“What are you doing here?” she called out. Her heart thundered in her ears as she felt for the pulse gun beneath her cloak. They were alone in the deep desert. She had no guards, no Spear. Here, Yassen could kill her. The palace would not be able to find her body for days.
“Enjoying the quiet night,” he said without turning. He ran his fingers through the sand. There was something eerie about him, and a voice in her head whispered to get out, to turn back, but Elena stood her ground.
“I mean, how did you find this place?”
“I didn’t,” he said.
“No one knows about this spot.”
Yassen turned. His eyes almost looked translucent. Again she fought the urge to flee. This was her desert. She would not abandon it.
“But I know my way through the desert,” he said. He stood and dusted the sand off his pants. The metal bird on his uniform glinted in the moonlight. A breeze sighed over the dunes.
She gripped the handle of her pulse gun as Yassen approached her. He stopped just a few feet shy. The twin moons peeked over the top of his head like whispering spirits. In their light, he looked younger—his face unlined and his mouth soft. It was as if the desert wind had lifted the weight that bowed his shoulders.
“People only roam the desert when they’re running. Or searching for something.” His eyes moved from her face to the orb. “What’s all this?”
She held it away from him. For some reason, she felt that he would try to extinguish the flame.
“Why I’m here is none of your business,” she said.
“And why bring a flame?”
“Also none of your business.”
Yassen walked closer, and she took a step back. Her hand went to the gun, but stopped when he held out his hands, his fingers splayed, empty.
“I didn’t come to hurt you,” he said. “To be honest, I was off duty and visiting the city when I recognized you buying makhana. So I followed you. I thought I lost you in the crowd, but then there you were, leaving a bar and heading to the desert.”
“But how did you get all the way outherebefore me?” she pressed. She had made sure no one had been following her.
“I nicked a cruiser and cut through the desert after you. It died just over that hill, so I walked.”
“What?”
She leaned over and saw footprints in the distance, coming from the direction in which Yassen pointed.
“How did you know where I was going?” She eyed him but spotted no pulse gun. Not even a slingsword.
Yassen shrugged. “I just followed the noise of your cruiser. You took an awful lot of time getting up here.”
The pulse gun felt smooth beneath her fingertips. She could shoot him now, before he tried anything. Yassen still had his hands out before him.
But if she killed him now, Samson and her father would ask questions, and that would eventually lead them to her escapade in the city. To Varun.
“Seems like you needed some space,” he said. He lowered his hands and gestured out toward the desert. “All the quiet, with no one to judge your shortcomings. Just you and the stars. A man could disappear out here, and no one would know it.” His voice sounded wistful.
Elena regarded him suspiciously. “Don’t get any ideas of running away. Mahira’s raiders will track you down.I’lltrack you down.”
“I know. That pulse gun you’re holding could blast a nasty hole.” A corner of his lip curled up, and Elena felt a nervous flutter in her chest.Hehad trackedherwithout her knowing. And if he could do that, would Mahira’s raiders stand a chance if he ran away? “But you can’t kill me now, can you?”
Elena cursed inwardly and drew her firearm. It hummed to life, the chamber glowing an eerie blue as she cocked it in his direction.
“What were you doing in the city?” she demanded.
“I haven’t had pav bhaji in ages,” he said. “So I went to Thar, which has the best in the city. There’s a merchant, small man, on the corner—”
“Before the market,” she said with him.
