Page 73 of Heir

“Quil Farrar,” the man said, his Ankanese uninflected. “The Martial crown prince himself. Long have I wished to look upon you.”

He wore no markings of rank, but the way his soldiers fell back, the way he walked told Quil that he wasn’t some no-name officer. The air itself seemed to crackle around the man.

Quil strained against the wind, breaking free for a moment before a tendril of white metal unfurled from the figure’s hand and wrapped around Quil’s shoulders.

“Hold still,” the man said. “Let me look at—”

A thin blade flew out of the dark and sank into the man’s shoulder. He hissed, flinching as three more whipped past his head, impaling two of the soldiers behind him.

Sirsha’s face appeared at the end of the lane, more daggers flying from her hands. “Move, I’m covering!”

The wind faltered, and Quil and Sufiyan bolted into the alley, Sirsha and Arelia on their heels. The Jaduna overtook them quickly, and they followed her as she cut through a garden, vaulted over a wall lined with glass shards, and raced through muddy, winding streets before stopping in a narrow space between two stables. Within, animals moved. Arelia wrinkled her nose at the tang of horse dung.

“There are more patrols than before,” Sufiyan said after catching his breath. “Now they know we’re here. And we don’t have a ship.”

Quil turned to Sirsha. “Thank you,” he said. “Consider us even. Good luck with the hunt.” He glanced at Sufiyan. “We of all people hope you succeed. Though—” His gaze dropped to the bracelet she’d stolen. “I’d like that back.”

“You can’t leave.” She looked at him as if he’d suggested she stab herself in the eye. “We’re Adah now—soul halves. It’s a deeper bond than a simple engagement. Until our oath is established, we must stay close to one another, or it will feel like our bones are on fire.”

“How close?” Quil asked, alarmed.

“In Jaduna lore,no farther than a cloud cat ranges to hunt,” Sirsha said. “Practically, that’s a mile or two.”

For a moment, he didn’t understand. Then it sank in.Bleeding, burning skies.Why had he let Sufiyan talk him into saving Sirsha? And why, the one time he carried out a plan with no forethought, was this the result?

“You might have mentioned that the words of fidelity meantchainingmyself to you—” Quil tried to pull the necklace off. It wouldn’t break.

“R’zwana would have killed me on the spot! No Jaduna would get engaged without explaining the Adah oath. Besides, you knew our treaties backward and forward. I assumed you understood the oath, too.”

“I—” Quil raked a hand through his rain-soaked hair, looking from a wide-eyed Arelia to Sufiyan, grimacing in sympathy. “You know who I am,” he finally said to Sirsha. “I can’t be saddled with—with—”

With a tracker who is far too intriguing to be good for me.He didn’t say it, but from Sirsha’s expression, it was clear she assumed the worst.

“I didn’taskto be rescued, mighty prince,” she snarled. “Especially not by afiancé. You saved my life but dragged me into yours in the process. I didn’twantto say the words of fidelity. But it’s done, so unless you want to enjoy the pain and suffering that comes with trying to outwit a Jaduna oath coin, you’re stuck with me until we can find a Raani to break the link between us.”

Relief swept through Quil. “It’s not forever, then,” he said. “Wecanbreak it.”

“Yes.” Sirsha rolled her eyes. “Eventually. And the longer we spend together, the farther apart we can get without causing ourselves any misery. For now, I’ll come with you. Don’t look so horrified. I’m good with a knife. I know the Southern Continent better than any of you. And I know someone who can help us get out of Jibaut. If we ever stop talking long enough to leave this alley.”

As Quil studied her, his instinct tingled. The desire to use his magic, to understand her through her thoughts and memories, felt as powerful as the need to breathe when trapped underwater. He half lifted his hand, ready to touch her, to give in.

And then he remembered he’d be taking—stealing like a low criminal—and forced the magic to the back of his mind.

“You’re hiding something,” he said.

“I’m hiding many things, prince,” she said. “Now that we’re affianced, you’ll learn all about them, I’m sure.” Sirsha ran a finger down his chest, dark eyes fathomless as she looked up at him. Her pine-and-sky scent filled his senses and her gaze dropped to his lips.

For a moment, she was all he could see. Then she smiled and he remembered who he was dealing with.

“I hear another patrol coming.” She shifted back to look at Sufiyan and Arelia. “You want to get out of here, right? Follow me.”

Kade was not happy to see Sirsha. Perhaps because she had a knife to his throat. Or because Sirsha had punched him in the face about three seconds after breaking into his house—something Quil was sure he found as satisfying as she did.

Now, wild-eyed and panicked, Kade looked around the room as if for an escape. Quil took in the high windows, velvet settees, and intricately carved tables covered in rare books and scrolls. Pretty. But poorly designed for a quick exit, unless Kade wanted to defenestrate himself. Quil wasn’t inclined to stop him if he tried.

“You’re going to procure horses and supplies for me and my friends,” Sirsha informed Kade. “You’ll do it without making a fuss, or I’ll hold your eyelids open as Reli here burns your life’s work to cinders.”

Kade released a short, panicked bark of laughter. “You wouldn’t.”

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