Chapters (46)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
James scrutinized Kyra again, as if he were making a mental catalog of every bruise and scratch. “You were supposed to keep an eye on her,” he said to Rand.
“She’s alive, in’t she?”
They looked at each other, exchanging some wordless communication, before James turned back to Kyra. “Wash off in the basin out back. Rand will show you.”
It took Kyra a moment for her to recognize his words as a dismissal. She choked out an acknowledgment before following Rand out the back door. It opened into a dirt courtyard. In the center was a barrel of water that looked clean enough. Kyra submerged her scratched forearms and carefully rubbed off the dirt. When she finished, Rand handed her a stack of rags and went back inside. Relieved to be alone, Kyra wet a rag and splashed water on her head, letting out a long breath as streams ran down the swollen side of her face. Her panic from the attack had worn away, and in its place was an emotion she couldn’t quite name. It was as if the ground were unsteady, or the buildings around her might collapse without any warning. Nothing felt safe.
“Rand says you don’t carry a knife.”
Kyra jumped at the voice. She turned to see James leaning against the door frame.
“I don’t need to. I can usually get away,” she said. “But this time I had a little one with me.”
“Two Red Shields tried to take your coin?”
Kyra nodded. Her hair was damp against her forehead, and she nudged it aside.
“So what will you do?” James asked. “Go to the magistrate? Complain to him about misbehaving soldiers?”
There was no overt sarcasm in his voice, but it wasn’t really a question. The Palace would be more likely to arrest her than help her, and James knew it. Kyra looked at him, then at her scratched forearms, and weighed her options.
“If I join you, what jobs will I do?”
“Watch the Palace. I would know the layout of the Fastkeep. Your first job would be to map it, starting from the perimeter, and once you’re ready, moving toward the center.”
“Drawing maps? That’s all?”
“That’s the first step. I’ve got a bigger job in mind for you afterward.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’ll tell you in a few months, when you’re ready. You can’t know all our secrets at once. If you do that last job, it’ll earn you a house. But either way, we’ll pay you well.”
Flick’s voice echoed in her head, words of caution she couldn’t quite ignore. “If I get caught by the Palace, and folk know I run with you, it wouldn’t be good.”