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“I thought”—the siren shifted to Sai as if they sat in the creaking, rough-hewed cart alone—“you would know how to avoid this kind of thing.”
“Forgive me, madam, for not fulfilling your hopes tonight on a mission I didn’t ask for.”
She turned her face away and sniffled.
Elisa reached out and pressed her fingertips against her elbow. “It’ll be all right. I promise.”
The girl shifted back towards her and gave a nod.
“Fuck,” Sai said. “They’re heading south.”
“Great,” I said. “Why don’t we send a note letting our enemies know we’re heading in their direction in case they don’t figure it out on their own?”
Sai gave me an unamused look, and I glared back at him. This entire night was a fucking disaster, and it all started the moment he’d followed the siren.
CHAPTERFOUR
LIRA
I wasn’tsure why heading south was a bad idea or what Neia meant about enemies. I’d only gathered everyone’s names from my few minutes spent talking with Elisa. I didn’t understand who they were. But I’d spent the handful of minutes since we’d ended up in the jailer’s wagon making a mental list.
First point, I had miscalculated in choosing Sai. I’d thought myself above Mother. She was a fool to believe I’d actually lure a man away, sleep with him, steal a child that was half his, and murder him. I wasn’t cruel like she was, but I couldn’t let this opportunity to get free pass me by. If this was her mission, she’d go for easy marks, and I wanted something more challenging because I thought I could fake myself into becoming brave. Now, less than an hour later, watchmen had locked me inside a wagon with three possible criminals.
Which brought me to point two. I didn’t know who these people were, but they were definitely not from Landre. Our show had traveled through most of the continent and there wasn’t one locale I could think of that matched their mannerisms, the lilt of their speech, the lack of fear they all possessed.
And that led me to my last point. I was terrified but these three partners, friends, lovers—I wasn’t sure how to classify them—seemed more annoyed than anything. Neia had her dark eyes trained on Sai who ignored her as he focused on the uneven boards that made up the roof above. Elisa ran her hands along the bars on the back of the door and looped her thumb under the chain.
“What are you running to?” Sai asked.
“What?”
“Do you have a lover or friend or someone you’re meeting?”
I straightened and looked away. Since my savings—every coin I’d scraped for and tucked away—had just ended up in the grubby hands of some night watchman, I had no plan. It was dismal to face jail. But even bleaker was the idea of making it on my own with no money, friends, or support. I didn’t have any of those on this continent outside of Margo who I’d just abandoned. I licked my lips. Perhaps I should have brought her into my plan and asked if she wanted to join me. Surely a pair trying to make it together would be easier than one. It was too late to think through all of that now. Years of dreaming of running away, and I’d botched it before it even properly started. All I’d wanted was to escape the traveling show, Mother’s sharp words and sharper actions, and the lives she’d taken that haunted me. I didn’t want to take over the siren troupe and their magic or to give my child to Mother to face the same fate. Mother didn’t need magic, anyway. She only used it for destruction. Here I was, stuck in this cart with a bunch of criminals. Perhaps fate wouldn’t let me walk a righteous path. Maybe I was designed for darkness. I gasped over a sob at that thought.
“Ah,” Elisa sighed. She clattered the chains again. She’d slipped her hands between the bars on the door, and I shifted back to her.
“Do you have any siblings?” Sai asked.
“Is there some reason for these questions?”
He grinned, and it highlighted the long lines of his neck, the soft brown of his skin, the sparkle of his eyes. Heat pooled in my stomach which made me want to kick myself. No, I’d not gone for an easy mark. I’d gone for one I actually found attractive. I was stupid. Perhaps I was the inexperienced child Mother always reminded me I was, caught up in romantic notions and unrealistic dreams. Shame burned my cheeks, and I was grateful for the limited light the moon provided in the cart.
“I have three,” Sai said.
“Three what?”
“Siblings. Do you have any?”
“No.” Which was a shame. It would save me from my current predicament.
The cart jostled, we all swayed, and the door swung open. Neia and Elisa pounced out as smooth as cats. I gasped, and Sai swooped on me, yanked his hand over my mouth, and used his other arm to pull me off the seat. He jumped out of the cart, and his feet landed with a crunch in dry leaves.
He cradled me and didn’t remove his hand as the cart trundled around a bend and disappeared under the fog of the clouds that draped around the road. Shock froze me as his fingers pressed against my lips and his rich smell filled my senses. It was an intoxicating combination of aromas, sweet like candy cooked until it nearly burned, but rounded out with a rich woody smell. It reminded me of my first shot of whiskey and burned through me with the same intensity.
The warmth of him ensconced me, and his heartbeat thundered against my cheek where it rested against the firm expanse of his chest. I jerked away from him, and he startled before lowering me to my feet.
“What just happened?” I asked.
