Kaidon rode up beside Tariq. ‘Got a plan for getting past our new friends over there?’
‘I’m thinking.’ Tariq looked around. ‘First, we need to get the princess safely aboard that ship. I’ll draw them away.’
Aisha whipped her head in his direction. ‘What about you?’
‘I’ll follow once you’re aboard.’
She looked far from convinced. ‘If they catch you?—’
‘Your sister will have no difficulty finding you another prospect,’ he finished.
Her face fell at his words, and Kaidon looked away.
‘Get her on the ship and set sail immediately,’ Tariq told him. ‘Don’t delay.’
Aisha shook her head. ‘Your Highness?—’
He dismounted and handed Kaidon the reins of his horse. ‘Go.’
Kaidon hesitated before joining the other guards in ushering Aisha into the shadows to wait. Meanwhile, Tariq lowered his headscarf and walked straight towards the ship, confident he would be spotted before reaching it.
And he was right.
The two warriors stilled to watch him for a moment, then conversed.
‘Halt!’ shouted one of the men.
It was time for a little game of cat and mouse. He glanced their way, then pivoted in the opposite direction.
‘I said halt!’
I heard you, arsehole.
Tariq broke into a run, and the chase began.
He darted into the busiest alleyway he could find, hoping to blend in with the crowd. But that plan fell flat when all the shop owners stopped their conversations to watch him. He definitely stood out in his foreign clothes. Behind him, he heard the shouts of the warriors in pursuit, prompting him to turn down the next alleyway and dash into one of the shops. A woman seated at a small table looked up at him in surprise.
‘Which way did he go?’ he heard one of the warriors shout—too close for comfort.
The woman looked past him, in the direction of the voice. ‘I don’t want any trouble.’
‘Me neither.’ He stepped up to the table. ‘I just need a place to hide until they pass.’
Her eyes narrowed on him. ‘Where’s your accent from?’
He didn’t have time for questions. ‘Please.’
The woman looked him up and down, then let out a resigned breath. ‘Get under the table over there. Quickly now.’
He dove beneath a cloth-covered table half a second before the warriors stepped into the shop, looking around.
‘Good afternoon,’ the woman said. ‘Looking for something for your wives?’ She picked up a brass trinket tree and held it up for them to see. ‘To hold her rings.’
Tariq watched through a gap in the fabric as the warriors stared at the item in her hand before looking around the shop. He held his breath as their gazes brushed over the table where he was hiding. After a few painfully long seconds, they left the shop without saying a word.
Releasing the breath he’d been holding, Tariq waited a few seconds before poking his head out.
‘It’s all right,’ the woman said. ‘They’ve gone.’
