After rubbing his face aggressively to get the makeup off, they left the hospital.

  Han and Eli had left the hospital at the same time as Reiss, except that Reiss had to go home after a stern call from his father's chamberlain, more serious than before.

  'Is uncle not coming?' His sister asked sadly.

  'Sorry, Eli. His dad told him to come home, but you'll be having plenty of ice cream with him soon, I promise. Actually-' Han leaned down close to her ear and added, 'you'll be having much more than just ice cream.'

  Eli gasped excitedly. 'Like what? Like what?'

  'Hmm. Let me see.' Han pretended to be thoughtful with a finger rubbing his chin. 'You can have a lot more cake. All the juice you want. Maybe also play outside a lot more.'

  That seemed to cheer her up.

  She skipped along, humming while dragging Han with her.

  They made their way down Ulcisor's Hold Street with Han taking the street side of the wide pavement while keeping his sister tight in his grasp and close enough to feel her constantly pressing against his side.

  It was just past rush hour, and the streets were bustling with those coming home from work, pouring out of underground metro stations, waiting in hordes at the bus stops and indiscriminately shoving their way down the pavement in suits and long coats.

  Many others were bellowing with laughter as they drank beneath terrace awnings set outside restaurants and pubs. Men with a lot of money on them, they sounded. They looked like it, too.

  Every now and then, a duo of Imperial Graced Police in their crimson and midnight-black regalia passed by, and the crowd parted with reverence, then resumed their rush.

  Han despised rush hour.

  One had to watch their steps when they were alone, but he had to watch Eli's too. He wanted to raise her in his arms, but his arms were still bruised and weak from Simon's boredom last week.

  So he kept his head down, watched the colony of polished shoes as they trampled on by, ready to pull or monetarily lift his sister if any were about to trample her sparkly blue princess shoes.

  They took a few turns until the buildings gave way to a large verdant forest/park at the end of Monument Square, where many tourists and locals alike gathered for pictures around the fountain-wreathed marble statue of Ulcisor the First.

  A statue of a simple man in unimpressive attire, raising a hand to Heaven with a graceful, contented look on his face. His mouth curled ever so slightly as if it were the most natural look on his face, and his eyes, depicted by blue gemstones, twinkled at the evening sun. Ulcisor the First, the Civil Engineer who, during Heaven's Fall, was bestowed a most spectacular Grace in which he utilised to later found the Sirtian Empire.

  Ulcisor the First, the first of his cursed bloodline.

  Ulcisor the First, the one who earned a most dirty, irrepressible scowl from Han every time he passed.

  Han was glad the University was in Cordobath City and not the capital, Gracefall, where the Imperial Palace was, because, from what he'd seen online, there were a lot more statues over there and a lot of love for them. Goodness, what a nightmare it would be.

  There at the end of the square, right beneath the Park fence, posted in the shadow of a large willow tree, was an Ice cream truck.

  The instant Eli saw it, she broke off from Han's grasp and darted to greet the owner.

  The owner was an old man with a big, great moustache on him, and a whole lot of smiling.

  'Oi, you little gremlin!' He cried out to her. 'You're a princess today, eh?'

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  'Hello, Uncle Ben! Hani said I can have two today!'

  'Oh, he did now?'

  Han joined Eli's side behind the window and waved his greeting.

  'Good evening, Uncle Ben.'

  'Han! You look a great deal better than last week, ha!'

  'That's the way it is,' Han sighed.

  'Well, two for the princess today, is it?'

  'That's right... Actually, make it three. I'll be having some too.'

  'Well then, a third will be on the house. How about you two join me in the truck today, eh? That popular historical drama you folk like is on.'

  'Next time, Uncle. I want Eli to run around and play a little for once.'

  'Ha! That's a good brother there!'

  Han tapped his phone to the paying machine, heard the horrible beep of his money leaving his account, and sighed in finality.

  There was no point worrying about financial affairs anymore. A strange sense of freedom came with that morbid reality. How ironic.

  'Hani? Do you like Ice Cream now?'

  'Well, why not give it another try if you like it so much?'

  A pure smile beamed on her face, and Han was suddenly very proud of his decision.

  'Yes! And I'll teach you how, Hani! It always...' His sister trailed off, her little face suddenly looking a little scared.

  'Eli?'

  His sister did not reply. She just stood there staring off absently, her face twisting more and more in fear.

  Han frowned.

  'Eli!' His heart was heavy. He dropped to his knees, eyes wide and scared to hell. He clutched her by the shoulders and softly shook her back to him.

  'Eli, look at me! Look at me, sweetie, look at me!'

  His face chased hers.

  His eyes sought to penetrate hers.

  'Eli? What's wrong? Speak to...'

  But then he remembered. He remembered an incident in which she was similarly possessed by unexplainable fears.

  They were in danger.

  Han went petrifyingly still, and, holding his sister tightly against his chest, he cast an urgent look around. His head flicked left and right. Then to the corners and the shadows. His breath fastened. His heart thumped like an aggressive beast.

  He scrutinised faces. A mother laughed heartily as her child ran his little fingers along the rippling fountain water.

  A father reprimanded his child for throwing dirt.

  A couple held each other for a picture. A group of shameless friends. An upset girl. A lonely, anxious man on a bench. A happy old woman. Foreign tourists from the far east...

  Anxious man...

  Han's eyes flicked back to the lonely man, but he was no longer there.

  Han's back prickled cold.

  Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?

  'Eli?' He whispered to his sister in a quivering voice.

  'Hani, I'm scared,' She finally whimpered with a lost look on her face.

  Han held her tighter. His eyes were bloodshot as they sought that man.

  No no no no no.

  'It's okay. It's okay, it's going to be fine.'

  He had already alerted the IGP without looking.

  Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?

  And then he found him. He'd melted amongst an organised group of tourists headed their way. He had a hood covering half his face, and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was nondescript in every way, but Han instantly knew:

  That man was Graced.

  Why in...

  But something else pricked his skin. Something unnervingly unusual.

  It wasn't the predator approaching them, but the sudden chill in the air and the sudden absence of something that was supposed to be there... or someone.

  Han turned away from the approaching threat and eyed the Ice Cream truck.

  His head tipped a little.

  Where is Uncle Benson?