I don’t know why his voice has such an effect on me, but it tugs at me and makes me speak. “The slavers assign a value to everything,” I say. “So if you eat, it’s added to your debt. If you sleep, you owe for the time. If you need a shirt. Boots.Anything. So even as you work to erase what you owe, more is added. And once your debt is sold, there are no standards. You can be caged. Chained. Punished if you disobey.” I hesitate. “Because you’re not a person, you’re a possession, and everyone is determined to get their money’s worth.”
As soon as the words escape my mouth, I can’t believe I said so much.
To the king of Incendar of all people.
I expect him to ask why I was sold to the slavers at all, and I brace for the question. But he doesn’t.
“You earned your freedom,” he says.
I glance over. “I did.”
“And you learned to be a killer.”
He says this so frankly, without judgment, very unlike the way Jory ever mentions my work with the Hunter’s Guild. It reminds me of the way I challenged him earlier.You’re a killer, too.
So I nod. “Once you’re marked, it’s difficult to find work.”
His eyes flick to my cheek. “Thosearefrom your time with the slavers, then.”
I glance at Jory and keep my voice very low. “If you escape, you earn a mark when they catch you. It’s a warning to future buyers—but also a permanent sign of what you once were. Most people just want to serve their debt and be done. Once you’re marked, you can’t. Everyone will always know. You’re questioned everywhere. It’s impossible to hide.”
“You escaped seven times?”
“Yes. Well...I wascaughtseven times. But once I had one mark, I saw no reason to avoid more.”
He regards me silently for a moment, and his expression shifts, as if this answer surprises him.
“When you ran,” he says, “where did you go?”
I don’t intend to answer, because it’s too personal, too close to my heart. But my eyes flick to Jory before I can help it.
“Ah,” the king says, drawing out the word.
I flush. “We grew up together. I lived in the palace until I was sixteen.”
“You love her.”
“No. I...” The words freeze on my tongue, and again I think of the moment I held her against me in bed—after insisting that we should be apart. “No.”
“You do.”
I shrug a little. “She’s the princess. There could never be anything between us.”
“But she adores you. I can see it.”
The words make my heart thump, and I nearly press a hand to my chest. I remember all the times I escaped my captors just to flee to her window. The number of times I wished I could hide in her wardrobe forever, letting her slip me pastries and cups of tea before the servants would find me. Sometimes I’d be injured, and I wouldn’t want her to see. I’d sit on the ledge of her windowsill, invisible in the darkness, watching her read by candlelight or stand up to Dane or tuck pins into her hair.
“And you adoreher,” the king says.
This I can answer without hesitation. “I do.”
“Then protect her, Asher. Flee these Hunters on your own. With fireat my hand, no one will be able to draw near. I have my best soldiers with me, and I trustthem. We will find the source of these orders and take action. Surely you know that we have the force to accomplish it. She will be warm and safe, and you will be well away. I had no quarrel with you before this morning, and I have none with you now.”
I stare at him, and I hate that every word ofthissounds as earnest as everything else he’s said.
He looks right back at me. “She said you are her friend. She willneedfriends. Head east, and cross the border into Incendar at the northernmost point, near where the ocean meets the cliffs. There is a guard station there, and if you claim sanctuary from the king, they will bring you to me.” He pauses, and his voice goes very quiet. “We may have our faults, but I can promise you this: there are no slavers in Incendar. I would offer you sanctuary, Asher. I swear it.”
I swear it.My heart pounds again, and my breathing feels shallow. I glance across at the princess again, and to my surprise, she’s half sitting up, watching us with parted lips.
