Jistan

A few days later, Jistan headed back into his pavilion, sighing wearily. After what he just had to deal with, he was wondering if his heist team would truly be able to work together once they arrived in Zanteos.

He walked through his tent’s flap, finding Lary and Shai inside sparring together. The boy had been doing this a lot lately to help her practice, and he thoroughly enjoyed it since he kept easily beating her.

Jistan had also been training with her every night of their journey, so he wasn’t surprised to find her here. It was something he always looked forward to after dinner.

Tapping the side of his sword against Shai’s ribs, Lary shook his head and said, “You’re dead again. It’s a wonder you survived that ambush the other day.”

Shai scoffed and looked at Jistan. “Your little buddy here can be so rude sometimes.”

Jistan laughed. “He didn’t get that from me.”

Lary chuckled too. “I’m only speaking the truth. But your bad weapon skills balance out when compared to your magic, which can best all other magic.”

“Why, thank you. I think.” Shai noticed the look on Jistan’s face. “So, Tivon told me you’d gone off to deal with a problem?”

The prince rubbed a hand down his face. “Yes. Aladia and Qiara got into a little scuffle before Raz and Leiam had to pull them apart.”

“Oh no,” Shai groaned. “I knew Qiara’s temper would get the best of her. Are they both okay?”

“Yes. I’m not sure who started it, but Qiara’s lip is cut and she gave Aladia one hell of a black eye.”

“Aladia probably deserved it,” Lary said, to which Jistan gave him a scolding look, but Shai snickered.

“I agree,” the prince finally admitted. “But still. This concerns me because we all need to get along, especially for our…assignment in Zanteos.” Lary was too young to know about the heist, but Jistan also wanted to keep the number of people who knew about it as low as possible. News of the theft would spread afterwards, anyway.

“Good luck. It will be nearly impossible for Aladia to get along with anyone.” Lary lifted his sword again, raising his eyebrows at Shai. “Another round?”

“I need a break first.” Shai sighed. “What if I’m just not meant to wield a weapon?”

“You are,” Jistan insisted. “You’re just pushing yourself too hard. Most people aren’t able to hold their own with a weapon until they’ve had moons of training.”

“I don’t have moons to train. We’re going to be in Zanteos in a few days.” Her hands tightened around the hilts of her dirks.

“I told you, most of the time we’ll be using magic, and if not, Raz, Leiam, or I will do the fighting. Qiara and Aladia might help too. You won’t need to do any close combat, if we’re lucky.”

“Maybe, but we haven’t been lucky lately.”

Jistan frowned. Shai was getting more and more anxious the closer they got to Zanteos. He was nervous about the heist too, but she seemed to be on another level, and he couldn’t figure out why. She should be the most comfortable of all, having been on multiple heists before.

Jistan told Lary then that he could take a break and go play with his friends. It was also a good chance to get Shai alone so they could talk.

After Lary left, Shai sat at the table, sipping from a canteen of water. She’d placed her dirks in front of her, and she glared down at them as she drank.

Jistan sat across from her. “Shai, we still haven’t talked much about your past. I hope you don’t think I would judge you. I want to hear about what happened after—”

“—your royal father booted Mama and me out of the palace?” she interrupted, a slight edge to her tone.

He stayed silent, gritting his teeth, and Shai sighed before continuing:

“Right, well, I guess you could say the emperor didn’t let us leave empty-handed. He didn’t see us off himself, though. He sent his advisor to thank us for serving the queen while she was alive, then he gave us a pouch of coins and told us we had to leave. As if the palace’s funds were low and they couldn’t afford to pay my mother to be an extra maid or do some other job.”

Jistan pursed his lips and remained silent, wanting her to resume the story.

“Anyway, that puny number of coins only fed us for half a year,” she said, gripping the canteen tighter. “After that, we had to beg for coins and food, or dig for scraps in trash bins. We also didn’t have shelter. Sometimes we stayed in abandoned buildings with other unhoused people. We rarely got a chance to take baths, so we always smelled pretty bad. And worst of all, my mother tried to court working men just so they could support us, but most of them used her or beat her. All of this went on while I was just ten and eleven years old.”

She paused to grab a small knife from the waistband of her pants, its blade only a few inches long and its hilt worn smooth from so much handling. She turned it over and over in her hands. “Mama gave me this to protect myself. I was smacked around a lot and nearly raped on many occasions, but I just had to threaten them with this and they usually left me alone. A couple of them I had to cut to give myself a chance to run away.”

Jistan was appalled. “I’m so sorry. My father should’ve never left you and your mother out on the streets.” The heat of anger rushed through him. “If I’d had any say—”

“I’m fine now, really. I’m just thankful those days are over.” She held up the knife. “I still keep this with me for protection and as a reminder to keep working for a better life for Mama and me.” She tucked the knife away again, then continued. “Anyway, when I turned twelve, my mancer ability began to show. Mama was shocked I was an unmancer. After that, it was easy to fight off men who tried to use magic on us, and we could steal food that was warded magically. A year later, someone from The Cliq heard of me, and Madame Kalyssah came to seek me and my mother out. She offered us shelter, food, clean water, and protection. In exchange, we had to work for her. Mama thought it was the best option for us, so we moved in with The Cliq, where we’ve been for the past four years.”

