54. Zai
Zai
Dusk bled across the city as Lora and I passed through the main gates. Moonlight caught in her ebony braid, a few loose strands dancing in the breeze.
Images of her body pressed against Erion’s invaded my thoughts. His hands around her waist as their lips met sent acid roiling through my gut. I clenched my jaw and forced it from my mind.
Commoners flowed around us, their conversations blending into meaningless noise. Despite the late evening, the streets were still alive with bustling activity.
I tugged my hood lower, concealing my face in shadows. No one would likely recognize me in these threadbare clothes—so far beneath what a prince should wear—but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Hunger twisted through my belly as we crossed the main market square.
Firelight flickered across stalls crammed with wares.
Dried herbs hung in rows, barrels of grain were stacked in precarious towers, and cuts of meat sizzled over charcoal braziers.
The scent of smoke and spices hung thick in the air.
Lora’s steps slowed as her gaze snagged on a vendor grilling meat skewers.
“Hold on,” I said, veering toward the stall.
The vendor wiped greasy hands on his apron as I ordered two skewers, fishing coins from the pouch Iz had given me. Over a month had crawled past since that dreadful morning when she attached it to my belt, telling me there was so much about the world I didn’t understand.
She’d been right.
The palace clung to the mountainside, visible between the clustered rooftops. Those walls and corridors had formed the boundaries of my existence for my entire life. The only home I’d ever known.
Part of me still longed to sleep in my own bed, to visit the animals in the menagerie, to feel the comfort of home. But when I returned—if I returned—things wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be the same.
I’d have to talk to Father about how we handled the poor, how we sentenced criminals, and how we viewed the Moon Queendom. With the rift gone, he might actually be inclined to listen.
The vendor thrust two skewers into my hand, and I tore my gaze from the palace. Turning to Lora, I offered one to her.
Her eyes narrowed, jaw set. “I can get my own food.”
My gaze dragged down her frame and back up. “Do you have any money?”
“No.” She ground the word out through clenched teeth.
Frustration coiled through me at her hostility. “Would be a waste to throw it away, so just take it, will you?”
“Drowning stars,” she grumbled, planting one hand on her hip. “You might be used to ordering people around, but you can’t tell me what to do, prince.” She practically spat the last word.
I seized her red dress by the shoulder and pushed her between the stalls with discreet forcefulness. Eyes wide, she stumbled back as I propelled her into a narrow alley.
Her back thudded against the rough stone wall, and I caged her in with my arms, one hand flat against the stone, the other still clenching the skewers.
Her palms pressed against my chest, not shoving me away, but preventing me from moving closer. “What are you—”
“Don’t call me that where everyone can hear,” I snarled.
“What? Prince?” Her lips curled into a sneer. “What should I call you then? Your Highness?”
A growl rumbled in my throat as I leaned in, my lips grazing the shell of her ear. “Do you want us to get caught?”
Her chest rose in a sharp inhale, and heat flared from her skin, crawling up her neck. Blood pounded through my veins as I drank in the flush spreading across her face.
Her palms stayed pressed against my chest, still not pushing me away. No doubt she felt my racing heart beneath her fingers.
“Drown it all,” she muttered, glaring up at me. “Fine. I won’t call you that in public”
I should’ve stepped back, but her touch awakened something ravenous inside. A wicked desire to provoke her further surged through me, to watch the fluster spread across her skin.
I held her gaze. “Don’t use your moon expressions either.”
She frowned. “What moon expressions?”
“Drowning stars,” I murmured, the words foreign on my tongue. “Stars and sea.” My voice dropped lower as I recited every odd phrase she’d thrown at me. “Turning tides. Ebbs and darkness. Salt-cursed. Silt-waste. Rot of the deep.”
Her throat worked, and her lips parted, but no words emerged. My gaze snagged on those delicious lips. They were like magnets, pulling me in, practically begging to be kissed. If I dipped my head just a fraction, I could close my mouth over hers.
A storm churned in her eyes—anger, defiance, and something else, something raw and unguarded. Those dark eyes flickered to my mouth, then jerked back up.
The corner of my lips quirked up. She felt it too—this pull between us, like emberwings drawn to a flame.
Her features hardened, every hint of vulnerability vanishing as she gave my chest a light shove. I didn’t budge, too amused by her feeble attempts to resist the tension humming between us.
“I get it,” she said, shoving harder. “I’ll choose my words more carefully. Now come on, we need to go.”
I eased back, leaving just enough space to hold up the two skewers between us. “Take it.”
