Page 31 of Wicked Thieves
“Why not?” Adan’s answer came with deathly calm, balancing her anger for once.
“Because. I don’t want to,notthat. I’ll do anything you ask of me, I’ll take all the goading and condescension you have to send my way. I’ll even take you sending me sprawling into the ground. But I won’t do that.” Anelize had made a promise years ago that she would never again use her gift for the sake of taking someone’s life. She had done it before, and it had cost her more than anyone would ever know.
“Then there we have it,” Adan murmured, a flash of disappointment—perhaps?—in those dark eyes. “That is your limit. If you won’t consider taking a life, then what makes you think you’ll be able to defend yourself when it eventually comesdown to it? Because itwillcome, Anya. Death comes for us all, and it is as quick and unforgiving as you can imagine. Or if the king has any say in it, it will be slow and excruciating, enough to drive you into madness. It’s only a matter of which of the two the saints will grant us. You don’t truly seem to understand the urgency of needing to master your gift any more than you understand the meaning of what it is we are trying to accomplish.”
“I do! I’m trying. You haven’t exactly given me much grace in the last few hours either.”
“Count yourself lucky that ‘hours’ are what I gave you. Watchmen could burst through these doors at any moment if they catch a whiff of all the Vedrans hiding here, and you’d barely be able to stop two of them—if that—before they were upon all the children, Henry, and Zara,you.Tryingisn’t going to save your life. You blame your father for never teaching you how to control your power, but was the urge there to begin with? Or did you let yourself grow weak intentionally?”
Anelize glared at him, holding up a finger in warning.“Careful.I may not have the skills you wish of me, but I could hurt you if I wanted to.”
Adan scoffed before he turned on his heel and headed for the door that led back into the tavern. “If you could, I’d gladly thank you for it.”
Fuming at his dismissal, she stalked after him. “So, that’s it? You’re just going to give up on teaching me anything of use because I wouldn’t try to hurt you. You truly are something.”
He suddenly spun to face her making her stumble to a halt before she bumped straight into his chest. Adan sneered, fury reflecting off his eyes as he looked at her. “I know you think what we do is pointless. A fruitless war that will end with all ofus burned to ashes, forgotten to time and history as it’s rewritten by spoiled nobles and pious kings who want to be seen as gods by the rest of the world. Maybe you’re right. Or maybe you’ve allowed yourself to be just as blinded by the world set out before you as the rest of them. You want to join us? That ends now or save us all the trouble of wasting our time on you.”
Anelize watched him as he stormed out of the stables, slamming the door behind him. His words a resounding echo left behind to haunt her.
14
By the time Anelize stepped out of the stables, the sound of voices in the common room filled the tavern. Steering clear of any curious eyes, Anelize quickly wandered up the steps to the third floor.
She stopped when she reached the landing and heard children murmuring from around the corner to her right. Followed by the sound of a deep, yet soft spoken voice. Curious, she followed the sounds until she spotted an opened doorway that led into a room. Five small children of varying ages sat on the floor, surrounding Castian as he read from a book on his lap. Leaning against the doorway, she crossed her arms and listened.
He told them a tale of mythical creatures she knew of from her childhood. Ones of theJidovi, the kind giants that were often mistaken for mountains amongst the Salistane Peaks. And theiele,mischievous spirits that enchanted wanderers under the cover of night, luring them through their honey-sweet songs into the forest. Painting illusions that stemmed from their deepest desires as they danced the night away. Only for the wanderers to awaken saddened once they realized they’d merely wandered off in their sleep.
The prince’s pallid complexion was replaced by his bright eyes, his joy unmistakable as he noticed the children were enraptured by his storytelling. He made silly faces andmorphed his voice into different cadences. When he made a particularly absurd face, the children all started to laugh.
Luca, the one who sat the closest to Castian, said, “Tell us another one!”
“Another one? But I just told you the fifth one tonight,” Castian mused.
“Another one, Cas. Please!” the children around him chimed, a few rushing over to climb onto his shoulders.
Castian laughed, nothing but warmth in his voice. He glanced over the children surrounding him before his eyes met hers, before his cheeks gained a slight pink tinge. He cleared his throat as he closed the book and got to his feet. Leaving with the promise to find them another story to read them, he slowly stepped out into the hall despite the children’s protests.
“Hello, Miss Yarrow. Are you well?” he asked when he joined her in the hall.
“Anya is fine.” When he frowned, she clarified, “You can call me Anya. Everyone does.”
The prince smiled. “Anya it is, then. I heard you were training all day in the stables with Adan. I take it you two managed to come to an understanding after last night?”
She gave him a flat smile. “I don’t believe that is the word I would use to describe what transpired between us. I’m sure Adan wouldn’t mind if someone else took up the responsibility of teaching me.”
They wandered down the hall to where she spotted another set of doors on either side. Slowing in her stride, she noted that there was a slight limp in the prince’s gait.
Not noticing where her attention had wandered as she glanced back up at him, Castian said, “I’m sure Idris wouldn’t mind teaching you. I’m sure he’d love the opportunity to takeon a pupil, anyone to corrupt with his ways. As for Adan, I wouldn’t take it to heart. We all have our reasons for worrying about the stakes at play, some more than others.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” she said, surprised by the prince’s sage words. “Have you…known them long?”
Castian paused and turned to face her. He was surprisingly tall, lithe for his age, as if he had practiced all his life to present himself with poise. Every bit a noble. But the usual condescension she’d witnessed from the nobility within the upper districts was nowhere to be found upon him.
“They were lower ranked guards, until they were conferred titles of Watchmen by Aeric, once be became captain. I’m sure you can guess why that is by now. Then they became my escorts during my time within the castle for a few years until we all found ourselves here. Somehow, I managed to leave the walls of the castle, only to end up behind the walls of this tavern, all for the sake of beingsafe, if stagnant.”
She watched him as a serene sort of sadness came over him, leaving her to wonder what he must have been through to end up amongst Vedrans and rebels.
A few children poked their heads out from another opened doorway curiously before ducking back inside. As they passed, Anelize saw them climbing into bunks tucked snugly together. Curling up beneath the covers as one of the older children urged them off to bed.
