Page 56 of Joined By Magic

She locked the door behind us. Not exactly subtle, but I doubted anyone was watching. I stripped off my coat, took a seat at my usual table, and tried not to fidget as she brought a man through from the back room. Around thirty and with sandy brown hair, he wore black canvas work trousers and a thick jumper. I wouldn’t have glanced twice at him on the street.

He gave me a broad smile, showing white teeth, and dropped into the seat opposite. “Fucking hell, she was right. It is you. I’m Alec.”

“Talia.” It seemed polite, even though he already knew who I was. He nodded in response.

“What do you think of it here? Alaria, I mean?”

I smiled. “I love it. How long have you been here? How did you get out of Atar?” I paused, aware I’d bombarded him. “Sorry, I don’t have time for small talk. I need to get back.”

His expression turned serious. “Of course, I understand. I don’t want to jeopardize you. I’ve been here two years. At home, I worked in the palace as a chef. A good job for a non-mage, but I got on the wrong side of a noble. Long story short, his daughter was involved.”

He grinned again, then shook his head before continuing. “It was stupid of me. Anyway, he was going to have my head. Until our friend in the palace”—he held up a hand—“don’t be asking me who, I can’t tell you while you’re still living with Adante. I’m sure you understand why. Anyway, he said he could make me disappear, permanently, if I wanted. Told me everyone at home would have to think I was dead. I jumped at the chance—I’d nothing left there anyway—and he got me over the border. The shield isn’t foolproof. There’s quite a few of us runaways here.”

I twisted my fingers together as I processed the information, along with my surprise at hearing the prince’s name spoken by a commoner. Adante. I rarely even thought it.

Alec’s story meshed with what I’d suspected. “Your friend. Is he still able to get people out? And could someone do something about this?” I pulled away the chunky bracelet that covered my wristband. “It tracks me.”

“Sure. I know a mage who’ll get that off you. And it’s easier to bring people out now your prince is gone. The king executed some of his top scientists, so the barrier’s getting patchy.”

“What?” Shock slammed into me. The prince chose his scientists based on ability, not their social rank. Some of them came from humble backgrounds by mage standards. Wiping them out seemed cruel and wasteful. “Why?”

He shrugged. “How should I know? Probably didn’t trust them. Anyway, the point is, it’s easier than ever to get people out. Katrin mentioned you had a sister, so I asked my friend about her. She’s fine.”

“Oh.” My hand flew to my mouth, and tears pricked the back of my eyes as a terrified knot in my chest loosened. A fear I’d carried so long I’d forgotten it was there, until it wasn’t. “Thank you.”

He leaned forward. “No problem. This must have been hard on you. My friend can get her out, I promise. And we’ll make new identities for the both of you.”

Gratitude weakened my limbs. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

He reached out and took my hand where it lay on the table. I jumped, shocked by the gesture. Instinctive anxiety rattled through me. What would the prince do? But I forced the fear down. What the prince thought of me, or anything else, wouldn’t be my concern soon. A weird mix of relief and crushing sadness tailed the realization.

“Talia, this is going to be perfect. Do you understand what we can do? We take the reward money from turning over Adante and funnel it right back into helping people escape Atar. It’s hilarious. We’ll use the king’s own money to fuck him over.”

I stiffened, and a cold stone dropped into my gut. I pulled my fingers from Alec’s grip. “No.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got it all planned.” He reached into his pocket and pressed a small plastic vial into my hand. “You slip this into a drink. It’ll knock him out for a day. Then you get out, I call it in, and boom, we’re rich. They don’t give a shit about you. No one will bother hunting for you once they’ve got Adante, trust me.”

I swallowed down my panic. “It’s not that. I don’t want to turn him in. His father . . .” His father was a monster, but I wasn’t about to spill the prince’s secrets to this stranger. I sat up straight and set the vial back down on the table with a sharp thump. “I’m not going to sell him out.”

Alec’s face creased in confusion. “What? He’s a cruel bastard. You’d know better than anyone. He deserves whatever he gets, and we need that cash.”

I took a deep breath and tried to find the words I needed. “You don’t understand. I don’t hate him. I just want to stay in Alaria, and I want my sister safe. If the king has him, he’ll kill him. I can’t do that.”

Alec stared at me, stone-faced, then shook his head in disgust. The friendly expression dropped. “Fuck. Katrin said you were smart, not some silly little girl.”

Girl.

I saw red. “Don’t fucking speak to me like that. I shouldn’t have come. I knew you’d be chasing the reward.”

He slammed his hand down on the table, and I fought back a flinch. “You think he cares about you? I need that money to help Ataran refugees. When people come through, they need fake papers, food and clothes, somewhere to live. It’s not fucking free. How were you planning to pay for it all?”

“I can get money.” I tried to calm my rage. This could still work. “I can pay.”

“Right. I bet Adante leaves piles of cash lying around, doesn’t he? Most refugees aren’t that lucky.”

I balled my hands into fists. “Look, I’ll pay what it costs, plus some extra. Whatever I can get. Are we still on?”

He studied me for a long moment, then shook his head. “No. You think I’m going to let you run back to Adante and warn him he’s in danger? Forget it.”

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