Denzel waited.
He wasn’t going to let her escape the question this time.
The Knight finally looked away.
"I’ve encountered them before."
Denzel’s expression didn’t change.
"That’s not what I asked."
"I know."
"So you know them."
"I know enough."
"There it is again."
She looked at him.
"What?"
"That phrase."
Denzel leaned forward.
"Every time I ask something important, you tell me you know enough."
"Because I do."
"Enough to recognize their carriage."
"Yes."
"Enough to recognize their people."
"Yes."
"Enough to know what happens when they take an interest in someone."
Her silence answered before she did.
Denzel’s eyes sharpened.
"So you have experience with them."
"I’ve crossed paths with them."
"That’s different?"
"Very."
"How?"
The Knight looked at him for several seconds.
Then she said quietly, "Because knowing someone doesn’t mean you belong to them."
Denzel studied her face.
There was no anger there.
No defensiveness.
Just something harder to read.
Regret, maybe.
Or memory.
He didn’t push immediately.
Instead, he sat back.
"Fine."
The Knight raised an eyebrow.
"Fine?"
"For now."
"You’re surprisingly reasonable."
"Don’t get used to it."
She almost smiled again.
This time, Denzel was sure he’d seen it.
But the moment passed.
The room fell quiet.
Denzel looked toward the window.
The city outside seemed peaceful.
Too peaceful.
His thoughts returned to the Elder.
The man’s voice.
His name.
The certainty with which he’d spoken it.
Then Sophia.
The building.
The woman at the door.
Denzel’s fingers tapped lightly against the table.
There was still something he hadn’t understood.
Something the Knight had noticed that he hadn’t.
He looked back at her.
"What exactly did you see when Sophia entered that building?"
The Knight’s expression changed.
And this time, she didn’t answer immediately.
The Knight’s gaze remained on him.
For a moment, Denzel wondered if she’d simply refuse to answer.
Then she exhaled slowly.
"When Sophia approached the building, she wasn’t hesitating."
Denzel frowned.
"I noticed that."
"No." The Knight shook her head. "You noticed that she wasn’t afraid. That’s different."
Denzel leaned forward.
"What’s the difference?"
"She knew where she was going."
The words were simple.
But they landed harder than he expected.
Denzel replayed the scene in his head.
Sophia walking toward the building.
The door opening.
The woman appearing on the other side.
There hadn’t been a moment where Sophia stopped to look around.
No uncertainty.
No hesitation.
She had simply walked straight toward the door.
Denzel’s jaw tightened.
"You think she knew who was inside."
"I think she knew someone would be there."
"That’s not the same thing."
"No."
The Knight folded her arms.
"That’s why I’m being careful."
Denzel stared at the table.
"Did the woman recognize her?"
"Yes."
"Immediately?"
"Immediately."
He looked up.
"You’re sure?"
"I was watching her face."
Denzel said nothing.
The Knight continued.
"There was no surprise. No confusion. She opened the door, looked at Sophia, and stepped aside."
"Like she was expected."
"Yes."
Denzel leaned back.
That changed things.
He’d spent the entire walk thinking about whether Sophia had gotten herself involved with people she shouldn’t have.
Now he wasn’t sure that was what had happened.
"What happened after she went inside?"
"I couldn’t see everything."
"But?"
The Knight hesitated.
"I saw Sophia give her something."
Denzel’s eyes sharpened.
"What?"
"I don’t know."
"You saw it."
"I saw her hand something over."
"What did it look like?"
"A small envelope."
Denzel went still.
"An envelope?"
"Dark. About this size."
She held her fingers a few inches apart.
"Did it have anything on it?"
"A seal."
"What kind?"
"I couldn’t see it clearly."
Denzel stared at her.
"You waited until now to mention that?"
"I wasn’t certain it mattered."
"She’s your friend?"
"No."
"Then why were you watching her?"
The Knight’s expression tightened.
"Because I was watching the building."
Denzel caught the answer immediately.
"Not Sophia."
"No."
"The building."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because people connected to the Elder use it."
Denzel rubbed his thumb against the edge of the table.
"So Sophia brought them something."
"That’s what I saw."
"And the woman let her in."
"Yes."
"Without searching her."
"Yes."
"Without asking questions."
"Yes."
Denzel stared toward the window.
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something closer to the discomfort of realizing he’d misunderstood an entire situation.
He remembered Sophia’s face before she’d entered.
Calm.
Almost determined.
He’d mistaken that calmness for courage.
Maybe it wasn’t courage.
Maybe it was familiarity.
"She knew," he murmured.
The Knight watched him.
"You don’t know that."
"She knew enough."
The Knight didn’t correct him.
Denzel stood.
He walked toward the window and stopped beside it, keeping the curtain closed.
"So Sophia wasn’t dragged into this."
"I didn’t say that."
"But you think she went there willingly."
"I think she went there for a reason."
Denzel’s eyes lowered.
"What reason?"
"I don’t know."
He glanced back at her.
She gave him a tired look.
"Don’t."
"I wasn’t going to say anything."
"You were."
"I was thinking it."
"That’s worse."
A faint smile touched Denzel’s face before disappearing.
He turned back toward the window.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Denzel’s expression changed.
The room had gone too quiet.
He listened.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Only the faint sound of the city beyond the walls.
He looked at the Knight.
She was already watching him.
"You heard it too?"
She nodded.
Denzel’s hand moved away from the curtain.
"What?"
"I don’t know."
That answer didn’t reassure him.
The Knight stood.
This time, neither of them made a joke.
She moved toward the door.
Denzel followed.
Before she reached it, three quiet knocks sounded from the other side.
Both of them froze.
Denzel looked at the Knight.
Her hand slowly moved toward her weapon.
The knock came again.
Three times.
Patient.
Deliberate.
Denzel’s eyes narrowed.
Whoever was outside wasn’t trying to break in.
They were waiting to be invited inside.
The Knight looked at him.
Neither spoke.
Then a small object slid beneath the door.
It stopped in the middle of the room.
Denzel stared at it.
He didn’t recognize it at first.
Then he saw the silver chain.
His entire expression changed.
He knew that necklace.
Sophia had worn it countless times.
The Knight looked from the necklace to him.
"Denzel..."
He didn’t answer.
He slowly stepped forward.
Then bent down and picked it up.
There was a folded piece of paper wrapped around the chain.
Denzel unfolded it.
Only four words were written inside.
You should have left.
His eyes remained on the message.
Then he looked toward the locked door.
Someone had followed them.
And whoever it was knew exactly where they had gone.