Shai

Shai, Qiara, and Ed instantly forgot their bickering as they scrambled into a ditch a few yards from the outer fortress wall, hiding behind some shrubbery. When Shai ducked down low, one of the sharp branches scratched her face, and she winced.

Ed tried to peek between the leaves. “Do you see—”

“Shh!” Qiara hushed him, and he glowered at her. Shai would’ve snickered if her heart wasn’t pounding so hard.

They kept absolutely still, as if Jistan had used his time magic on them. Shai kept her ears attuned to their surroundings.

It felt like an hour, but was probably only a minute before they heard two guards tramping through the dry grass toward their previous location. Shai watched, holding her breath and hoping they didn’t search the area.

Next to her, Ed slowly slid two knives out from the gray vest he wore. She tapped him on the shoulder, shaking her head sternly. He held up his weapons, his eyes saying he would defend himself if he had to. She wished she knew how to signal to him that leaving behind dead bodies for other guards to find would be a very bad idea.

She grasped the vial of Slumber Root powder in her pocket. If she weren’t so worried about guards stumbling upon a sleeping body, she would’ve used it on Ed.

The guards talked to each other from a few yards away.

“I told you, there’s nothing down here,” the skinny guard said to the brawny one.

“I thought I saw a flash,” the other guard replied. “Like fire or some type of light.”

“Maybe you saw fireflies. They’re usually out this time of year.”

“I’m telling you, it was something bigger than a firefly.” Their voices became louder, then quieter as they searched around.

“Even if it was a trespasser, it doesn’t matter. There’s no way into the fortress without going through us. Let’s go back before the captain scolds us for leaving our post.”

“Fine, but I’m reporting a possible disturbance.”

Their footsteps faded as they went back inside the fortress. The last thing Shai heard was the skinny guard saying, “You’re just being paranoid…”

The three of them exhaled when they couldn’t hear the guards anymore.

Qiara smacked Edmun’s arm. “See what you did? You almost ruined our whole operation!”

He snarled. “Me? You’re the one who—”

“Hey!” Shai whispered harshly. “Stop it, both of you! Your bickering is why we almost got caught.”

“Exactly,” Qiara said. “That’s why he should leave.” She glared him down.

“I’m not going anywhere without the Obsidian Chest,” he said.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, then furrowed. “I don’t know how you found out about the chest, but you must be mistaken. We’re stealing it for Emperor Akeil.”

Shai looked at her feet, biting her bottom lip. Ed turned to her.

“Are you going to tell her, or should I?” he asked, putting away his knives.

Shai huffed in frustration as Qiara looked between them. Finally, Shai faced her friend and said, “Madame Kalyssah wants the chest and the object inside. I have to give it to her or she’ll hurt my mother.”

Qiara dropped her head back, staring at the sky. “Goddess of All. I knew the hold that cursed woman still had on you would come back to haunt you, but not this soon.” She looked at Shai. “And just how do you plan on explaining this to Jistan?”

Shai remained silent.

“You’re going to steal the chest from him?” Qiara said in disbelief.

“I have no choice,” Shai said in a low voice.

Her friend glared at her. “Well, thanks for telling me about all this.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want you to get tangled up in my mess. My mother’s life is at stake.”

Qiara ran her hands over her braids, cursing again. “Alright, fine. I’ll help. I’m not sure I want to give the chest to Emperor Akeil anyway. Not that Madame Kalyssah’s an improvement, but better the demon we know.”

Shai wanted to hug her friend, but refrained in front of Ed. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, well, we still have to get the stupid chest first. Which reminds me, I found a way into the labyrinth. I saw a sewage grate a few feet from the fortress wall. We’ll need Leiam, our helpful metamancer, to remove the bars of the grate so we can drop in.”

Shai wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like the idea of going through a sewer, but it’s our best option.”

“Yes, it is,” Ed agreed. “When are we going down there?”

Shai leveled a look at him. “You are not included in we. So you don’t need to concern yourself with anything. You’ll wait outside the palace grounds, and I’ll let you see the chest and what’s inside it when we get out.”

Ed reached into his vest, sliding one of his blades out again. “Do I need to remind you—”

With lightning reflexes, Shai reached out and grabbed his wrist, twisting until his fingers released the knife. She snatched the weapon with her other hand and thrust it up to rest against his jugular. He blinked in surprise, his Adam’s apple bobbing next to the blade. Qiara snickered.

“No more threats,” Shai hissed, her steely gaze boring into his.

“Alright,” Ed spat.

She waited a beat longer, then stepped away from him. He released his breath when she lowered the knife, rubbing at his neck.

“Looks like you finally learned a thing or two about blades,” he said, watching her warily.

“Yes. And after I give you the chest, I want Madame Kalyssah to release me and my mother from The Cliq. Whatever treasure it holds should be enough to cover any debt I owe her.”

He smirked. “That’s not my call. But she’ll probably agree. I didn’t think you’d be so eager to be free of us, Shaielle. I thought The Cliq was your family.”

“If you’re family, then I don’t want one.” She flipped the blade in her hand, holding it out to him hilt first. He slowly took it from her.

