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Kadou braced himself for an accustomed moment of terror—every other time this last month that they had come close to an alley like this, he’d felt a small sickening catch in his chest at the memory of that night that he and Evemer had been set upon by those thieves. Just as expected, a few steps into the alley, it hit him.
Perhaps he was primed for it to be worse after the fraught conversation with Tadek and his increasing certainty that he was wasting Evemer and Melek’s time. Instead of a catch that he could have brushed off with a little discomfort, this was more of a lurch, like he’d missed a step going down a flight of stairs. His stomach dropped to his feet, his pulse pounded so hard he could feel it in his palms, and he took a shuddering breath. His skin felt wrong.
“Sir?” Evemer murmured, touching his wrist—his nerves screamed as if they’d been flayed with hot wires, but Kadou turned, fumbling for Evemer’s arm, grasping it so tight his knuckles hurt.
“Sorry,” he gasped. “Just a—it’s nothing, it will pass.”
Evemer pulled him closer, wrapped an arm around his shoulder. It was so unexpected that it almost shocked Kadou out of the grips of fear. “I asked earlier if you were well, sir,” Evemer hissed.
“I was! I swear I was! It’s just—” Kadou leaned against Evemer’s side; Evemer carried his weight effortlessly, even as Kadou’s knees buckled under him. “Damn, I hate this!” he snarled under his breath. “I hate it, I hate it.”
“Come on, let’s not do this in the open.” Evemer tugged him along deeper into the alley and found a niche, where one building abutted another so closely that it had almost blocked off an arched doorway. The arch was deep, but not deep enough for the door to open all the way; the hinges and straps were rusted and covered in dirt and cobwebs. The nook it made, however, was just the right size for two people to cram into.
Kadou leaned back into the corner, heedless of the cobwebs, and put his hands over his face. “To hell with this,” he breathed. “I remembered the—the thieves, and it set me off. Like we were back there, like it was going to happen again.” He slapped one shaking hand against the stones. “Gods! Ihatethis.”
“Can you breathe?”
Kadou tested his lungs—it felt like iron bands were wrapped around his chest, or like something heavy was sitting on him, but . . . it wasn’t the worst it had ever been. “Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t think that—” Evemer began slowly, but a noise in the alley stopped him—someone knocking on a door.
They both went very, very quiet. Kadou’s heart pounded louder than ever, and Evemer shifted minutely to shield him from the rest of the alley—but no, Kadou couldn’t be having that. He pushed Evemer aside just enough and craned to see over his shoulder, looking past him.
There was a figure standing there, scuffing their shoes against the cobblestones, a lamp set on the ground by their feet. The door they’d knocked on was the one to the incense parlor.
The door opened outward and spilled a pool of reddish light, though not enough to fully see the figure.
“Oh, it’s you. I suppose you’ve heard by now?” one of the voices said, a light soprano. “About our friend’s contact?”
“That minister or lieutenant or whatever? Aye. Still moldering in the royal dungeons, last I heard.” Kadou stiffened and grabbed Evemer’s arm—Evemer seized his in return and gestured for him to be quiet.
“Have you heard from our friend?”
“Not since the big upset in the palace. You?” Kadou craned farther to see, realizing belatedly that they had wedged themselves rather tightly into this space and he’d now pressed himself bodily against Evemer. Evemer did not seem to have noticed. His eyes were as fixed on the scene as Kadou’s.
“Same.” A sigh. “Last orders I got said to continue as we have been.”
The other person, a gravely baritone, said something that Kadou couldn’t make out.
“No, I haven’t the faintest idea. After Azuta’s shipment was confiscated—”
There was a noise farther down the alley—perhaps a footstep, perhaps a cat jumping onto one of the rickety crates. Kadou’s heart leapt into his throat. The voices stopped. “Shh! You hear that?”
Evemer pushed him back farther into the shadows.
“Hand it over,” the lighter-voiced person said urgently. “Come on.”
A rustle of clothing, a jangle of metal—coins?—and the definitive thump of a door closing as the ambient light from inside vanished.
The person left in the alley grumbled to themself. The shadows cast by their lantern swung back and forth. “I don’t like this,” they mumbled. And then, louder, “Anybody there?” Footsteps came toward them.
Evemer tensed, pushing Kadou into the corner, turning his back on the alley so they faced each other. Kadou squirmed and tried to look out again—if he could just get a glimpse of that person’s face—
“Shh!” Evemer said, and the footsteps stopped.
“Who’s there?” The shadows on the walls shifted as they raised the lamp, swinging it around. Kadou’s already racing heart nearly stopped dead. Was this person alone? Did they have friends nearby? Armed? How many? There was certainly the other person inside the building. If he and Evemer were found, would it be obvious that they’d been spying? Why else would two people be crammed into a dark corner together in an alley in the middle of the night—
Kadou seized the front of Evemer’s kaftan and yanked to get his attention. “Kiss me.Now,” he whispered urgently.
