But we could not help them right now.

Soon.

“On three.” I clasped Nanaea’s hand. Her deep brown eyes determined, pretty cheeks flushed, she set her chin.

Iltani squatted in the dirt in front of us like a jackrabbit. She whipped her head around, dimples flashing with excitement. “One…two…three!”

We darted from one oven to the next, hiding between it and the scraggly bushes lining the perimeter. The heat was suffocating, especially in the heavy silks of the noblewoman’s tunic. According to my memory, we’d need to run into the back corridor, find a staircase, and head up a long, narrow set of stairs in order to maneuver through the vast corridors to get to Uruku’s chamber.

“Once more, and we’re in,” Nanaea whispered.

“Again, on three. One…two…and…three!”

We bolted for the Palace, but as we rounded the corner, out of eyesight of the kitchen workers, someone reached out and grabbed me and Nanaea around our waists. The grapes tucked into my tunic spilled all over the ground as we wriggled and squirmed.

“Let them go!” Iltani demanded.

The arms around us slackened, and with a firm yank, we tugged away from a young guardsman wearing gear too big for him. He unsheathed his sicklesword and leveled it at our throats. Iltani’s hand stilled on her thigh, close to her hidden dagger.

“Why are you creeping so close to the kitchens?” The boy’s voice cracked with youth.

Flustered, I said the only thing that came to my mind: “Because they’re unclean! Stay away from them!”

He took a step back, his face distorted with fear. “What do you mean?”

“They’ve contracted leprosy!” I hissed. “Stay away or you will be infected yourself!”

He took two more faltering steps backward, his brow furrowed. “Why are they not bound with cloths, then? Where are their sores?”

Another guardsman stepped around the corner, sicklesword drawn. Iltani, Nanaea, and I stood closer together. This one was still young but had cunning eyebrows and a scowl. He pointed his weapon directly at my heart, which was beating so hard, I was certain they could see it through my tunic.

“What are you doing with this tradesman and a poor gutter rat, noblewoman?”

“I’m…I’m taking them to the temple to pray. They’ll die soon of their illness. Leave us to our business.”

“No, get out of here. The Palace doesn’t need to be filled with disease.” He shooed us away from the corridor with a frown, but that would never do! We needed to be inside the corridor and on our way upstairs!

“They’ll die!” I growled. “Let us pass.”

Scowling, he advanced, holding his sicklesword in his barley stalk of an arm. And though it was thin, his arm did not shake as he pointed the weapon at my sternum.

“Stay away,” I told the guards, holding my hands out as if to protect them. “The flesh-eating disease will infect you if you breathe the air that they expel.” I eyeballed Iltani and understanding filled her eyes immediately.