“Venn is a royal bodyguard,” Vera bit back. “He could kill you both.”
“Doubtful. Especially when I hold your life in my hands.”
That was a fair point. She couldn’t be a hostage when Venn found them. She needed to get away. She just wasn’t sure how to do that, since her first attempt had failed. There was a small dagger sheathed against her leg, if she could find a way to reach it.
She needed an opening. A distraction.
She needed to keep them talking.
“Clearly you’re afraid of him,” she said. “Otherwise you would have struck sooner.”
“He wasn’t what held us back,” Jahdi said.
Vera snorted. “I don’t believe that. You’ve been trailing us since Krid? That’s been weeks.”
“Not trailing you,” Tariq growled. “Huntingyou.”
“Tariq knew you’d be headed to Duvan,” Jahdi said. “And that you only had one guard. He knew the path you’d take, so he took his time recruiting some help.”
“You?”
“And others.” Jahdi shot a look to Tariq. “Do we owe them a cut?”
“No,” Tariq bit out. “They left us.” His hold flexed on Vera, digging into the shallow cut on her side. “They grew frustrated when I couldn’t find you. You kept leaving the road—picked up some brats as well, which slowed you down. My men didn’t think you were worth spending more time on.”
“She’s as pretty as you said,” Jahdi chimed in. “It’s a blessing from the fates that we spotted you coming out of that filthy camp.”
Tariq grunted. “We’ve been shadowing you all evening, waiting for the perfect moment.” His hold tightened once more, and this time she hissed in pain. Hot breath ghosted over her ear as he ducked his head beside hers, and a shudder raked down her spine as his lips touched her skin. “Before you go to the slavers, I’m going to taste you first. And I can promise you one thing, Vera—you won’t enjoy it.”
Chapter 16
Venn
Alittle girl’s shrill scream echoed off the cobblestones and chilled Venn’s blood. He knew—fates,he knew—it was Sarah. He dropped the horse’s reins and bolted from the stable, leaving Finn and the horse behind.
He skidded to a stop in the street, his gut twisting.
The street was empty, other than some stacked crates. There was no sign of Sarah, or Vera.
“Sarah?” He darted down the street, his heart lodged in his throat as he searched every shadow.No, please, no . . .
Another scream jerked him toward a dark alley, where Sarah stood in the shadows, crying. Rebecca whimpered on the ground beside her.
Vera was gone.
Panic slammed into his chest, stealing his breath. He darted into the alley and dropped to a crouch in front of Sarah. He gripped her narrow shoulders. “Where’s Vera? What happened?”
The girl stared at him, her face flushed and tears rolling down her soft cheeks. “G-gone. They took her.”
Venn forced his hold to remain gentle and his tone level. “Where did they go?”
Sarah pointed down the alley, her hand shaking. “There were two of them. They had knives.”
Finn had moved to stand beside him. Venn grabbed the boy’s hand and placed Sarah’s in his. “Stay with your sisters,” he ordered. “Don’t leave this spot—I’ll be back soon.”
Finn jerked out a nod, fear sparking in his eyes.
Venn had to push that aside as he ran down the alley. He had to believe the children would be safe while he went after Vera.
