What was this sentinel doing with such a message?
The lanterns trembled. At first I thought it was Kiki, returning from her daily search for my brothers. But then I heard footsteps tromping up the stairs.
I jumped. After throwing the scroll back into the knapsack and quickly blowing out the lantern light, I rushed for the door, but it was too late.
The cold sting of a blade nipped my neck.
I froze, recognizing the sentinel’s lean silhouette against the wall.
“You,”he said, a note of surprise in his voice. He took a harsher tone. “Turn around slowly.”
My heart thundered in my ears while I obeyed. If he was a real sentinel, the sword at his side would be sharp enough to cut through bone. And he would be well within his rights to kill me.
He scooped up the scroll, noticing straightaway that someone had tampered with the cord, and shook it at me. “What were you doing with this?”
I met his gaze stonily, my lips thin and closed.
“I won’t ask again.”
I pointed at my throat, indicating that I couldn’t speak. Then I extended my hand, palm out, to explain that I’d been looking for money. I made ocean waves—money, to leave theisland.
The sentinel lowered the dagger, understanding. “I saw the innkeeper strike you. Is that why you wish to leave?”
All I did was dip my head. He was observant, this one. I’d learned to be too, through my silence.
“I see.”
He tucked the scroll back into his knapsack. “It’s a good thing I caught you,” he said sternly, but the edge in his tone had been sanded off. “Carrying this around would only get you killed.”
I tilted my head.Why is that? What does it say?
“For someone who can’t talk, you have quite a way of making your thoughts known.” The sentinel closed his knapsack. “My business is my own, and none of yours.”
I studied him. Despite his harsh tone, I wasn’t afraid of him. He could have killed me just now for going through his things. But he hadn’t. That was enough for me to deduce that the letter wasn’t intended for his eyes. He’d told Mrs. Dainan he was looking for the royal children. He must have stumbled upon it during his search.
A dozen questions burned on my tongue. I wanted to ask him for news of home and my father. I wanted to demand that he tell me everything he knew. But first, I needed to tell him who I was.
All of me shook, delirious with elation, as I started to write my name on my palm. Miracles of Ashmiyu’en, finally someone had come who could read!
Then invisible snakes hissed in my ears.Remember,they warned.No one shall know you.
I stilled, the bowl on my head heavy as stone. Even this far from home, Raikama’s curse ensnared me.
The hissing stopped as the sentinel took off his helmet. His dark hair, tangled and unkempt, curled at his ears, and a stray lock fell over the peak in his hairline. It made him look less menacing, less like a hardened warrior and more like a weary traveler in need of a wash and a shave.
He looked up. “Still here? Any other thief would have fled by now.” A pause. “I take it you’re not much of a burglar, if you’ve the audacity to rob a sentinel. Your first time?”
I hadn’t meant to answer, but my hand shot up, two fingers raised.
“Second time, then.” The corner of his mouth lifted, almost into a smile. “You’re honest. Not like your mistress.”
I wasn’t. My brothers had once called me the princess of liars. But I supposed I had changed over the past months. So much had changed.
“Mrs. Dainan called you Lina. Is that your name?”
I hesitated. Shook my head.
“I didn’t think so. It’s pretty, but somehow it doesn’t suit you.” I waited for him to explain what he meant, but he didn’t. “Whatisyour name?”
