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Slipping around him, she gathered the rest of her things and headed to the door. Only to find him standing there ahead of her, trousers on and hand holding the planks of wood shut.
“You can’t go out there now, Valcotta. The sun is up and the midnight truce is over. If you’re caught, it won’t go well.”
“I won’t get caught.” Even in the daylight, the rooftops would be safe. No one ever looked up.
“Valcotta…”
“Do not stand in my way, Veliant,” she hissed. “You have no right.”
His fingers flexed against the door as though he were considering arguing, but it was he who looked away first. “Be careful.”
“It isn’t your problem.”
Not allowing him the opportunity to say more, Zarrah yanked open the door and then slammed it shut behind her, striding swiftly down the corridor to the stairs. The greasy man remained at the front desk, and he gave her a lascivious smile as she passed, mumbling, “I’ve always preferred Valcottan girls.”
He deserved a broken nose, but she couldn’t risk putting him in his place. Not with the sun fully in the sky and her very much in enemy territory.
Stepping outside, she blinked against the bright sunlight, nausea twisting in her belly and her head starting to throb. The streets of Nerastis were quiet, but in the distance, she could hear the sounds of hoofbeats: Maridrinian soldiers already on patrol.
Hurrying down the length of the building, Zarrah moved into an alley and climbed onto a stack of crates to gain access to the rooftops, then moved swiftly across them in the direction of the Anriot.
The smells of cooking mixed with the scents of chamber pots being emptied into the streets, but she paid them little mind, relying instead on her ears to guide her away from threats, all her thought for picking the voices of soldiers and the hoofbeats of horses out from the shrieks of babies. Of women shouting at men to rouse themselves. Of men returning their own forms of abuse on the women. She felt dizzy and unwell, her balance off, and her body weak.
You fell for Silas Veliant’s son.
The thought distracted her as she leapt between rooftops, and her foot slipped. Biting off a scream, Zarrah flailed her arms as she fell, landing hard on a pile of crates. The wood shattered, pain lancing through her, but she scrambled to her feet, knowing she needed to move quickly.
As she started to climb, a voice from the front of the alley caught her attention, and she turned to find a man flanked by soldiers, his face familiar. “Well, now,” he said, eyes full of recognition. “Look who we have here.”
31
KERIS
His ears filled with a roaring sound as she abandoned the room, leaving him alone with nothing but the remembrance of her reaction in his head. The horror in her eyes when she’d realized his identity, how her disgust had caused her to spill her guts, everything that had passed between them washed away by his name. By the fucking blue eyes he’d inherited from his father and the legacy that came with them.
“I hate you!” He slammed his fist against the wall, his knuckles splitting and agony racing up his wrist. But the pain was nothing compared to his hatred for his father. A hundred miles away, and still, he tookeverythingKeris ever cared about.
Ever loved.
Doubling over, he sucked in breath after breath, his stomach twisting with hurt that she’d left and fear that she was out in his half of the city alone, everything about her making her a target. But there had been no stopping her.
Valcotta was not a woman to be contained, but he still had to fight the urge to go after her. Had to fight the urge to tail her across the city to ensure she got across the Anriot safely.
What if she doesn’t make the jump?
Bile rose in his stomach, and Keris clenched his teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps.She can do it,he silently told himself.She’s capable—she proved that much last night.
And as it was, his own absence had inevitably been noticed. He’d told Aileena that if he were ever discovered gone from her rooms she should say that he’d left to go back to the palace, which meant if he didn’t arrive there soon, Otis would start a search. Which would only complicate matters for Valcotta.
Swiftly donning his clothing, Keris headed downstairs.
“You’re late,” the pig at the desk said. “That’ll be an extra copper.”
It was tempting to tell the bastard to fuck himself, but instead Keris flung a handful of coins at his face, limiting himself to the satisfaction of watching a silver coin bounce hard off the man’s greasy forehead as he exited the building.
The rising sun was already hot, not a cloud in the sky to mute its blinding rays, and he pulled up his hood as much to shield his eyes as his identity as he strode through the streets toward his broken palace.
I would never have done this if I’d known who you were. You are more my enemy than anyone in Nerastis.
