Seven #3
“He’s been away from home too long,” said the female kahjai.
Her voice had changed. She didn’t sound annoyed or disgusted, just slightly sad.
“This is why the queen cautions us about being among outsiders. If he starts developing . . . outsider thoughts, I’m afraid for his future with the conclave.
He’s such a talented kahjai—it would be a shame if the queen . . .”
She trailed off, as if reluctant to voice what she feared. My heart was pounding in my chest. I hadn’t known any of this about
Raithe, the kahjai, or the queen. I did know one thing: We were not welcome in this beautiful city, with its insular, beautiful
people. Even though they smiled and bowed and were perfectly polite, to the iylvahn, outsiders were to be hated and feared.
The conversation with the two kahjai had not started up again, and a prickle of warning ran up my spine. Time to go, Sparrow. Before the highly trained assassins notice that you’re eavesdropping.
I had started to move, to slip away from this corner and back to safety, when a hand slammed into the wall next to me, making
me jump out of my skin.
“Well.” The female kahjai loomed over me, gazing down with cold eyes. “Look what we have here. The Fateless herself, I believe.”
Her head tilted, pale blue eyes watching me like a sand hawk. “They say you were a thief in Kovass. I believe it.” She stepped
closer, pressing me against the wall, as her companion joined us. Now there were two highly lethal kahjai boxing me in, and
nowhere to run.
“Did you learn anything interesting, Fateless?” the female iylvahn asked.
She raised an arm, a dagger appearing in her fingers from nowhere.
“I heard that, in some outsider cultures, they cut off your hand for stealing,” she went on as my stomach twisted in fear.
“Within Irrikah, stealing secrets is an offense that will get you killed. Shall I save the queen the trouble?”
“Sparrow! There you are!”
Halek’s voice broke the tense silence, and the Fatechaser stepped to my side, smiling easily at the two iylvahn. “Sorry about
that,” he said, seeming unruffled by the cold glares of the kahjai. “This was my fault. I thought I saw our friend and sent
Sparrow to call him over.”
“Your friend,” the male kahjai said flatly.
“Yes. Tall, hooded, mysterious? Looks a lot like you from the back?” Halek made a vague gesture at nothing. “My apologies.
It was a simple misunderstanding. Come on, Sparrow,” he went on, taking my arm. “I need a partner. You said you would learn
this dice game with me. Still up for it?”
I took a quick breath to find my voice. “Oh, right,” I breathed, trying to sound as casual as he did. To ignore the pulse
racing in my ears. “Sure, Halek. Let’s go.”
The kahjai stared a moment longer, then stepped back. Relieved, I started to walk away from the two deadly assassins, but
the female kahjai’s voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Raithe,” said the assassin in a hard voice, “is not your friend. Kahjai are no one’s friends, especially not outsiders. He
might’ve protected you on your way to Irrikah, but do not mistake that duty for anything else. We are loyal to our queen and
our nation—those who forget that tend to disappear.” Those cold blue eyes narrowed. “Remember that, Fateless.”
I swallowed. Before I could think of a reply, a chill slid up my back, and the feeling of being watched crept over me. The two kahjai looked across the room, and the woman smiled.
I knew who I would see even before I turned around. Raithe stood in the entrance of the tavern, outlined in hazy moonlight.
His pale blue eyes met mine across the room, though his expression was hidden in the shadows of his hood. My racing heart
stuttered, my feet suddenly frozen to the floor of the sylgellia.
“Raithe.” The two kahjai stepped around us and walked up to the iylvahn in the doorway. For a moment, he didn’t acknowledge
them, his gaze fixed on me. Then the female kahjai stepped close, putting a hand on his arm, and he finally turned away. They
held a quiet discussion in the doorframe, voices too soft to be heard, but I saw Raithe’s lips move as he spoke to them both.
The female kahjai said something that caused his gaze to flicker to mine again, his eyes hard and flat. She shook her head
and trailed a finger down his arm, and I clenched my jaw so tight my teeth throbbed.
Without another glance at us, the three kahjai turned and left the tavern, vanishing into the shadows. I stared at the empty
doorway, teetering on the edge of slipping into the night and following them. But this was Raithe’s city; he would know how
to evade me, and he was probably expecting me to go after them. Besides, if I did catch up, what would I say? What would I
ask the kahjai? He had already made it clear that he wouldn’t tell me anything, just as I had made it clear that I didn’t
want to see him anymore.
Halek stepped close, his voice a murmur. “If you want to follow them, just say the word,” he said. “I’m always up for tailing three highly trained killers through the shadows. I don’t think they’d murder us in a lonely alley, but it would be exciting nonetheless.”
I took a deep breath and turned from the door. “No,” I decided, shaking my head. “What’s the point? You heard what the other
kahjai said. Their loyalty is to the queen. We’re outsiders here. It’s better to just . . . forget them.”
Forget him.
Halek’s gaze was sympathetic, but he nodded. “Well, come on, then,” he said with a smile. “We may be outsiders, but I bet
we can still score big at their dice tables. You and me, Sparrow, cleaning house in the iylvahn’s own city. Sounds fun, doesn’t
it?” His eyes sparkled, and he held his arm out to me. “Up for learning a new game? We might win some fun trinkets before
we leave for the World Scar.”
I forced a smile. Raithe was gone; I didn’t want to think about him right now. I didn’t want to think about Deathless queens,
kings, or looms of the goddess. Tomorrow we would leave the city and start what was probably the most dangerous journey of
our lives. But right now, I wanted to forget all that, and focus on something I could do.
I stepped up to the grinning Fatechaser and slipped my arm through his. “Let’s do it.”