Page 33 of Thief of Hearts

“You’re a man,” I pointed out.

“Indeed.”

“You don’t fall into that category?”

“No. I’m terrible in a different way. But I’m never terrible in the way you’re talking about. You’ll be safe with me.”

And despite what I knew about his propensity for lying, I believed him.

“We should go,” he said. “And get you into bed.”

His words heated my blood and I wondered if that had been his intent. Ignoring the sensation, I nodded. “Tell me what the different events are for the tournament.”

We left the celebration and made our way back to our room. He told me that there were approximately a hundred competitors and four events. They would take place on different days with a day in between each to rest. The first three would be a foot race, pankration bouts, and a chariot race. “The final competition will be a last man—or woman—standing. Hand-to-hand combat with weapons until only one person is left.”

I wasn’t worried about any of the events he’d listed. I had experience with three of them. The only one I hadn’t done competitively was chariot racing—I had only used a chariot in battle a handful of times, but I figured the mechanics would be the same.

He also explained the scoring system to me—we would be given points based on where we finished in each event. The person with the most points at the end would win.

That altered my plans.

I had thought they would do a winnowing process—it was what I was familiar with. Like the top fifty in the race would advance to the pankration, then the top twenty-five of that to the chariot race. I had considered hanging back and letting others win, keeping myself in the top half, so that no one would suspect that I was battle-favored.

But if it was based on cumulative points, then I needed to win each event to ensure I was the final winner.

We got to our room and Zain opened the door for me. “Go in and get changed and let me know when I can come in.”

That was an entirely different attitude than the one he’d had earlier. I wondered what had prompted the change. I went into the room and saw that all my clothing had been laundered, my armor polished. I knew Zain was responsible, I just wasn’t sure how. Had the washerwoman who was interested in him done this? I supposed it didn’t matter how he accomplished it. Another thoughtful gesture.

Dagger wagged his tail while I changed into a simple linen tunic that I wore for sleeping. “You won’t let anything happen to me, will you?”

He let out a little woof as if he understood me even though I knew he did not.

I opened the door and let Zain into the room. When he came in, unintentionally crowding me, it made everything feel very intimate. He immediately started disrobing and I sat on my cot, facing away from him.

“Please feel free to sneak a peek if you’d like,” he said with laughter in his voice.

I would very much like to, which is why I won’t. I couldn’t admit that out loud to him. He did not need the encouragement. “I put the dress on the trunk. You can return it whenever you’d like.”

“I’m not returning it. I paid for it. It’s yours.”

“Oh. Thank you.” I didn’t know what I would do with that dress—a celebration like tonight would not be in my immediate future. I’d have no occasion to wear it, but I would be happy to bring it back home with me.

“Would you like the bed?” he asked. “I can take the cot.”

“It’s actually comfortable and I’ve slept on worse. I’m happy where I am.”

“I’m dressed,” he said.

I turned around and saw that he had a linen tunic hanging loosely on him. “I don’t normally wear this,” he said. “I sleep naked but I thought you’d prefer that I put something on.”

I’d prefer him naked but this was definitely safer. I lay down on my cot, trying to banish the inappropriate thoughts from my head. I yawned as Zain put out the torches in our room, plunging us into darkness.

He settled into his own bed and I felt weight pressing down on me as Dagger climbed into the cot, settling on my legs.

I exhaled and then said, “Earlier you told me where everyone else came from, but you never told me where you are from. If you have any customs or beliefs that I should be aware of.” I assumed he was from Ilion, given that was where Lia had come across him.

“Like all great thieves, I am from everywhere and nowhere.”