Page 10 of The Uncrowned Prince

“Shouldnot. We have rules about that sort of thing.”

“Your rules seem insufficient.” Perhaps this was not quite the lawless wilderness she’d been taught to assume, but the traitors had indeed grown soft since they fled imperial shores. Drunkenness and filth ran rampant, men were allowed to assault women in the streets, and even their mages walked free.

At least… this one did.

Or if he did serve some unseen master, there was no visible evidence. No bracelets, no collars, no chains. No jewelry at all, actually, though his ears bore the marks of piercings. His gray eyes laughed at her scrutiny, and his wavy hair was just the right amount of tousled to appear deliberate. While his black coat hid a great deal, Karreya could tell that his slender form was deceptive. He’d carried her easily—a memory that brought her no end of annoyance—and those graceful, long-fingered hands displayed a surprising number of scars on their smooth, pale skin.

“What do you ask in trade?” Karreya asked abruptly, a bit unnerved by her own interest in this man and his secrets. Why did it matter what he was hiding when he had nothing to do with her errand? Why was she taking the time for this conversation and not simply stabbing him so he could never speak of having seen her?

His posture proclaimed a little too loudly that he was not a threat, even as his bright eyes and his uncontained magic screamed otherwise. He’d been kind to her for no reason, and there were few things in the world more suspicious than kindness. So why was she still standing there?

As if somehow sensing her skepticism, the man sighed and clasped his hands behind his head, leaving himself utterly vulnerable to attack. “Information,” he said calmly. “Just as you need something from my lands, I require something from yours.”

He was telling the truth again, and that, more than anything else, was likely to blame for her fascination. Such blunt honesty was her worst weakness, and compelled her to listen to his request as no number of flowery promises would have done.

Though she could not allow him to proceed without a warning. “If you ask me to betray my homeland, it will cost you more than simply my blade in your belly,” she told him icily.

“Oh?” He did not move, but somehow he seemed to be listening with his whole body. Seeing her with more than those piercing gray eyes. “And what price might I be expected to pay?”

It will cost you my respect, she almost told him. It was the only reward she could grant him for his honesty, and she did not want to have to take it back.

But she said neither of those things aloud, so the man named Niell shrugged as if unconcerned. “I’ve no intention of asking you to betray anything. I simply find myself in need of answers, and few imperial citizens are willing to linger on our shores.”

“And what of the friend you spoke of?”

The man laughed softly. “I never said he was a friend. Only that he came here from the Empire and I’ve known him for a very long time. I doubt we have ever exchanged more than two honest words in a row.”

So he admitted to being a liar. The knowledge disappointed her, though there was little reason why it should. All humans lied, even if only to themselves.

“And you still will not tell me his name?”

“I fear I do not know it.” It was not an untruth, but there was some complex emotion attached to that admission. Karreya could not identify it—that sort of thing had not been considered an important part of her training—but if pressed, she would have called it… grief.

He did not know his enemy’s name, and that brought himgrief. It was a mystery both strange and compelling, and Karreya wanted to know more. She wanted to accept his offer, if only to linger in the perplexing warmth of his company. She was accustomed to meeting people and then forgetting them, but this man burned too brightly to be forgotten.

It was almost frightening how strangely he affected her, and the very strength of her reaction warned her that she dared not risk it. Such emotions were a liability. And besides, she had no need of aid. Should anyone learn of her true goal, they would fail to understand—indeed, most would move land and sea to stand in her way—and failure was not an option.

“Your offer is unnecessary,” she said at last. “I require no assistance. The events of the evening have taught me that your people are both irrational and squeamish, so I will not be making the same mistakes again.”

Niell watched her for a moment with a curious expression, though it was quickly erased by a smile. “Then I wish you good fortune and a successful search.” He rose to his feet and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. “Should you be in need, you can always knock on my front door… though I don’t recommend coming any farther without a guide.” He winked. “Now, if there is nothing else, I will take it upon myself to show you out.”

So that was it then. Their association was at an end, and Karreya swallowed her conflicting instincts as he led the way out of the room, holding back the curtain for her before taking a meandering route through the detritus littering the floor of the warehouse beyond.

As he walked, he did not even turn his head, which left his back entirely open to attack. She could have killed him a thousand times before they reached the door, and she doubted he was unaware of it.

Was he that confident in his own abilities? Or had he made the unaccountable mistake of trusting her?

Or did he perhaps trust too much in his magical traps? She could see them, here and there, glittering on the edges of her vision, like the reflection of candlelight on a forest of ghostly blades.

The man who called himself Niell was indeed a mystery—educated and intelligent, with a sense of both power and purpose. But what decent purpose could he have, when he saw fit to hide in the shadows and haunt waterfront pubs with his magic and his questions and his piercing eyes?

He had rendered her immobile without seeming to expend much effort, so he was likely an enchanter of considerable skill. And yet he served no one, submitted to no master, preferring to lurk in the background and pursue his own agenda.

All things considered, she would do well to be wary if she ever encountered him again.

When they stood once more on the uneven cobbles of the street outside, Niell bowed deeply, a graceful movement better suited to the imperial court than the squalor of an Irian alleyway.

“It has been an unparalleled pleasure, my Lady Karreya. I wish you every success in your endeavors, and a pleasant journey home.”

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