“She isn’t.”
“I can’t take your word for it.”
They continued to argue, but Shyla tuned them out. Maybe she could wait until Yates left and then hide in Hanif’s office, where no one would think to look for her. Then it hit her. She’d been thinking like a sun-kissed, hiding and scurrying away. Not like Shyla Sun-Kissed, leader of the Invisible Sword.
Making a bold—stupid?—decision, Shyla strode into Hanif’s office as if she did it every sun jump.
“Hello, Captain Yates. I hear you’re looking for me,” she said.
Poor Hanif’s face drained of all color while his mouth dropped open. Yates jumped from his seat and brandished his sword in an impressive display of speed.
Yates aimed the tip of his blade at Shyla’s throat. “You’re under arrest.”
Not as tall as Rendor, but just as muscular with thick arms and broad shoulders, Yates radiated menace. She met his gaze and read his soul.
Excitement sizzled through him. He had finally caught the cursed sun-kissed. After all the failures, the prince would be very pleased. Yates just knew she was hiding in the monastery despite the prince’s claims she wouldn’t be that stupid.
Shyla pressed her lips together. Not stupid enough to hide here, but idiotic enough to come visit the same sun jump as the captain.
“Care to explain this?” Yates asked Hanif.
“I…” Hanif shot her a panicked glance. “What are you doing here?”
“Come on, don’t try that nonsense,” Yates said.
“I wanted to surprise you,” she said to her father.
“Mission accomplished.”
She smiled then concentrated on the captain, pushing her magic at him. “Captain Yates, you searched the monastery and didn’t find me.”
“What are you talking about? You’re standing right here.”
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so confident. She glanced at his neck; he wasn’t wearing a torque. Increasing her efforts, she tried again. “You searched and didn’t find me.”
“I did?” he asked with a hint of confusion, fighting to remember. The tip of his sword dipped down. It snapped back. “No. You’re here.”
Son of a sand demon, the man was fighting back. Perhaps she could recruit him. And perhaps she could fly. Both scenarios were equally likely at this point.
Gathering all her strength, she gazed right into his dark brown eyes. “You searched. You found nothing. The monks are not lying to you.”
“I…searched.”
“Yes.”
“No sign of the sun-kissed?”
She pressed, driving the command home with all her might. “Yes. She’s not here. Say goodbye to Hanif, thank him for his time, and leave.”
Yates sheathed his sword, turned to Hanif, thanked him for his time, and left.
Hanif stared at Shyla with a combination of awe and horror. “That was truly impressive.”
She tried to respond, but the floor underneath her feet dropped away like the edge of a sand dune. Darkness rushed up and buried her.
Warm and comfortable under the fur, Shyla snuggled in deeper. It’d been ages since she’d slept on a decent cushion. Plus every muscle in her body ached as if she’d been shoveling sand in the hot sun. Her heavy limbs required too much effort to move. All were excellent reasons to go back to sleep. So she did.
Voices woke her the second time. She instantly recognized the deep unhappy rumble. Just how long had she slept? Prying an eye open, she spotted Rendor interrogating the poor monk who’d been assigned to watch over her. Rendor still wore his sun cloak. The hot anise scent of the desert wafted from him. Sweat dampened the hair around his forehead. He must have just arrived. The sand clock read angle twenty. That explained his glower. Shyla had slept for an entire sun jump.
