Fear of what her brother would do to these street urchins.
Would Mazin actually execute children? The boy had mentioned that he would burn down the entire city if Anam was taken, but I hadn’t thought he was serious.
What had Mazin become? Or was this his true self, a power-hungry tyrant who controlled the city by fear?
I folded my arms across my chest, simmering with a strange feeling of anticipation. Let him come. I would be here, burning Basral before he even thought about striking a match.
The street thieves held Anam at the end of the darkened alley, in a small building that was abandoned years ago. She sat in a chair, bound, with only a shaft of light from a broken roof tile above to illuminate what was happening. I clung to the darkness while I examined her from afar. Her hands and feet were tied, and still she had left two of the thieves nursing their wounds on the floor.
Impressive. Mazin taught her well.
With my lessons.
“We aren’t letting you go until we receive our ransom!” The older boy nodded to Yashem.
“Maz will pay your ransom and then tear each limb from your body. Then the emperor will display your heads on a pike at the front of the city,” she responded, her words pleading, not vicious.
Truthful.
I stepped out of the shadows, finally making my move. “I think the wise thing to do would be to let the girl go, don’t you?”
The boys turned toward me. Yashem was about to say something, but I shook my head. The older one shot him a look.
“Who are you?” he said, following it with a giant wink that thankfully Anam couldn’t see. I rolled my eyes and stepped closer.
“Who is that?” she called out, confusion and fear clear in her voice, and she lifted her head as if to see me, despite wearing a blindfold.
“Don’t worry Miss Sial, I’m here to rescue you.” I turned to the thieves. “I will make it very worth your while to let the girl go.” I gave a stern look to Yashem when he smiled broadly. The other boy slapped a hand over his mouth.
I really should have hired better actors.
“Maybe we’ll ransom you too!” The older boy lunged, just as wepracticed, and I feinted left, landing a soft blow to his middle and spinning around him. He let out an exaggerated howl that sounded as if a cat had been killed. I huffed out my exasperation and fluttered my hand at Yashem as he stood gawking. He nodded and together they ran with the other thieves, leaving Anam and me alone.
To her, it would have seemed like a fight had broken out, and her captors were fleeing from the conflict. To me, I had Anam exactly where I wanted her.
“Hello?” Her words echoed through the now empty building.
“Anam?” My voice dripped with false concern. I threw off my dark cloak and strode over to her, pulling off her blindfold and pasting a fake look of alarm on my fake face.
“Sanaya?” She was disoriented, blinking repeatedly despite the lack of light, and staring up at me with her large dark eyes.
The same eyes her brother had.
I jerked back, my heart hammering in my chest.
Damn him. I would not think of him now, especially when I felt pity for his sister. She was just a pawn. Someone to manipulate, just as he manipulated me.
I steeled my heart, wrapping it in molten metal, impenetrable to any guilt or sadness. The fact that she had his eyes should remind me even more that he was the primary target.
I leaned forward again. “Are you all right? I saw you get dragged into the alley, but there was so much chaos with the fire. I knew I had to do something. Especially when they talked about holding you for ransom!”
At least I could play up the little wretches’ dramatic embellishments.
Relief filled Anam’s face. “Sanaya—thank you so much. Please get me out of here. Mazin will be sosoangry I was taken in his city.”
His city.
It wouldn’t be for much longer.
