Jistan

The next morning, Jistan had breakfast in his room, going over his notes for the upcoming meeting. And if he admitted it to himself, he was trying to avoid Shai.

Yesterday, upon arriving back at the palace, he’d taken one look at her and could feel the waves of disappointment rolling off her. He’d tried to talk to her, but she walked away before any words could leave his mouth. He hadn’t seen her at all for the rest of the day, including at dinner.

So, this morning, he thought he’d make it easier for her to avoid him.

Sometimes he was annoyed when he thought about her reaction. What did she expect from the head of the RDP and soon-to-be emperor? He had to do whatever was necessary to protect his people. Shai would never be able to understand that.

But then, at times he hated himself for disappointing her. However, wasn’t it better she find out now, rather than later, before their old connection fully formed? If only she were more like Aladia…

Whom he didn’t even like. So why would he want Shai to be like her? He just wished Shai understood why he did what he did.

Jistan had finished eating when Tivon came to report that everyone was present in the meeting room. So the prince gathered his parchments and walked with his friend downstairs.

When they entered the room, the low chatter hushed and everyone watched as he approached an empty seat at the circular wood table, which could sit ten people. Seven were currently in the room. Aladia and Raz sat up straighter, staring at Jistan with rapt attention. Leiam, to no surprise, outright glared at the prince. Qiara’s eyes sized him up. And Shai looked indifferent, only glancing at him for a second before training her gaze on her lap.

Tivon closed the door, then came to sit beside Jistan. The prince remained standing.

“I’m glad to see you all here,” he began. “This is every member of our secret heist team, so maybe we should begin by introducing ourselves. I’ll go first, although I doubt there’s anyone here who doesn’t know I’m Prince Jistan of Casland. I’m the chronomancer of the group.” He sat.

His friend cleared his throat. “My name is Tivon and I’m a biomancer, as well as an advisor to Prince Jistan. And I don’t think I need to go on this quest at all.” He added the last part with an irritated glance at Jistan.

Aladia snickered, and even Shai smiled. Qiara gave Tivon a flirtatious wave. The biomancer’s cheeks reddened as he waved nervously back.

Jistan’s eyes flicked to the ceiling. “Thank you, my friend, for that unneeded opinion. Next?”

Beside Tivon, their darkmancer stood, straightening her black overrobe embroidered with silver flowers. “I’m Lady Aladia Vizini, daughter of Lord Jefros from the city of Lyndree.”

Qiara rolled her eyes. There was an empty seat between her and Aladia, which Jistan figured must’ve been no coincidence.

“And I’m one of the most powerful darkmancers in Casland,” Aladia finished with a grin, then sat back down.

Qiara didn’t stand for her turn. Instead, she lounged back in her chair, giving everyone a nod. “Greetings, people, my name’s Qiara, but call me Q for short. I’m the electromancer of the team, so don’t test me or my friend, Shai, and you won’t have to feel my power.” Her grin was only half-jesting, and zero-jesting when she cast a look at Aladia. The darkmancer ignored her though.

Jistan coughed to hide his laugh. “Thank you, Q. And…Shai.” He met her eyes for a heartbeat, then pretended to glance down at his notes.

She didn’t stand either as she peered around the table. “Hello. I’m Shaielle Breannon, but everyone can call me Shai. And I’m an unmancer.”

Raz nodded, looking impressed. Aladia became busy admiring her nails. And Leiam finally became interested in the introductions, his eyebrows shooting up as he regarded Shai, who sat on his left.

“I’ve never met an unmancer before,” the metamancer told her. “Your magic trumps all other magic.”

“Not if another mancer attacks her before she gets the chance to cast,” Aladia argued.

“That rarely happens,” Shai said, so matter-of-factly that Qiara laughed and gave the darkmancer a haughty look.

“Moving along,” Jistan said to put the meeting back on track. “You’re next, Mr. Bahan.”

Leiam’s scowl came back when all eyes fell on him. “The name’s Leiam,” he snapped. “Metamancer.” He seemed to be trying to murder the prince with his eyes.

Jistan sighed. “I hope you’re a bit more cordial when we begin our quest. Now, last but not least, my second-in-command.” He looked at Raz, who sat next to him.

Raz was tall, with dark brown skin, a bald head, and a gray beard. He cleared his throat and said, “I’m General Raz, and I’ve been a soldier in the RDP for eight years. I’m a pyromancer, so…as you’ve already witnessed, things can get a little heated when I’m around.”

Low laughter came from around the table. Jistan hoped this meant they were starting to open up to the idea of working together. The seven of them would have to trust each other once their quest began.

He went into a short speech about the importance of teamwork and protecting each other. Then he turned the meeting over to Raz, who stood and marched around the table as if speaking to his soldiers.

