It was raining again by the time Serene got back to her room that night. The maids had, thankfully, lit a fire in the grate, so that as soon as she closed the door, she could feel the warmth seeping into her skin. Serene sighed and leaned against the door for a moment, weighing the bag in her hand. She smiled.

One more job down.

Unfortunately, thanks to Eras unexpectedly showing up, Basalt would know about this job. She wouldn't be able to keep all of the profits from fencing the necklace, like she'd hoped. But even a little bit was helpful.

She tossed the bag on her bed and crossed the room to stand in front of the fire, rubbing her forearms. Water dripped in a trail down her back from the tight braid she'd put her hair in. Serene grimaced and lifted the braid from her shoulder, wringing it out. If she wasn't so waterlogged, a hot bath would have sounded wonderful.

She retrieved the fresh towel hanging over the partition of the room and began unbraiding her hair. She glanced out the window, across the courtyard.

Kildare's suite window was dark.

Serene frowned. He hadn't mentioned leaving yet, even though he'd grumbled about the rain. Had he found another job so quickly? 

Something fluttered against the window. Serene stepped closer to her own window and squinted. Was that a letter? Her heart fluttered. She flicked open the latch.

Someone pounded on her door.

Serene gasped and flinched away. She lunged across the room and threw open her trunk, searching for a dress or robe she could quickly throw on over her dragonsbane clothing.

"Miss?" someone called, accompanying the word with more pounding. "Miss, open the door. This is the city watch."

Rot it. Serene scrambled into her bathrobe, buttoned it tightly around her neck, and grabbed the towel and bag of jewelry off her bed. She stuffed the bag into her pocket just as a click sounded in the lock. She spun around as the innkeeper swung the door open, revealing two city watchmen behind him. 

Serene stuck her chin out and glared at the innkeeper. "Excuse me, but I was in the bath. Did you not hear me say so? You're lucky I was able to make myself decent again."

The innkeeper glanced at the floor, a blush reddening his thin face. "Sorry, miss, but—"

One of the city watchmen pushed forward into the room. "Serene Smythe?"

"That would be my name, yes." Serene moved out of his way, pressing at her hair with the towel. "Just what is it that you want?"

"Do you mind if we search your room, miss?" The watchman stepped forward, neatly blocking her in close to the window, while his companion stepped into the room. 

Serene's stomach sank. She tilted her head to the side. "May I ask why?"

The second watchman began nudging through the makeup and other personal items on the top of the dressing table. 

"Excuse me, but I haven't—" Serene started.

The first watchman interrupted her. "Sorry, Miss Smythe, but one of our city leaders recently reported a missing necklace, and we received a tip that someone matching your description was seen hanging around the house earlier today."

Serene ground her molars. She hadn't 'hung around' at all—she'd strolled past a few times today, true, but each time she'd changed her appearance, and last night, she'd done a reconnaissance under the cover of nightfall. No one had seen her, not enough to recognize her. "My description? Watchman, you do realize that there are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of red-haired women in Helryen at any given time, do you not?"

"The intelligence we received pointed specifically to you, miss. Now, have you left the inn recently? Were you in the—"

The second watchman pushed the room's partition aside and snorted. He tapped the edge of the tub. "Just got out of a bath you said, miss? Hard to get that sopping wet in a dry tub." He fingered the sleeve of the dress Serene had thrown over the rim of the tub, then glanced at them. "The dress is wet too, sir."

"Dammit," Serene muttered.

The first watchman turned to his partner. "Jerle, would you—"

Serene lunged at the window, one hand outstretched to shove the window open, the other tearing at the buttons at her throat. She slipped one arm from the sleeve and had the other halfway through when the watchman seized her shoulder.

"Wyvern!" he hissed through his teeth. "Should've kno—"

Serene kneed him in the groin. The man folded forward. She pushed him away, slipping her arm the rest of the way out of the robe's sleeve. The other watchman was coming at her, his hands fumbling with his half-drawn sword.

"Stop right there!" he ordered.

Serene slammed the window open and dove out of it.

She landed on half-shifted legs and winced as pain ricocheted up her bones. She shook the pain away and leaped across the courtyard. Rain pelted across her scales. Behind her, shouts filled the air. Serene ignored them and lunged into the air. She snatched the paper from where it had been tucked into the slats of Kildare's shutters, dug her claws into the side of the building, and propelled herself onto the roof. She kicked off, flapped her wings hard. The wind caught her and spiraled her upward, into the driving rain.

Serene clutched the paper to her chest with one claw and prayed it wouldn't get too wet.