“Your mother had a lot of experience and her skills as a normancer,” Jistan said. “Couldn’t she have found a job as a baker or seamstress?”

“I often thought the same thing. She claimed no one would hire her, and she thinks Emperor Akeil had something to do with that. But I think she just wanted the fastest and easiest way out of our situation, and I feel like she should’ve tried harder to find legitimate work. I resent her sometimes for forcing me to become a thief, but I know she did it out of love.”

“She should’ve come to me all those years ago,” Jistan said. “Or you should’ve. I would’ve helped. When I turned fifteen, I was able to start making some of my own decisions. Or if you had caught me out and about when I was younger, I could’ve tried to help without my father’s knowledge—” He stopped. “Unless you didn’t come because you hated me too.”

She shook her head. “No! I could never hate you. My mother, though…she never wanted anything to do with the emperor or anyone tied to him ever again. She forbade me from seeing you. I was lucky just to get glimpses of you during every Pact Day parade.”

He sighed. “I hate what you went through. I never even got to say goodbye before you left all those years ago. My father made me believe your mother wanted to leave in a hurry.”

Shai rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Of course he did.” She drank from her canteen.

“I’m not proud of what he did, but maybe he had his reasons. Maybe he didn’t want a reminder of his beloved wife walking around the palace. Your mother and mine were close friends.” He took a deep breath. “To make up for what my father did, you and your mother can always come to me for anything from now until the end of your days, whether you stay with the Royal Defense Patrol or not. You will always have shelter, food, and clothing. If not at the palace, then I will buy you a house. You’ll never live on the streets again.”

She hesitated. “Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to burden you. You’re to be Emperor someday. You’ll have many responsibilities, especially after you’re married and have children.” She quickly drank more water, avoiding his eyes.

He clenched a fist. “Father keeps telling me I need to marry some princess or noblewoman before I turn eighteen in a few moons. I know all he wants is another heir for our legacy to continue after me, but I scoff at the idea of marriage at this time in my life.”

She grinned. “Right, you’re still too wild to settle down. You have that adventurous spirit in you.”

“Exactly. I’m not ready to be shackled to another person for the rest of my life.” Especially not someone like Aladia.

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

“No, it won’t, when I’m older.” He hesitated, staring at her, and then blurted out, “What about you? Is there any special person in your life, back in Valizea? Have you thought about marriage?”

She shook her head, giving him a strange look. “Oh, Goddess, no. There’s nobody who wants to court a thief, and I would never feel comfortable being with another thief. I wouldn’t be able to trust someone so devious. So my options are limited.”

“I see.” He couldn’t let his thoughts continue on the path they were trying to follow, so he shot to his feet. “Are you ready to begin training tonight?”

She put down her canteen and stood too, also seeming eager to get training. She grabbed her dirks off the table and he unsheathed his sword. He went on to show her some offensive moves, since she’d been practicing mostly defense up to this point.

When he told her to try attacking an invisible enemy, he noticed how stiff her movements were.

“Remember to use your whole body with your attacks,” he told her.

“How?” she asked.

He sheathed his sword in his belt and walked behind her. “Here, I’ll show you how to add more force behind your attacks.” He stepped up behind her until his chest was only an inch from her back. He was keenly aware of the heat of her body as he placed his hands on her hips. “Twist your body like this as you slash outward.”

He helped her rotate her body, and after she finished the move, she froze. She turned her head slightly toward him, her lips parted, her breathing ragged.

He grew tense as well, swallowing thickly. From this close, the scent of her was an intoxicating mix of lavender shampoo from her hair and a light minty smell from her breath. He wanted to lean closer, get a better whiff, or maybe even taste the mint—

He shook his head, remembering who they were and what they were supposed to be doing. Which was not whatever he’d been about to imagine doing.

He quickly stepped back from her, rubbing his hands down his sides. He could think clearer when the cooler air hit him as he distanced himself from her body heat. “Um…you can try a few practice swings on your own. I’ll watch.”

She nodded, rotating her shoulders as if trying to shake off the moment they just had. She did some moves on her own, and from that point, he just gave her tips as he watched, sometimes coming at her gently with his sword. He tried to think of her as another soldier he was giving advice to, because he couldn’t let himself get distracted by her closeness again. But he still found this difficult at times.

And it wasn’t just him. He could tell she was nervous too because sometimes she made mistakes when their eyes met. He just encouraged her to try again whenever she did.

He was grateful when Lary came back to watch them train, breaking the awkwardness between them. The boy offered to spar with Shai again, and she lasted longer against him this time, but she still lost when he disarmed one of her dirks.

Lary smiled and stepped back. “Don’t fret. I’m sure you’ll learn how to use your knives properly in the next decade or so.”

“Oh, shut it,” Shai said in mock-annoyance, flicking one of Lary’s curls. “I’m going to beat you one day, just watch.”

“You can try.” He laughed as Shai took a half-hearted swipe at him. Jistan smiled, watching their exchange.

Shai claimed she was tired then and left to go to her own tent, bidding them goodnight.

Lary turned to Jistan when she was gone. “Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

“About your female friends, I must say… I like Lady Shai much better than Lady Aladia.”

Jistan’s smile widened. “So do I.”