Page 2 of These Divided Shores
Edda gave him a look of disbelief. She fiddled with the Budwig Bean and her face got distant, as though she was listening to a voice echo down a tunnel. “We’re on the third floor now. Servant’s hall on the south side.” A pause. “Second door? Which—oh.”
Nayeli poked her head through a door, stray black curls bouncing in rebellion from the beige knit cap of her own servant’s uniform. She looked at Vex, the sympathy in her eyes saying Edda had told her, at some point, that they hadn’t found Ben. But she didn’t press for details—wouldn’t, around Cansu. The fact that Vex was Argridian royalty wouldn’t go over well among stream raiders, so as far as anyone else knew, Vex was just looking for his cousin. Not his cousin, the Crown Prince of Argrid.
Cansu pushed her way into the hall. “Two guards outside her room. Easy to eliminate.”
“Eliminate?” Vex gawked. “Stand down, Cansu. No bloodshed if we can help it.”
“We need to take out as many enemies as we can when we have the chance. You know Argrid wouldn’t hesitate tostick knives in our backs.”
“We aren’t Argrid,” Vex snapped. “And we aren’t your raiders, either. No killing.”
Cansu’s golden skin reddened. “You gave us the castle’s layout. You gave us thebasicsof the plan. But don’t you dare go getting it into your head that you’re in charge of this mission.”
“Oh, and you are?”
“You bet your unaligned ass I am.”
White-hot loathing descended over Vex. This was why he’d never joined a syndicate—he wasn’t about to follow orders with no questions asked. On a good day, he’d have laid into Cansu until someone—probably he—ended up bleeding. But with the added fury and grief and terror of Elazar’s takeover, Vex couldn’t have stopped himself.
Nayeli could stop him, though. She shot forward as he opened his mouth, and one hard look from her sent his insults sinking back down his throat.
“So help me,” she started, “I’ve had enough of you two and your verbal pissing contests. Cansu’s in charge because we’re using her syndicate’s resources, but gods damn it, we aren’t killing anyone. Now let’s get Kari before I change my mind on that last bit andkill both of you.”
Cansu flicked her short flop of dark hair out of her eyes and plodded back through the door.
Vex stayed long enough to sulk at Nayeli. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
She should’ve rolled her eyes and called him an idiot for challenging Cansu. But she gave him the same look that Edda wore, one filled with apology and sorrow.
Vex stomped after Cansu. Enough of this. Enoughpain.He couldn’t handle it.
Tall windows lit an ornate hall of marble and gold. Cansu stood over the collapsed bodies of two soldiers outside a closed door.
“Cansu! Goddamn it—”
“They’re only unconscious.” Cansu waved her fist. “Stop. Questioning. Me.”
Vex snarled at her, but Nayeli slid between them. “Gods,stop.” Her dark eyes went to Vex and she motioned at the door. “You want to be the one to—”
“Yeah.” No. But he walked up to it and tried the handle. Locked. Which he made quick work of with picks from Cansu, and when the gold-lined door opened, he took a step inside—
Something iron-hard swung him around and trapped his neck in a vise grip.
Vex yelped, but the sound weakened into a choked gargle.
“Wait!” Nayeli shot into the room after him. “Kari, right? We’re friends of your daughter! Let him go—gods, now I see where Lu gets her temper.”
“Adeluna?” The grip released. “How do you know her? Why are you here?”
Vex stumbled away, clutching his neck, half certain it was indented now.
“Rescuing you,” Cansu said as though it should’ve been obvious. She shut the door and marched across the room to yank open one of the balcony doors.
A gust of hot lake air swirled in, along with sensations that reminded Vex of memories from another life. Smoke. Fire. Screams.
“Today we commit the following raiders unto the Pious God’s mercy” came a different voice. A priest, likely, to oversee the proper disposal of heretics. “Vina Uzun; Branden Axel—”
He kept reading off names. Kari must’ve recognized one, because she pressed a hand to her chest, rocking forward.
