I sigh. How do any of the female guards around here not strangle some of these men? “I’m looking for Kalyan.”
“Kalyan?” the guard says the name in surprise, sounding as if he never knew those letters could be organized that way.
“Yes.” While he struggles with his interrogation, the younger man next to him calls into the adjoining area.
A tall wizard lifts the curtain and bursts into the room. “I’ve about got it,” he says, gesturing to a sword in his hand. I go rigid. It’s Jatin, standing there like this is nothing peculiar. Like sharpening a sword or aligning a hilt is no big deal.Escape!I scan for it.
The younger fellow, who called Kalyan, nods to indicate my presence. “You have—”
Jatin turns to me and with one look his face falls. “Oh Gods.”
It’s not a happyOh Gods.No, thisOh Godsis resigned defeat. He can’t know who I am, can he? And would he be this upset to finally meet me? I had him pegged right all along: arrogant andcold.
“I’m looking for Kalyan.” Maybe I can salvage this and then escape.
“This is Kalyan.” The young man gestures, so eager to help, yet missing the chill of tension overtaking the room.
Jatin’s head falls and he shakes it. “Oh Gods.”
“Kal, who is—” Without looking up, Jatin holds up a hand to the young man. “Just stop talking, Mulm.”
Yes, stop. Stop everything. I need to understand. But it’s all too clear, isn’t it? My head spins.I don’t think he is what he says,Riya had said. Two men in a royal carriage, one wearing the emblem of Naupure, and the other…the other a simple guard. He carried me in his arms, he made it snow in the underground fighting ring, and he’s been my partner for weeks. The man before me is not Jatin Naupure.
I’ve never been so caught off guard in my life. My body doesn’t like it. My lungs expand, but can’t secure air. My knees lock unkindly. It’s like a burst of burnout ramming up my spine. Swords line the wall in perfect rows. Bits of twisted metal are scattered on a worktable. I know which of the two I resemble.
“What iswrongwith her?” one of the men whispers.
I can’t stay in here. Maharaja Naupure. Raja Jatin. Were they in this together the whole time? I can’t look at him; anywhere but him. I need to think, reorganize…everything. I stumble backward, my foot catching a wicker stool, which bangs to the floor. I flinch at the sound and then turn.
“Wait!” Kalyan, or whatever his name is, shouts after me.
I sprint down the hall. I don’t know I’m casting speed into my muscles until I’m halfway across the training field. Sunlight wraps around me, a thin fall wind pushes my hair from my face, and yet I’m numb. My reality, the truth, it’s all wobbling before me. First Maharaja Naupure might have betrayed me, and now this. I halt in my tracks, staring up at the palace. Gods, I’m eight years old all over again, scared of this massive structure and the boy who lives here. Where the heck am I running anyway? I need to—
Wham! Something hits my shoulder hard and I spin and tumble into the dirt. I try to catch myself. Pain greets me instead, slicing up my arm. The bulky perpetrator falls on top of me, digging my wrist further into the dirt. A moment later, he rolls off, groaning. “I didn’t expect you to stop.”
I rotate and find Kalyan on the ground next to me. “What the blood?” I holler as I clench my wrist and choke down the pain. Gods, it hurts. Of all my falls and hits, this is when I might have broken something? For blood’s sake.
“Are you okay?” Kalyan asks, his breath still shaky like he hasn’t gathered it back yet.
I scramble to get up. I can’t do this. I don’t want to talk to him. My body, even in pain, still wants escape.
“Are you serious?” he growls as he reaches for me. “You’re going to keep running?”
He tries to grab my arm as I lurch out of the way. He manages to capture my sari. With one tug I fall sideways and against his chest. Blood, he’s strong. Instinctively, I jerk my elbow backward. It connects with his ribs hard; harder than I intended.
He huffs out a breath, but doesn’t let go. Instead his grip intensifies and he uses the momentum to roll back, twist, and pull me with him. A moment later, he’s on top of me, holding me down. “Just hear me out. I’m not getting fired over this ridiculousness.”
I still. What the blood does he think he’s doing? Does he know who I am? He must to chase after me as he did. Jatin and Kalyan must have planned this from the beginning. Their switch was all a trick.
He’s on top of me. On top of me in the middle of the Naupure training field.
His chest rises and falls as the adrenaline dulls. I pause the spell I have ready to blow him off me, waiting to see when he realizes the precarious position he’s placed us in. But then my wrist throbs for attention. “You’re hurting me.”
My whisper smacks some sense into him. He jolts, releases his grip, and tumbles to the side. I can tell he’s shocked. It’s like my hit to his gut spurred the primal defense system in him—sedate threat. Only now does he realize the “threat” he used his physical strength on. From the wide-eyed stare he’s giving me, I think I’ve broken him.
I roll my wrist, flexing against the pain. Based on the lack of swelling, I think it’s only a sprain.“Mahlaeh,”I cast as I finally get to my feet.
I stare up at the walls of the palace. At least the pain has stalled my brain long enough for me to think. I stumble ten steps before looking back at the guard. Gods, they look so much alike. I turn around. “Your ribs okay?”
