Jax lets go of my hand. “Pay him.”
I sigh, wondering if this is a mistake. But I drop three coins in the boy’s palm.
Bailey wastes no time. His fingers close around the silver, and without a backward glance, he bolts.
We weave through the tourney crowds again, but the press of people isn’t as thick now that the arena competitions have begun. Bailey is small and nimble, darting between people well ahead of us. I lose track of him a few times, and I swear under my breath, but then he’ll pop out from behind a vendor’s stall or from behind a wooden post. Every now and again, the crowd in the arena will roar or groan, interspersed with wild clapping or the stomping of boots on the risers. There must be a sword fight now because the clash of steel echoes over everything.
I haven’t seen Malin, Sephran, or Leo at all. A twinge of worry tugs at my heart.
“This is probably a mistake,” I say to Jax.
“Probably,” he agrees.
We’ve walked halfway around the tourney now, and I’m beginning to wonder where Bailey is leading us. But eventually we near the stables, because the scent of hay and horse sweat begins to overwhelm the reek of spoiled ale and the smoked beef of the food stalls.
And then, right there, a cold breeze whips through the air. It’s brisk and sudden and gone so quickly that I almost wonder if I imagined it.
My magic recognizes it, however.A scraver.
I nearly stop short in the aisle. It takes everything I have to keep the sparks and stars from surging in my blood, sending my own magic flaring wide to find the source.
Jax grabs my arm. “Did you feel that?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it—”
“Yes.” I peer after Bailey, but he’s still bounding ahead, his brown hair nearly disappearing in the crowd. If we lose the boy, I’ll figure out a new plan, but right now, we need to wait. I need toknow.
Jax searches my expression. I stand and listen to the sounds from the arena, feeling the heavy humidity in the air pressing down. There were dozens of scravers attacking the Crystal Palace last month, and there were rumors of others attacking in Emberfall. Ironrose Castle was braced for scraver attacks— would word have reached Gaulter? Would they have known to be wary?
But then darker thoughts curl through my head. I remember the way they kept Nakiis on a chain, making him fight battle after battle. I’ve seen the worst parts of humanity. I know what people are capable of when they feel righteous. Could Journ have another scraver here? Would the people of Gaulter be all too happy to have another scraver that they could torment in the arena, after all the scravers had done?
As we stand there, another cold breeze whips past us, lifting a tendril of Jax’s hair.
He’s watching my face so carefully. “Is it Nakiis?” he says softly.
“No,” I say— and I’m surprised at the second pulse of worry in my heart. I haven’t seen or heard from Nakiis since that day the king wasattacked. “But I don’t recognize the magic at all. There were so many scravers attacking the Crystal Palace. I have no idea who it is.”
I glance after Bailey, but the boy is gone.
Silver hell.I frown. I heave a sigh and run a rough hand through my hair. Maybe this is all pointless.
Jax gives my arm a tug. “Come on. He went that way.”
I yield to his touch, because he’s right, we should keep moving. There are mysteries to solve, and I don’t have anywhere near enough clues yet. But as we stride among the people again, his hand gives my arm a quick squeeze.
I look over, and Jax gives me a smile. “It’s notallbad,” he says.
There’s a note in his voice that I remember from when I was a recruit, that naive eagerness for adventure that’s eventually whittled away by the grimness of reality. My cynical side wants to scoff, because experience tells me we’ll probably finish the night in a worse place than we started. But Jax has faced his own dose of reality, and more than once. It’s a big part of why Prince Rhen sent him along at all.
So I just say, “Tell me if you still think that in an hour.”
I expect him to scowl, because that’s allIfeel like doing. Instead, he laughs. Then, to my absolute shock, he hooks an arm around my neck and pulls me close. It’s brotherly, soldierly— but also shockingly intimate, because a moment later, I feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek. For an instant I think he’s going to kiss me right there in the walkway of the tourney, and I’m shocked at how abruptly my entire mind forgets literallyeverythingI’m supposed to care about. There’s only Jax and the weight of his arm against my neck.
“As long as we’re together in an hour,” he says against my jaw, “I’ll still think it.”
My heart pounds. If I turn my head, our lips will meet.
