Page 62 of Vilest Things
“What!”
The seated employee spins too fast. Just as Bibi is leaning over to set the rice down, his elbow knocks into her, and the bowl goes flying. It isn’t as bad as it could be. Yilas lunges forward to catch the bowl before it smashes to the ground. Half the rice stays inside.
“Oh no!” Bibi cries.
“You’re fine, don’t worry.” The siblings are quick to grab a tissue and scoop up the discarded rice. Bibi extends her tray, and the brother—Matiyu—places the tissues on it.
“My fault,” he says. “Thank you.” To Yilas, he adds, “I’ll search further. Maybe I can find more before tonight.”
Yilas nods. While Bibi moves on, dropping the tissues into the trash can in the corner, she keeps track of which direction the woman is going. She counts a few seconds. Then, she circles back to the memory stick, plucks it out, and exits the surveillance room with her tray beneath her arm. She’s supposed to find a new body now, make a quick exit out. She slips the memory stick into her pocket.
Around the next corner, she catches up with Yilas.
“Hello.”
Though Yilas turns to look, her stride doesn’t slow. Her bangs are dyed purple, nudging into the green of her eyes at every small movement of her head.
“Can I help you?”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard a bit of that conversation back there,” Bibi says, keeping up with Yilas’s pace. “When you saidCalla, I don’t suppose you were talking about Her Highness Princess Calla, were you?”
Yilas furrows her brow. “That’s none of your business.”
“Come on,” Bibi whines. “Do you know if she’s single? I only want to ask if she would go for a drink with me.”
“She—what?”
The look that overtakes Yilas’s face is full of such absurd disbelief that she forgets to be suspicious. Bibi is in.
“I suppose it’s fine if not.” Bibi sighs. “Maybe you would like to go for a drink instead?”
“For a—no!” Yilas splutters. “I have a girlfriend.”
“Oh. A shame.”
Yilas glances over her shoulder, as though she’s checking whether anyone can overhear their conversation. The corridors around surveillance tend not to be busy. Nobles don’t like how loud the wires are. They’ll steer clear unless there’s something they need.
“Who are you?” Yilas asks. She’s recovered her hard expression, but it’stoo late. She’s already confirmed to Bibi that she is in contact with the princess. “Your eyes. They’re familiar.”
Bibi shrugs. “Black eyes aren’t uncommon.”
“Don’t tell me you’re related to the king,” Yilas continues pressing. Perhaps she aims to redirect the conversation. Scrub over what she admitted and hope that Bibi didn’t take note. “I didn’t think His Majesty had any more relatives.”
“No. I’m not related to August Shenzhi.”
Bibi slides a note out of her sleeve and passes it to Yilas. The moment Yilas takes it, hesitantly, Bibi stops walking and pivots. She’s needed in the east wing. New body. New mission.
“For you. Consider it, would you?”
CHAPTER 21
After the attack, Otta is unusually quiet through the remaining carriage ride.
Anton doesn’t notice at first, and in all honesty, he’s busy enough trying to decipher what the fuck just happened. The delegation rides frantically through Leysa Province, aiming for Lankil Province across the long Jinzi Bridge before nightfall. Their original plan for the evening was to turn west and cross between provinces, where they could find lodging at the house that Councilmember Diseau owns in Janton Province. Given the possibility there were more attackers in the vicinity, though, it felt worthwhile to travel north quickly rather than stay in the area.
They’re almost to the Jinzi River. Anton risks a glance through the window. He catches flashes of movement, but they’re going at a pace fast enough to render riders and horses blurry with the burgeoning night. The sky is awash with deep orange—the horizon’s setting sun slowly suppressed by the burgeoning dark.
He should have swung the sword.