“Well, that was fun,” Qiara said, smiling like they’d just left a party. “Shall we report our findings to Prince Jistan now?”

* * *

Shai and Qiara stood in Jistan’s guest room with him, Raz, Tivon, and Leiam, telling everyone about the sewer. And the close call with the guards.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Jistan said, his eyes lingering on Shai, which made her face heat. After a heartbeat, he looked at Qiara and added, “Both of you.”

Shai cleared her throat. “Did you get the key?”

In answer, he fished it out of his pocket and held it up.

“Nice,” Qiara said. “Look at you, becoming a thief like us. I’m so proud.”

Jistan laughed. “In this case, thievery is an acceptable accomplishment.”

The door opened then and Aladia breezed in, her normally flawless hair looking a bit disheveled. Her face was flushed too.

Raz raised his eyebrows. “How did things go with Prince Keion?”

“I found out he’s a very horrible kisser,” Aladia said, attempting to fix her hair. “But I left him before he could take me to bed.”

“Why?” Qiara asked. “I think you two would make a perfect couple.”

Aladia glared at her. “If I married the prince of another country, my father would disown me.”

“I fail to see a problem with that. Then you wouldn’t be around to terrorize the citizens of Casland anymore.”

Shai had to cough to disguise her laugh.

“Oh, you’ll see how the citizens of Casland worship me one day,” Aladia said with a sickly-sweet smile, throwing a look at Jistan. Shai narrowed her eyes at this, wondering if there was something between Aladia and the prince she didn’t know about.

Which she shouldn’t care about, of course. But her heart still lurched painfully.

“Anyway, let’s get back to the heist,” Jistan said, rubbing his temple as though fending off a headache. “We’ll go early, the day after tomorrow, right before dawn. Shai and Qiara are right about this sewer grate being our best way in to avoid the fortress guards. Leiam can remove it for us, and Shai can break any wards blocking our way. Be sure to wear comfortable clothing in dark colors, and stock yourselves with mana regeneration potions and your weapons. You can also bring anything you don’t want to leave behind, as long as they are easy to carry, just in case we can’t come back to the palace. So, if there’s nothing else, let’s all head to bed, we’ve got a big day tomorrow and the day after. Goodnight, everyone.”

They all slowly filed out of the room, muttering goodnight back. Shai lingered, wanting a moment alone with Jistan.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” she asked him when everyone was gone.

“I have to be,” he replied, rubbing his eyes.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

He looked at her. “You’ve done this dozens of times. Does the fear of getting caught ever dissipate the more you do it?”

“No. The fear is real and intense every single time for me. For Q though, she probably thinks of it as a game.”

He chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

She hesitated, then lost the battle with herself as she grabbed his hand. “We’re going to survive this. We’re going to get out. We’ll leave the chest behind if we have to.”

He squeezed her hand back. “Unfortunately, failure isn’t an option for me. Father won’t allow it. And I have to stop my people from dying.”

She nodded in understanding, remembering what they saw in that village near the border. She loved that he was doing this for his people, but she wondered if pleasing his father was even more important. If so, she’d be very disappointed in Jistan, and in her own heart for developing strong feelings for him again.

As if trying to make it harder for her, he reached up and brushed his thumb lightly over her cheek. Warmth traveled from her face to her toes, and her heart somersaulted in her chest.

When she stared at him, he stammered, “Y-you must’ve cut yourself earlier.” He showed her the flecks of dried blood on his thumb.

“Oh, one of the branches scratched me when I was hiding from the guards,” she explained. You can keep touching me if you want, she silently urged him. “Did you get all the blood off?”

“Just a little more.” He rubbed his thumb against her skin again, his face only a couple inches from hers. “There, I think that’s…all.” His eyes flicked to her lips.

Shai found herself looking at his too, her gaze hooded. Their hands were still clutched together between them, his palm warm and calloused against her own soft skin. Her breath hitched when he still didn’t pull away, and her heart beat harder against her ribs.

She could barely think straight. And when she felt herself leaning toward him, she didn’t feel like she was in control of her own body.

There was only half an inch separating them when she remembered they were in the enemy’s palace, about to steal a priceless object, for Goddess’s sake. She shouldn’t be doing this.

She immediately pulled away. “Um…we should probably get some rest now.”

He blinked, coming back to himself too. “R-right. Um…goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She took a deep breath, stopping herself from hugging him. Instead, she gently squeezed his hand again, then turned to leave.

“Shai,” he said, stopping her from pulling her hand out of his.

She turned to him again, and his eyes shone with some kind of emotion. Shai’s stomach swooped. Was he about to voice that emotion? If he asked her to stay with him tonight, she would probably do it…

He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “If we don’t survive the heist, I just want you to know I’m glad we got to know each other again.”

She tried not to let her disappointment show. “Me too. I wish…I wish our lives were different.” She wished she weren’t in a gang of bandits. She wished he weren’t a prince with obligations. She wished so much.

“I know. I feel the same way.” His eyes held a sad glint as he finally dropped her hand, and she already missed his touch.

She walked out of the room, a hand over her chest as she pondered over what would happen in the next few days. She had to please Madame Kalyssah for the sake of her mother but…could she really do it?

Could she really betray Jistan?