Page 96 of The King of Koraha
“I need a few things for the trip. May I go to the market?” Inwardly, she cringed at her submissive tone.
“Of course.” His gaze slid to Kamila and Fareed and they both gave a panicked little shake of their heads—they’d had enough of babysitting duty. “Dayana will collect you after second meal.”
“Thank you,” she gushed.
One of the guards showed her to the prince’s suite. She had forty angles until second meal. After a long nap—there was no way she’d get any sleep during darkness—Shyla took advantage of the prince’s extensive water closet. She scrubbed her hair a few times, washing more of the brown dye from it. While not nearly as nice as the prince’s, the facilities at the monastery were adequate and her hair had already started to fade to her natural blond.
Second meal was delivered to her and she ate every bite. Dayana arrived soon after. The soldier looked resigned.
Jingling a pouch of coins, Dayana said, “Xerxes said to buy whatever you need.”
“Including weapons?”
Dayana laughed. “No. Besides, you don’t need a weapon.”
“True. That’s because Iama weapon.” Shyla met the woman’s surprised gaze.Gotcha.
Dayana’s loyalty to Xerxes spanned circuits. She didn’t need to be influenced by the sunfire; Dayana had earned her spot in his inner circle well before. The woman had been there when he’d revealed the pendants and explained how they worked. Unfortunately, Dayana had no idea where Xerxes found them. She also didn’t know how to counter the sunfire or the details of Xerxes’ ultimate plan. The commander operated on a need-to-know basis and he believed most of his people didn’t need to know until the last possible angle. Vilma, who hated Shyla, was the person Xerxes trusted the most.
After erasing Dayana’s memory of having her soul read, Shyla plucked the pouch of coins from the woman’s hand. “You don’t need to come with me. I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.”
“I do, but the commander insisted.” Dayana took the coins back. “Let’s not waste any more of my time.” She strode to the door.
Shyla followed. They traveled to the main market in the shaft. The white light from the sky pillars illuminated the stands. People shopped and haggling sounded all around. She scanned the crowds, searching for the Invisible Swords.
“What do you need?” Dayana asked.
“Some travel clothes.” Shyla sorted through a number of pieces at different stalls, all the while keeping an eye out for her friends. She spotted most of them. Dayana’s impatience grew with each stop. But Shyla was waiting for the perfect opportunity to accidentally lose the soldier in the crowd. When Jaft and Rae had a heated argument right behind Dayana, distracting the woman, Shyla ducked behind a stall.
Mojag appeared next to Shyla almost immediately. She hadn’t seen him at all.
“We located Rendor and Captain Mahira,” Mojag said.
“Are they together?” That would be ideal.
“No. Rendor’s already one of Xerxes’ go-to men. He’s in the prince’s suites with the commander.”
That would make it harder for Shyla to free him. “And Captain Mahira?”
“Nearby. We need to move fast. The taxes are coming within the next sun jump.”
“Are you sure?”
“The gossip is hot.”
“What about my escort?” Shyla glanced around the market, expecting Dayana to come looking for her.
“Gurice is pulling a lookalike scam. She’ll tow your babysitter around like a velbloud at apex, thinking she’s shopping with you.” Mojag grinned. “I hope you like Gurice’s clothing choices. It’s probably the most dangerous thing you’ll do this sun jump.”
“Ha, ha. If time is limited, then let’s go.”
Mojag led her to the edges of the market. Captain Mahira stood between Nard and Balin. She had a hand spread on each of their chests, keeping them apart as they traded insults. When Balin noticed her and Mojag, he relaxed his stance. Nard also backed off.
Confused, the captain glanced around to see what had caused their sudden cease-fire and spotted Shyla.
“You,” she growled. Murder burned in her gaze, but Mahira couldn’t do anything to Shyla. Not yet.
Shyla freed the woman and braced for her attack. Mahira stumbled forward, but Nard and Balin blocked the captain from reaching Shyla.
