I don’t care. The more they dismiss me, the less likely they’ll be able to figure out who I really am.
The thought makes me slow my steps for a moment.Who I really am.Who is that anymore? I’m hiding so they don’t see Sabina, the Princess of Iskvaland. But I’m not her. I’m a refugee from Vailstad turned rebel, who lived in the Point, the poorest slum in Aurorium. I’m nobody. But I’m pretending to be somebody.
And I can’t be seen as either right now.
A few carriages pass by, sending sprays of water up onto the sidewalk. I avoid most of them, but one hits a huge puddle, and I’m splashed with mud and water. It’s not like I can get any wetter.
I recognize the leaning structures and charred remains of the Point. Half the street burned down the night my brothers died.
I swallow hard. It’s the first time I’ve been back since that night. I don’t even know if anyone still meets in the usual places.
I avoid looking at the blackened, crumbling remains of the apartments and shops. Thankfully, Red’s Tavern is still standing.
I duck inside the dark and dingy building. Patrons look over to see who walked in, but they dismiss me instantly. I’m dripping on the floor, and my once-expensive dress now looks like something a peasant would wear. Maybe the rain isn’t such a bad thing.
I’m shivering as I approach the bar, but I stop before I reach a stool because the woman who just came out of the kitchen, two plates of food in her hands, is Anya. My best friend. The one I left behind to go on this insane mission.
She freezes, her expression pure shock, when she recognizes me. It only takes her a moment to reset her face and continue toward the table where she drops off the food. She smiles and jokes with the customers, then turns toward the bartender. “Can you grab two more ales for these gentlemen? I’m going to take a quick break.”
The bartender goes to work filling the mugs without question.
Anya walks over to me. “Taylan?”
I nod.
“Oh gods, what happened?” she asks.
Several people can see our interaction. “Is there somewhere we can go?”
She takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen. We pass by the warm fires and continue into a large storage room. She closes the door behind us.
“What is this, Taylan? You leave me a note saying you have to do something and that you may never see me again, then you show up like this?”
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“No.” She holds her hand up in front of me. “Do not lie to me. Do not give me any excuses. You tell me the truth. Exactly what is going on. And then I will help you. Because I’m your best friend. Even if you shouldn’t have left without explanation. Without a goodbye.” Tears glisten in her eyes.
My vision gets blurry from my own tears because she’s not throwing me out. She’s not walking away from me. She’s mad, but I earned that. I don’t deserve the kindness she’s promised without even knowing the trouble I’m in.
“Knowing could get you killed,” I tell her.
“We both know it’s a miracle I’m even alive,” she says. “Tell me. Everything. Do not spare me. You owe me that much.”
I open the door a crack and peer out to make sure nobody’s listening. An older woman stands in the kitchen, stirring a pot over the fire. When she’s done, she sits in a chair near the fire and picks up her knitting.
I close the door. “Alright.”
Anya takes my hands in hers, then nods encouragingly. “Start at the beginning.”
So I do. I tell her about Lee coming to me, about seeing the dead princess. About agreeing to take her place. Then I tell her everything that happened in the castle and how I still can’t find a way to kill the emperor. I tell her about the relics, and thegifting ceremony, and Katherine. Everything spills out until I have nothing left.
She’s quiet a long while, then she looks at me. “I know how to kill the emperor.”
“What?” How could she know that?
“You sure you want to go through with it? I could get you out of here. Get you on a ship. You could just disappear,” she offers. “But Lee’s right. As much as I hate to admit it. This is probably our best chance to end their rule. It might be another five hundred years before someone gets this close again. They already dismissed the possibility that you are a spy. If they didn’t connect you to Katherine, they don’t want to see it. They want to see a docile princess.”
She’s right. And I came here to end them. “I want them gone. I want them dead.”