“Every single one of you will travel as soldiers in Casland’s Royal Defense Patrol,” Raz told them. “As part of the mancer unit, you will wear robes representing the color of your station, and you will travel with our other mancers. The plan is for Prince Jistan to appear to be leading an entire battalion of the RDP to fight in the Crossover War. So ninety-four other RDP soldiers will be travelling with us to the border, and they will be reinforcements in the battle already raging there. Meanwhile the six of us, plus the prince, will be going into Zanteos. Tivon, you can go into details about our heist strategy.” He looked to the biomancer.

Tivon shuffled through the parchments before him until he found one he was looking for and slid it into the middle of the table for everyone to see. On it, a diagram had been drawn.

“When we get to Zanteos,” he said, “we will travel to the capital city of Hayzir, where Emperor Varo is expected to invite us into his palace. Based on my research, this is everything I know about the location where Varo’s treasure is hidden. He keeps it all secure in an underground labyrinth, with a structure called the Treasure Fortress built over it above ground. I drew the layout of the fortress, which is behind the palace. There are guard towers at the four corners, as seen here. But the underground maze is impossible to map out because it constantly changes. Its walls are made entirely of metal, designed by a skilled metamancer who imbued them with magic to make the labyrinth shift around once a day around noon.”

“Interesting,” Leiam said, staring down at the diagram.

“And now you see why we needed the best metamancer we could find,” Jistan told him. Leiam only hmphed.

Tivon pointed to a list he’d written next to the diagram. “These are some of the spells and traps we could come across inside the labyrinth. We’ll need to prepare for every single one since we don’t know which of them we’ll encounter. The good news is, Jistan can freeze any missiles that fire at us, and Shai can unmance any magical spells. The tricky part will be hoping they can act fast enough to prevent any casualties.”

Jistan swallowed, and he saw Shai inhale a shaky breath. They both had everyone’s lives depending on them.

“Once we get through the labyrinth to our prize, it will be a matter of going out the way we came in,” Tivon finished.

“Will there be guards within the labyrinth?” Qiara asked.

“Only in the fortress and possibly at the vault containing the chest. The maze itself is so secure that not many guards are needed.”

“Do we know how big the maze is?” Jistan asked. “How long will it take to get through it?”

“Based on the size of the fortress above it, I’d say it’s about two acres, and it would take roughly an hour to reach the center of it. Then an hour to get back out.”

“Two hours of constant danger,” Aladia mused. “Sounds fun.”

“I think you need to reevaluate your idea of fun,” Leiam grumbled.

“Yes, we can’t sweep aside the fact that our lives will be in danger during this heist,” Jistan said. “So we must help one another survive. If someone is injured, we carry that person the rest of the way if we have to.”

“But if someone dies, we can’t carry their body,” Aladia pointed out.

Everyone fell quiet. Jistan reluctantly nodded.

“We only carry them if we’re able to,” he said, not wanting to consider the possibility.

“How are we supposed to rely on each other?” Qiara questioned. “There are some people here I don’t trust.” She flicked a glance Aladia’s way, and when the darkmancer glared at her, Qiara quickly turned away.

“Well, you must appear to be part of the RDP,” Jistan said. “So I’m thinking you should all take the oath to officially become part of the army. And if anyone here jeopardizes this mission or the lives of any of our team members, that person will have to stand trial once we get back to Casland.”

“Sounds fair,” Raz said.

“But what if we want to leave the RDP after the heist?” Shai asked.

Jistan frowned, wondering why she would want to. He surely didn’t want her to. “That can be arranged. I will amend the official contract and oath to say you’re only required to be part of the Royal Defense Patrol for two cycles of the moon.”

“Good,” Leiam said.

Jistan went over a few more details with the group, such as when they would depart, which would be in three days. When he dismissed the meeting, everyone shuffled out of the room. A servant was waiting to take Leiam to his new quarters, where he would stay until they departed.

Jistan tried to catch Shai as she was leaving, but she disappeared out of the room so fast, as if she knew he wanted to speak to her. How long was she going to avoid him?

* * *

Jistan had more meetings for the majority of the day, including one with his father. At dinner, he looked for Shai in the dining room, but she wasn’t present. After he finished eating, he was determined to find her. He didn’t like being shut out. He wanted them to be close like when they were kids. And imagine how awkward it would be if they had to travel the whole way to Zanteos while not on speaking terms.

So he went to Shai’s bedroom, but a servant coming out of it told him she wasn’t there. He checked the library next, but only a couple other nobles were there reading.

Where could she be? He should try Qiara’s room. Maybe Shai was hiding out in there.

