Page 47 of Fateless

I cringed. She hadn’t been there when the king was resurrected. She hadn’t seen the king’s terrible power, enough to pull down an entire city and replace it with his own. “I’m not a warrior,” I told her. “If I stand against the Deathless King, I’m going to die. Anyone who faces him is going to die.”

“And yet it must begin somewhere.” Kysa’s voice was unyielding. “The Scarab Clan will not submit. We will not be subjugated. If we must die protecting our lands and our freedom, so be it. We are not afraid to make that choice. And perhaps our sacrifice will inspire others to stand and fight as well.”

“I hope so,” I said. “Because I’ll be hiding in the deepest hole I can find. Or in the farthest reaches of the farthest kingdom. Maybe if I put enough dust oceans between me and the Deathless King, he’ll decide one insignificant thief is not worth the hassle.”

The insect rider raised a brow. “I seem to remember this ‘insignificant thief’ returning to strike the killing blow on a legendary abomination.”

“Yes, and I hope never to do it again.” Kysa still looked dubious, and I shrugged. “I’m a thief,” I told her. “That’s what Fate decided. That’s my place in the Tapestry of the World. We all know we can’t change our fates.”

“You are very confusing,” Kysa said bluntly. “Wasn’t it you who convinced the Fatechaser to defy what Fate has in store for him?”

I winced. She had me there. “I convinced him to try,” I said, shrugging. “And it’s different for Halek—he’s not doing anything he wouldn’t already do. I know what I am, Kysa. I’m not a warrior. I’m not a hero. I’ve made it this far because surviving is what I’m good at. In the guild, it was every hood for themself. You stick your neck out for someone, you just get your head chopped off.”

“Then I’m glad you made an exception for us the other day.”

Everything inside me cringed as Raithe’s low, quiet voice drifted into the conversation. His tone wasn’t angry or accusatory, but it still made me want to slip away into a dark corner so I wouldn’t have to face his disappointment.

Wait, why do you care what he thinks of you?A spark of defiance made me frown.He’s akahjaiwho has probably taken dozens of lives, maybe hundreds. You’ve always known what you are. You won’t ever be what he wants.

“Don’t get up on my account,” Raithe told Kysa, who had shoved back her chair. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“I was just about to leave, anyway.” Kysa rose with elegant grace, her black hair shimmering in the greasy tavern light. “Rhyne will be impatient for his dinner,” she said, as Halek waved to her from his table. “If I don’t feed him in a timely manner, hestarts chewing his stall.” She rolled her eyes in an affectionately exasperated manner. “That’s the problem with having a mount that can eat literally anything. Once I was forced to ration his food, and he chewed a cart-size hole in the lower deck.”

“That would be amusing,” Raithe said, “if it wasn’t also terrifying.”

Kysa chuckled. “Remind me to tell you the story of Rhyne in the shipyard one day.”

She walked off, chitin boots clicking against the metal floor of the tavern. I noticed several male patrons stop what they were doing to watch her leave. Including Halek.

Raithe sat down in the chair next to mine. I avoided his eyes, drawing farther into my hood, but felt his gaze on me all the same. Was he angry? Disappointed? Regretting that he had ever made the promise to take a lowly thief to his grand iylvahn city?

“I heard that Bahjet and his associate were waiting for you outside your room the other day,” Raithe said, referring to the pair of merchant princes we’d met earlier. Theyhadbeen lurking in the hall one morning, cornering me as soon as I’d stepped through the door. I’d given them the slip, but they were persistent, chasing me down the corridor while shouting the wonderful benefits of joining their venture.

“They won’t be bothering you again,” Raithe went on. “And no,” he added as I peeked up, “I didn’t kill them. I did make it very clear that you were not interested in their offer, and that further inquiries would be very bad for their business.”

“Thanks,” I muttered. “I was planning to never use my front door again and just pry up the floorboards, but that works, too.”

A faint smile crossed his face, which made my stomach do that weird little flutter. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” he said, still smiling. “I have enough on my mind without having to think about people scurrying around beneath my floor.”

A snicker escaped me, which was a bit surprising. After all that had happened in Kovass, I hadn’t been certain I would ever laugh or joke again. “Just tell yourself it’s mice,” I said. “Really, really big mice. Nothing to worry about at all.”

“Mmm.” He narrowed his eyes. “I keep hearing rumors about some kind of creature ghosting around the machinery decks. Some of the workers are even starting to whisper that Captain Gahmil’s spirit has returned and is haunting the lowest floors. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

I shrugged. How the striders worked had always fascinated me. I wanted to see the gears and machinery for myself, despite signs proclaimingDanger!andNo entryin certain areas. “Probably really big mice,” I told Raithe.

He gave a resigned chuckle, making my insides squirm again. “Well, I hope they’re careful mice,” he said. “We don’t want anything happening to them this close to Damassi.”

“They’re very careful mice,” I assured him. “No one will ever see them at all.”

“What? Are we talking about mice?” Halek asked as he joined us, plopping into a chair across from me. “I think I have a couple living in my wall. By the way, do not play Triple Fang with Rhulac over there—I’m pretty sure his dice are weighted.”

“You seemed to be doing pretty well regardless,” I said, remembering the stack of coins on Halek’s side of the table.

He shrugged. “Oh, I definitely won most of the time. I’m just saying he was probably cheating. Weird, right? Anyway...” Halek gave both me and Raithe a serious look. “We’re only a couple days from Damassi. Where are we going after we reach the city?”

“?‘We’?” Raithe frowned. “I was under the impression that we would part ways once we reached the coast. Sparrow and I will be traveling across the Barren Steppes toward the Maze, the steep cliffs and canyons that surround Irrikah. It’s a hard, dangerous journey, even for one of the iylvahn. I can navigate the Maze well enough, but I cannot promise you would be allowed into the city, Halek. They might turn you away at the gates.”

Halek started to answer, but suddenly, my skin crawled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. Instantly wary, I looked around the room, searching for anyone whose gaze lingered on our table, who seemed far too interested. No one was watching us; even Rhulac at the center table was drowning his losses in drink and ignoring everyone around him. Still, I couldn’t shake the intense feeling that something was staring at me.

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