Now he had to get back to the port and on that ship before it sailed away.
He crawled out from under the table and stood, brushing dust off his thobe. ‘Thank you for that.’
‘Now are you going to tell me where you’re from?’
He looked around before replying. ‘Gruisea.’
She gave a knowing nod. ‘That explains why they were searching the ship.’ Waddling over to the table he had emerged from, she picked up a garment made of rough wool and handed it to him. ‘Put this on.’
He opened it up and looked at it.
‘Fisherman’s robe,’ she explained, looking him up and down. ‘Help you blend in.’
He gave her a tight smile. ‘Thank you.’ Then he slipped it on.
She stepped back to see him properly. ‘Much better.’
Tariq reached into a pocket to retrieve some coins to pay her, but she waved him off. ‘Any enemy of the holy warriors is a friend of mine.’ She winked. ‘Don’t you have a boat to catch?’
With a quick nod of gratitude, Tariq left the shop, stepping into the bustling laneway and heading back the way he’d come. He needed to get aboard that ship.
Chapter 4
Aisha’s fingers were turning white on the ship’s railing as she searched the crowded dock, her gaze darting from face to face. Every second that passed without seeing him made her grip a little tighter. She couldn’t go to Gruisea without the prince. And if she got off the ship, she didn’t know how she would get back to the palace.
‘Where is he?’ she said quietly to the guard beside her. ‘I can’t see him.’
The crew was already raising the sails, the canvas snapping as it caught the breeze. Ropes creaked and pulleys groaned as sailors shouted instructions to one another.
‘He’ll make it,’ the guard said confidently, though it was clear from his rigid jaw that he was concerned.
Aisha looked at him properly. ‘What’s your name?’
He pulled his gaze from the dock to look at her. ‘Kaidon.’
‘I really hope you’re right, Kaidon.’
Seconds dragged by.
‘There,’ Kaidon said suddenly, pointing to a man moving through the crowd.
Aisha strained her eyes, not seeing him.
‘In the fisherman’s cloak,’ Kaidon said.
She narrowed her gaze on the hooded figure with his head bowed, moving purposefully towards the ship. ‘It seems he stopped to do some shopping.’
‘Pull anchor!’ Kaidon called to the crew.
As quickly as relief arrived, it vanished when Aisha spotted three holy warriors shadowing the prince. They assessed him carefully. If they stopped him, for even a moment, it would all unravel.
‘He’s being followed,’ she told Kaidon.
He looked out, then slammed his hand against the rail. ‘Gods damn it.’
Before she could second-guess herself, Aisha tugged a filthy woollen blanket from a pile of cargo stacked near the railing and threw it over her head and shoulders. The stench of old fish and mildew made her throat close in protest.
‘What are you doing?’ Kaidon asked with an edge in his voice that suggested he already knew.
