CHAPTER 28
Arie
KADIN HAD THOUGHT ABOUTkissing me for a split second last night. My toes curled at the memory as I lay in bed. It hadn’t been a thought, so much as an emotion, but I’d felt it. I turned the feeling over, examining it. It was different with him. Because for the first time I wanted it too.
I sighed at the sun streaming in through the window. All I wanted to do was stay under the covers and go over each moment from the night before, one at a time, savoring them.
We’d talked until sunset, long past dinner, making our way back as dusk settled over the land. Shadows crossed Kadin’s cheekbones and hooded his eyes. But whenever he looked over at me, he smiled. How could someone who’d been through so much, be so lighthearted?
He’d had four siblings. And he was the eldest. The way he described growing up, watching the younger children, always looking out for them, feeding them, tucking them into bed at night. And then... how his whole family had died four years ago...
It made my heart ache for him.
Though I’d been too afraid to tell him my story, it was impossible not to think what might be happening back home. I told myself for the thousandth time that my father was okay. Amir had no power over him or Hodafez if I wasn’t there. Sooner or later, the king would have to go home.
This was for the best.
I rolled over and shut my eyes. Better not to think about it.
But my conscience wouldn’t let me close the door so easily this time. A little whisper asked,What if I’m wrong? Each day that worry grew louder, more persistent.
As tempting as it was to stay with these men and never look back, I couldn’t do that to Baba. I was all he had.
My chest tightened. I couldn’t go home, and I couldn’t stay. Neither one would do.
I sighed, climbing out of bed and putting on the red dress Kadin had given me, and the brown cloak over it. Heading downstairs, I focused on the question that plagued me above the rest:how would I convince Gideon to help me?
Under my cloak, I clutched my small bag. I carried it everywhere I went, now that I had it back. Perhaps between my share in the heist, the jewels, and my crown, I could convince Gideon to travel to Hodafez for just one day.
I bit my lip. He was so impatient already; would it be enough? Would he even consider my offer once he had his precious lamp?
I felt a headache forming even before I entered the common room. Dozens of stranger’s thoughts slipped into my mind uninvited and unwelcome. I loathed this ability. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I struggled to focus as I wove between the tables to find a seat.
Gideon sat at the breakfast bar on one side of the room, while at least a dozen other guests occupied the tables on the opposite side. Though Gideon sipped his tea with his usual unwavering composure, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was lonely. Traveling so long and often must be isolating. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than myself—or was age deceptive for the Jinn?
This was my chance. I tried to rehearse what I would say along the way, but the pressure of thoughts following me across the room shoved all rational thought from my mind.
“You just missed Master Kadin,” he told me when I greeted him.
Kadin’s name put a few extra butterflies in my stomach. I sat and accepted a breakfast plate from a server, piled with food, before turning to Gideon.
