“You were right about that,” she says. “It was delicious.”
“Of course I was.”
She laughs. “Are you always so arrogant?”
“Me? Arrogant?” I fake hurt in my tone. “Well what about you back there at the bathhouse?” I raise the pitch of my voice to mimic her higher one. “Don’t you know who I am?”
To my surprise, she colors and looks away. “I am not sure what I was thinking.”
I study her face, but she refuses to look at me again. What is she hiding? “Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“You’re not from here, are you? You sound like you’re from the palace or something.”
Now she looks around, her eyes wide and frightened. “How did you know?”
I almost let my jaw drop open. And then I cover my surprise. “It’s obvious,” I say casually, hoping she’ll say more.
“It is?”
“Oh yes.”
She sighs. “Well here I was, thinking I could spend a night of freedom and no one would know who I am.”
Wait. I tip my head to one side. “And who are you exactly? Just to be clear.”
“The solha.”
I just about choke on my own spit. The solha! Not a chance in hell. And then I realize she’s messing with me. Teaching me a lesson for acting so cocky.
I slap my forehead, laughing. “Oh, that was mean. God, for a moment there—” I break off shaking my head. “Serves me right.”
She looks confused for a moment, and then her smile returns. “Yes it does.”
I’m still chuckling. “Alright, oh, Light of the Sun, you got me good. So what’s your name, then? Your real name?”
She just looks at me, her expression unreadable. “Yalina.”
“Ha! Named after the solha?” She wouldn’t be the only girl our age to be named for the heir to the throne.
“Something like that.” She looks away, and I wonder if I’ve upset her.
“Hey, don’t be mad that you couldn’t fool me. I’ve been running every scam you ever heard of since I was eight. If it’s any consolation, you almost got me.”
Her laugh is weak. “Thanks.”
“Well, I’m Kaelun. It’s nice to meet you, Yalina.”
Her smile returns as she meets my gaze again. “It is nice to meet you too, Kaelun. Really nice.” She gives me this look like she’s about to tell me something important. The kind that has her leaning forward. All of a sudden, she sits back as if she changed her mind. “So how did you come to be such a master of deception?”
“I’ve been on my own as long as I can remember. I guess I used to have a family, but whoever they were, they’re a long lost memory. That’s OK, though. I can take care of myself.”
“Really?” Her eyes widen. “You live all alone?”
“Sure.”
“Wow. What is that like?”
