Adria and I may not be on the best of terms at the moment, but I’m not willing to stand around and listen to this nonsense. “Perhaps there aresome typesof people that are afraid of getting their asses handed to them.”
“Oh, look,” says the woman as she turns to face me, her narrow green eyes filled with scorn. “It’s Adria’s little bitch sister. I heard they kept you locked up with the other rabid Nithyrian animals.”
Rude and fucking dumb. You don’t lock up a rabid animal. You put it down.
If I say that to her, she’ll just say something about putting me down, and the last thing I need right now is to fight a duel against this woman. She’s lean and well-muscled, and of course she’s taller than me. And, despite a ton of training, I’m not the best with my sword.
“Maybe they did. Do you want to find out?” I ask, but instead of reaching for my sword, I reach for the chalk and add my name to the list.
The tournament swords will be blunted, and chances are I won’t have to face her anyway. I’ll probably be out in the first round.
But at least this should get me out of fighting her in this moment.
“Save it for the arena, ladies,” warns the guard. “God-King Ronan has made it clear that there are to be no duels in Faros during the festival.”
I actually hadn’t heard that, but I’m relieved to be hearing it now.
And I can’t help but wonder if it has anything to do with what happened to Soren last night.
“Of course,” says the woman, plastering on a fake smile for the guard. “Go back to your cage, little bitch,” she mutters to me, flicking her hand as if she’s dismissing a dog.
I look to the sheet to find the name of the woman I’m definitely going to kill when we take out Ronan: Quinn of House Horatio.
Typhon’s sister. The Grand Vizier’s youngest daughter.
I wait around the courtyard until the light begins to dim, but Soren doesn’t show.
I hadn’t really expected him to, although if I were the king, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to resist joining the tournament in disguise for a real chance to compete.
That’s if Soren really is the king. Which is a pretty big if.
I see no girl matching Vesper’s description either, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for. What if she changed her hair or took out her piercings? I wouldn’t know her even if I saw her.
I debate going back to the market. If I could find Soren, maybe he could give me more to go on. Or maybe he’s already found Vesper, and I’m worrying for nothing.
I can’t help but worry though. I know the worst that can happen to a shadow-born spy.
It happened to my mother.
I sigh. The market will be closing for the day soon anyway. I’ll have to try to find Soren and Vesper another time. After a day out in the sun of the courtyard, I’m sweaty in my leathers, so I head to the baths to rinse off.
My first visit to the baths was late at night when they were nearly empty. I was grateful for the privacy; I’m not accustomed to bathing in the nude around strangers. Back at the castle, we had a fire-born heat the water in copper tubs in bathing rooms attached to our bed chambers. It was so luxurious sinking into the piping hot water after a long day training with Larus.
The baths here are natural pools within the caves beneath the palace. The water is beautifully clear though, and there are pools of different temperatures you can use depending on your mood.
I undress in a chamber made from a smaller cave, leaving my leathers on hooks on the wall and wrapping in a towel madeof finely-woven linen. It’s wonderfully soft on the skin. The changing room is busy with courtiers I don’t know and who I know don’t want to know me.
That’s fine. We have plenty of time to change their minds.
I head to one of the cooler pools. The temperature is lower down here, but the heat of the sun seems to linger on you in Faros. There are only a few women in this pool, and they’re sitting at the opposite end talking quietly among themselves. I sink into the water, letting my hair down from its bun and diving beneath the surface to wash the day off of me.
Before I can relax, I hear muffled shouting from under the water. I surface, and I recognize one of the voices immediately: Adria.
I climb out of the pool and dry off as quickly as I can. I’ve barely gotten the towel around me when I catch a whiff of smoke. There’s another voice yelling, also a woman. It sounds familiar, but I don’t recognize it until I get close enough to hear her words.
“I told that bitch sister of yours the same thing,” says Quinn. It’sheragain. This woman is everywhere.
“Leave her out of this. This is between you and me,” says Adria.