A smile tugged at my mouth as I added, “Please.”
Grumbling, she snatched one and ducked under my arm.
Tense silence hummed between us as we navigated the crowded streets. I devoured the savory meat in just a few bites, and Lora finished hers just as quickly. I stifled a smug grin. The tiny victory of getting her to eat my food pleased me far more than it should.
The street widened into a plaza where taverns spilled warm light and raucous laughter into the evening. People surged past on all sides, stumbling from one establishment to the next.
Lora ducked her head, yanking her hood forward. “Drowni—” She bit off the word. “Isn’t that one of the pirates?”
I followed her gaze to a weathered tavern.
Tera stood in the glow of hanging lanterns.
Her hood was drawn up, but a few brown curls had spilled free, framing her scarred face.
Two figures leaned close, voices low—likely people from her network.
Inside the open doorway, more crew members hunched over mugs, gloomy defeat etched across their features.
Flames alive, they had no idea what had happened to me. I’d promised to meet them in the forest after breaking into the prison. They must’ve assumed I’d been captured or killed. Were they sad about… me?
No, they were probably grieving that I’d failed to bring Kestrel back.
But with the new poster plastered across every message board, they knew Erion had gotten away. Would they keep hunting him without me? The increased reward would certainly tempt them.
I pulled the parchment with Tera’s oath from my pouch, and my heart crumbled. The words had smeared into an unreadable haze.
Of course. Her oath had been to help me, and now she thought I was dead.
Raising a hand toward Lora, I kept my voice low. “Stay here. I just need a few words with them.”
Her glare could’ve melted stone.
I held her gaze, willing the sincerity in my words to surface in my eyes. “I just want to tell them I’m alive. And that they need to stop hunting the Dual Wielder.”
Her arms crossed over her chest. Without a word, she dissolved into the shadows of a nearby alley.
I reached Tera just as her companions vanished down the street. “Captain.”
She pivoted, eyes widening. “Zai!” Her expression hardened. “Where in the sunless void have you been?”
“Long story. No time.” I glanced over my shoulder and leaned closer. “I need you to stop hunting the Dual Wielder.”
She raised a skeptical brow. “Why? Don’t you want the King’s pardon anymore?”
“I do.” My hands clenched at my sides. “But I…”
My throat tightened. I hadn’t thought through how much to reveal.
Tera’s sharp eyes studied me. She had her rough edges, but she’d fought by my side in every battle I’d dragged her into. She’d covered my back without hesitation and never flinched from my temper.
I scratched the back of my neck. “This might sound crazy, but the Dual Wielder and moon girl aren’t planning an attack on the Sun Kingdom. They want to seal the rift and rid the world of monsters. They’re trying to build a better future. And I… I’m helping them.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Seal the rift?” She shook her head. “You’re right, it does sound crazy.”
“Trust me, Tera. They’re not plotting against anyone—just trying to do the right thing.”
She tilted her head. “Sounds more like you’re being set up in some elaborate deception.”
“There’s no deception.” My jaw clenched. “I can’t explain it, but I trust them. Just promise me you’ll stop hunting them. And in return, I’ll compensate the crew for… everything. And I’ll make sure you get your pardon, too.”
Silence stretched between us as she studied my face.
Then a smile tugged at her lips. “If you’ll give us all that without us even having to capture the Dual Wielder, who am I to argue?
” She squeezed my shoulder. “You know what, Zai, I remember when you were a scrawny boy training in the courtyard. You’ve come a long way since then, haven’t you? ”
Warmth spread in my chest. “I’ve come even further since we met in that Blightlands inn a few weeks ago.”
She chuckled. “You sure have.”
I nodded toward the open doorway. “Can you tell the crew that I—” The words tangled in my throat. “I’m sorry, and…” I swallowed.
“I’ll tell them.” She gave my shoulder another squeeze and stepped back. “Best of luck to you.”
Raising one hand in farewell, she vanished into the tavern’s smoky interior.
I slipped back across the street and found Lora pressed against the alley wall, dark eyes pinning me with razor-sharp suspicion.
A crooked smile tugged at my lips. “Don’t worry. They won’t hunt the Dual Wielder anymore.”
Her jaw stayed tight, her glare radiating skepticism. Without a word, she took off.
I followed close behind, unable to tear my eyes from her. My gaze lingered on the curve of her hips, the quiet defiance of her squared shoulders, the lethal grace woven into every movement.
Ravenous hunger twisted through me, the kind no amount of food could ever satisfy.