~ 6 ~
ANYA
I’ve been waiting for ten years for the look on Sabri’s face. Ever since that day, when she ran and left me behind to die in fire and ash, I’ve wondered what it would be like when she saw me again. I’ve dreamed about it—awake and asleep. So you can’t blame me for reveling in the emotions that explode across her face.
Maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised when they go crashing into anger. She always had a temper.
Sabri’s first swing is wild with rage. It’s not too hard to dodge.
“Hey, hey,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”
There’s been a shift now that everything is out in the open, and while it does feel justifiably good, there’s something strange about it. I feel almost naked despite being well wrapped in my work clothes.
Whatever. The important thing is that I’m holding the advantage.
“You’r—she’s dead!” Sabri snarls.
She swings again, but her aim is only slightly better than before. I probably have a few more seconds to placate her before she gets over the shock.
“No,” I reply, “I’m clearly not.”
“Anya’s dead! You can’t be Anya!”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure I know who I am. So let’s just calm down and—”
I duck. Her blade goes whizzing over my head, right where my neck had been. She’s aiming to kill.
I frown as I leap back a few steps. “C’mon now. Just hear me out.”
Sabri wastes no time. Somehow already back within striking distance, her blade sweeps in a vicious arc toward my hand. It nearly cuts the candle in half. The flame flickers in panic as I yank it backward.
“Be silent!” Sabri yells. “I won’t hear another lie from your mouth.”
“Listen—I’ll prove it, yeah?” She’ll have to come to her senses when faced with the truth. Hopefully.
“ Silence! ”
I duck as Sabri swings, but she’s channeling her rage more precisely, and this time I barely make it. Her sword slams into the wall behind me with a horrible clanking sound that resonates down the tunnel. It struck just a few rocks away from another trap—one that I do not want to set off. We had experimented with these traps around the old vault for a few days before we realized some are rather lethal. Even long dead, there’s nothing more vicious than a noble protecting their haughty treasures.
I’ve got my own haughty noble to deal with and I need to remedy it quickly. Think, Anya!
“Remember Nurse Maid Tinny?” I start. As Sabri yanks at her weapon, trying to free it from where it got wedged in the stone, my words come faster. “She had a mole beneath her right eye that she covered up with powder. We used to play in the field between the village and the palace. You like sunflowers.”
Sabri rips her sword free. She stands there eyeing me like a lioness, as still and as tense as a bowstring.
“Your favorite food is mashed potatoes,” I continue. I’m not the praying type, but I’m sure as heck praying that this will work. “You don’t like wearing dresses. When the baker’s boy made fun of that little girl from the fish market, you held him down while I cut off all his hair with a pair of gardening shears.”
Sabri’s gaze is strong enough to melt ice. I can practically see the cogs in her mind spinning around while she decides what to do.
I think I’ve got her. I take a slow and tentative step forward.
Just a bit more. What else was there?
“You, ah, don’t like the color purple. And… you sleep best naked. Oh!” I snap my fingers. “You promised me your first kiss—”
The sword comes flying at me as Sabri lunges.
Shit! I twist out of the way. Thought that was working. Oh well. Back to Plan B.
This isn’t going how I had hoped it would. It is, however, going how I planned for.
You never change, Sab.
“Fine, fine!” I yell, holding up both hands.
Sabri pauses. Maybe it’s the flicker of the candle, but her cheeks look red.
She’s pissed.
“You don’t have to believe me,” I say as calmly as I can manage.
“I don’t,” Sabri hisses. “Everything you say is a lie.”
“No.” I tilt my head. “Not everything.”
“I refuse to trust the word of a thief.”
“Want to test it? Go ahead.”
Sabri tenses. There’s a moment of contemplation where I think she might do the logical thing.
But as expected, she lunges for the final time, her sword drawn and aimed at my chest.
I slam my hand on a slightly protruding rock.
The floor drops out beneath our feet.