Page 104 of A Queen's Shadow

No, she couldn’t.

Eventually, Ameera showed up with her food, a dish of chicken skewers slathered in a dark, sweet sticky sauce that smelled as divine as they tasted, and they set off.

Isla allowed them to drift a good distance away with a fair amount of weaving before she let out an aggravated huff. “Ugh, Goddess, I left my jacket by the bar.”

Jax swore, running his eyes over her body as if it would appear. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”

Isla put her hands up. “No, it’s fine. I’ve got it.”She ducked away before he could follow, knowing he’d be a bit slower weaving through the crowd with his less nimble body if he’d decided to follow, anyway.

Her jacket had thankfully still been beneath the bar when she approached. She excused herself as she slid a hand beneath the man who’d taken her seat, though he’d been too distracted by the other he’d been with, before going to the trash.

It had only been about ten minutes, and it seemed just as filled as it had been, but the crumpled flyer was gone. She’d watched him throw it in there, right?

“Looking for something?”

Isla whipped around, shocked to find Amalie, her arms folded with the leaflet ball in her hand. Had she been watching them from wherever she’d disappeared earlier?

Isla flashed her a befuddled look. “Youdug in the trash?”

Amalie tossed the paper at her. Isla smoothly caught it. “If you want to go, I’ll take you,” she said.

Suddenly, going didn’t seem like a good idea at all.

Isla unfurled the paper, reading over the creased surface. What could be so bad about this? “Why?”

Amalie’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “We brought you here for a good time, didn’t we?” She took a step closer to Isla, lowering her voice. “Just leave your guard dogs.”

* * *

A couple of hours later, Isla had left her “guard dogs”, but not far behind. Ameera, though hesitant, had been willing enough to go along with her plan.

“She wants you to what?”

“Leave you and go with her to this show. You’ve never heard of it?”

“No. What is it?”

“Something Jax doesn’t want me to go to.”

“Which means you only want to go more.”

“Exactly.”

“Kai will kill me if you get hurt.”

“Well, I don’t plan on getting hurt. Just distract him, then slowly move in our direction. I’ll leave you the flyer with the location; she’s bringing me anyway.”

“Fine.”

“Thanks, General.”

Isla subtly kept a hand on her blade as she followed Amalie to the western end of the island, away from some of the main attractions and writhing crowds. The alpha’s niece had thrown the hood of her cloak over her head, clearly wanting to remain hidden. Isla, without one and wanting to follow suit, had quickly purchased a straw hat from one of the closest vendors. Not the most fashionable, but it would do. She’d braided her hair and tucked it into the back of her jacket.

Her heart thundered in the growing silence as they approached a row of white and midnight-blue striped tents meant for shows or performers. They didn’t go inside any of them but instead went around. There had been one more set further behind them that all appeared blood-red in the darkness of the night.

A burly man stood at the tent flaps, his sharp eyes scanning flyers and allowing people inside.

Shit.Were those supposed to be a ticket?

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