Page 139 of A Tribute of Fire

It wasn’t somewhere I should go. The prince was there and I didn’t want to put myself in a position where he could capture and imprison me and try to force me to honor our betrothal. Not that he would have any reason to, as he didn’t know who I was, but if the witness had seen me with my parents at the selection and realized who they were, then there was at least one person in Ilion who knew my true identity.

The witness couldn’t share his knowledge with anyone else because he couldn’t speak, but it still felt dangerous that the possibility existed. And that I had thought I’d seen him earlier tonight at the Golden Lamb. Like it was some kind of omen or warning.

“Here it is,” Jason said. This building was not nearly as grand as the library and looked much older. We also had a records building back in Locris. It was the place where all the boring bureaucratic documents were kept. Taxes paid and collected, lawsuits and their verdicts, census lists documenting every citizen, businesses opened and operating, architectural plans for buildings and roads, past public announcements, minutes of government and royal meetings, official sets of weights and measurements for the marketplaces.

I didn’t know why I thought any of that would be helpful but I hoped there would be something that might lead me in the right direction.

“This way.” Jason whispered the words and I followed him as we entered the administrative building. We crept through hallways past multiple sets of doors. I wanted to ask him where he was going but stayed quiet. He seemed to have somewhere specific in mind.

He stopped in front of a door that was unmarked. “This is the chief recordkeeper’s office,” he said.

There was no lock and he opened it for me. After I went inside he checked both directions of the hallway and then also came in, gently closing the door.

Fortunately for me, everything was labeled. I only had to search for a few seconds before I found a drawer marked “Temple.”

Perfect. I slid the drawer open and started sorting through the papers. I wanted to grab everything and bring it back with me but that might arouse suspicion. It was better to do what I’d planned on in the library—find the oldest set of documents and hope that they contained useful information.

I took a bound book that looked very weathered and aged, located underneath tax documents and financial records for the temple—which included significant donations made by noble families and the royals. I saw a salary listed for the high priestess and my eyebrows lifted in surprise.

Theano was doing well for herself.

There was another flat papyrus marked as “Inventory of the Temple Treasury” dated from this year. That could prove useful. I took that, as well.

I slipped the book and the papyrus into my knapsack and closed the drawer quietly.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Jason asked, again whispering.

I nodded.

“Are you finished or do you need to keep searching?”

“I’m done,” I said softly. I didn’t want to tempt fate by staying here longer than was necessary.

Jason pressed his ear against the door. “I think the way is clear. Let’s go.”

We had only gone about ten feet when there was a sound somewhere off to our left that was clearly footsteps. Jason grabbed me by the arm and opened the closest door.

It turned out to be an incredibly small storage closet. There wasn’t really enough room for both of us, but he squeezed in next to me and closed the door.

We were pressed completely against each other and my mind forgot how to function. I probably should have been listening for the guard but instead all I could think about was the way Jason’s body was hard against mine, the way both of our chests were rapidly expanding and contracting, coming into contact with one another over and over again.

I glanced up at him from under my eyelashes but he wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was trained on the door, listening.

Did he not feel this? This sparking energy between us, like lightning was flashing and filling the entire room with heat and light? Overwhelming and terrifying all at the same time?

My mouth had gone completely dry and I knew that I was trembling against him. My blood was thundering inside me, blocking out sound, as heat swirled in my gut.

We fit together so well. As if we’d been made for one another.

The guard must have left because Jason smiled down at me. “I think he’s gone. Good thing he wasn’t a goose.”

I could only nod, unable to speak. He slowly pushed the door open and stuck his head out to survey the hallway.

“All clear,” he said. He easily disengaged from me and I had to put a hand out on the cold stone wall in an attempt to center myself back in reality. My heart was beating so hard it felt like I might expire.

He raised his eyebrows, questioning. I shook my head at him and came out into the hallway. I had fought through worse battles than this. I could control my rebelling body.

We made our way out of the building with no other close calls, and after we’d put a few streets between ourselves and the offices, Jason said, “I suppose you’re not going to tell me what you took.”

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