Page 67 of Thief of Hearts

His laugh had relief mixed in with it. “I had an all-female team. And I’m usually good at getting females to do what I want.”

Wonderful. He had charmed his horses. I never stood a chance. “What place did I get?”

“Third.”

“It doesn’t count!” That was Levern’s voice.

This day just kept getting better and better.

“Her chariot broke,” Zain retorted. “That wasn’t her fault. She crossed the finish line. It doesn’t say anywhere in the rule book that you have to be in a chariot when you cross the line.”

Healers surrounded me, again pouring terrible-tasting concoctions down my throat. Someone was removing gravel from my skin while another cleaned the wounds. They worked on the left side of my torso as well as my left leg. Half my body was shredded. Ointment was applied and I didn’t feel any relief this time.

Just more pain.

“The judges are reading the rule book,” Zain said. “They must have discovered what I said was true because they all look mad. They’d better not disqualify you or else I think this stadium will riot.”

The people were again calling my name—only this time, it wasn’t just the women.

Men were cheering for me, too.

Waving his hands to quiet everyone, the announcer stepped onto his dais. “The judges have decided that Basileia of Thrace crossed the finish line legally, and her place and points will stand.”

I was so grateful that the king of thieves had spent his time reading the rule book because it had saved me more than once. I was still in this. I still had a chance of winning it all.

“You know, my illora, if you wanted my attention so badly, you could have just said something. You didn’t have to mangle yourself on the track to get me by your side.”

I tried to laugh, but it hurt. “Not everything is about you.”

One of the healers began to cut away what remained of my sleeve, and I realized that the garment the officials had given me had saved me from a worse injury. “I would be missing quite a bit more skin if not for this.”

“Remind me to thank the Sagari later because I’m a fervent admirer of your skin.”

“That makes you sound strange,” I told him, and he let out a small laugh. He also moved his head between my gaze and my arm, as if he didn’t want me to see how bad it was.

“Why is it that every time I want to get close to you, you’re mortally wounded?” he asked.

“I’m not mortally wounded. I’ll be fine.” I hoped.

“The blood on the ground says otherwise.”

One of the healers spoke up. “Some things are more difficult than others, but healing skin has always been one of the easiest. We will take her to the infirmary tonight, and by tomorrow evening she should be herself again.”

Just hours before the next event. I hoped her prediction was correct. It wasn’t even about the diviner stone anymore. It was about defeating each and every one of these men who had tried their hardest to stop me.

“What prompted you to use your shield?” he asked.

“Why are you talking so much?” I scowled. I wanted to sleep.

“The healers asked me to keep you awake.”

That wasn’t good. Were they worried that I’d hit my head? I had done my best to keep my head lifted so that it wouldn’t slam into the ground.

“When I lost a wheel, I considered my options and remembered that when I was younger, after it had rained, my siblings and I would take shields, get behind a horse, and let it pull us down the slick grass. The game was to stay on for as long as possible while also avoiding the horse’s legs.”

“A horse,” he pointed out. “Not four chariot horses.”

My eyelids wanted to close and I fought the feeling. “Yes, it was quite different.”