Viv’s voice was barely a whisper. “What kind?”
“Put your hood up. Don’t stare. Stay close.”
Ben reached them. “Charlie?—?”
“I see them,” she cut in. Her mind was already running the map of the fair: security, exits, blind spots, crowd density.
“Let me help you,” Ben murmured. “We’ll take the back door out of the shop. Security is to the left, opposite the jousting ring, away from the crowd.”
“Perfect. I was thinking that, too.” She turned to Viv and Rowan. “To the back of the shop. Don’t move quickly. I want you to laugh and talk, but quietly. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, but we do want to get out of here quickly. We blend, we move, we don’t panic.”
They obeyed without question. The four of them headed back in. The shop owner glanced up and gave Ben a puzzled smile. Ben made some sort of sign as he passed her and her eyes widened as she nodded. They found the exit, headed out of the costume shop, and turned left toward the security tent, walking casually but quickly.
Then a hand brushed the small of her back—steady, guiding, possessive without being invasive.
Ben.
“‘Tis a fine thing you could be here today, milady,” he said, back in his Ren Faire blacksmith persona. His accent hit somewhere inconvenient in her chest, and if she was being honest, elsewhere. He was playing the role, pretending they were a couple.
Which was very dangerous for her focus.
She glanced over and realized that Rowan had taken Viv’s hand. She smiled to herself. She didn’t think it was much of an act—more like an excuse.
They slipped into the tide of fairgoers, dodging mead mugs and flower crowns. But the prickling at the back of her neck wouldn’t settle down.
They passed a shop selling cloaks and Charlie made for it. She grabbed a dark cloak from a rack at the front, calculating whether she had time to pay for it. Ben read her mind.
“Just to borrow,” he called to the vendor and made the same sign. The woman’s eyes widened, then she nodded and waved them on.
Charlie threw the cloak over Viv’s shoulders. “Keep your head down.”
Then out of nowhere, to their right, the shouts started.
“There she is!”
“Lady Darkfell the Betrayer!” they shouted as they approached the shop.
Murderer!”
The words knifed through the air, freezing half the crowd. Charlie’s stomach clenched.Two groups, Charlie thought, her heart sinking.How many of them are here?Luckily, there were only three people in this group.
“How did they recognize us?” Viv asked.
Great question.
The disguises were perfect. Then she remembered Ben heading for them before they’d even stepped out of the costume shop, alerted to danger, even if he didn’t know what it was.
The Caidansworn were already looking for Viv before they stepped out of the costume shop.
They were tipped off.
“We’ll figure it out later,” she told Viv. “First, we need to get you to safety.”
Ben’s eyes met hers. “Go. I’ll distract them.”
He peeled away before she could argue. She immediately missed his hand on her back. Ben moved toward a juggler inmotley. A quick word, a nod, and the man launched himself into a wild tumble right into the path of the cloaked intruders, wooden knives scattering like hail.
“Oh, what a fool I am!” he bellowed, earning laughter from the crowd and blocking pursuit.