But as he walked past a window, the golden glow of the evening sun washed over him. Then he remembered. When Shai lived in the palace before, she had a favorite spot where she used to watch the sunset.

He headed up to the third floor and down the corridor until he came to an open walkway with columned balustrades on both sides, allowing casual strollers to get some fresh air without leaving the palace.

He found Shai leaning into one of the arched openings, resting her forearms on the railing. A light breeze tossed her curls back, and her eyes were closed as if savoring the last of the day’s sun rays warming her face. It took his breath away, how beautiful she looked in that moment.

But he couldn’t let his mind go there. There was no way he and she could…be anything other than friends, because of their statuses in life. And because she probably disliked him now.

“I thought I might find you here,” he said, hesitant to interrupt her peaceful state. He leaned against the balustrade too.

Her eyes flew open and she looked at him. At least no anger blazed in her gaze. “You remembered.”

“Yes. You came here almost every day at sunset if you didn’t have a prior engagement. Or if the meteoros didn’t choose to make it a rainy day. I tried to come with you as often as I could.”

One corner of her mouth rose. “Those were the times I liked best. When you came with me.” The twinkle in her eyes faded as her gaze fell to the ground below.

He sighed. “You’re disappointed in me.”

She hesitated. “I…think I’m starting to understand your motive. But I do have one question. If Leiam had still said no, would you have actually had him executed for treason, when you and the RDP are the ones who framed him?”

Jistan shifted uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t have had a say in the matter. To my regret, my father probably would have executed him. He would’ve justified the death in his mind because it would’ve been treason if Leiam chose not to help out his country.”

Shai sighed. “That’s not surprising. No wonder my mother hates him.”

Jistan didn’t always approve of his father’s methods, but it irked him when she spoke of the emperor like that. “If it were up to me, I would not have had Leiam executed. I wouldn’t take him away from his family.”

Finally, she gave him a full smile. “That’s what I thought. I’m glad.”

He moved closer to her, close enough that their arms almost touched on the balustrade. “So you really understand why I did what I did?”

“I don’t approve, but I see that sometimes it might be necessary to be ruthless in order to save other people. If I were more like you, certain people in The Cliq wouldn’t have been able to order me around.” She glared at the air, and it sounded like she was talking about someone specific. He wondered again about what she’d been through since leaving the palace.

“You must be glad to be out of that gang, then.”

“Yeah.” She looked down at her hands, growing silent. Then she said, “I suppose you’re happy about that too. I saw the way you looked at me when you found out I steal for a living.”

“That wasn’t because you’re a thief. That would be kind of hypocritical of me, given our upcoming quest, don’t you think?” He grinned. When she didn’t smile back, he continued, “I looked at you that way because you belonged to The Cliq. Their reputation is…beyond despicable, to say the least. They kill without mercy.”

“I don’t like that about them either. I’ve never killed anyone.”

“That’s good.” He wasn’t surprised. He knew she wasn’t that type of person.

Then she added, “But I have hurt people, which I regret.”

He nodded, knowing exactly how that inner turmoil felt. “No judgment here. We’re both morally ambiguous people.”

She flashed him a small smile. “I’ll try not to judge you anymore, either.”

“It’s a deal then.” He held out his hand, and she reached out to place hers in it. As soon as they touched, a spark went through his entire body, lighting up his insides. She inhaled as if she felt it too, but her expression gave nothing away as they slowly shook hands. He couldn’t help noticing how soft her skin was, and he almost didn’t want to let go. After a few heartbeats, she pulled her hand away first.

Goddess, I’ve got to get better control of my feelings. He cleared his throat. “So, are you going to stop avoiding me now?”

“I wasn’t— okay, maybe I was. But it wasn’t just because of what you did to Leiam. I’m having my own issues. It’s…complicated.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

He tried not to be hurt by her answer. Despite that moment they just had, maybe she still didn’t trust him.

“How long will it take us to travel to Zanteos?” she asked suddenly.

“Roughly ten days,” he said.

“Do you think you could train me how to use a weapon during that time?”

He looked at her, his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You want weapon training?”

“Yes. Magic isn’t always reliable, like when I run out of mana. And we’ve already established my magic is no good for offense. So I need to learn another way to fight.”

“Alright. I’ll train you.”

Her eyes brightened. “You will? Thank you. That means a lot to me.” She placed a hand on his arm.

“My pleasure.” His insides felt warm. He focused on watching the sky turn from orange and pink to purple, eager to distract himself as they fell into silence.

She sighed in contentment. “It’s such a beautiful sight, don’t you agree?”

He stared at her, at the glow of her brown skin and the brilliance of her hazel eyes. “Yes, it is,” he whispered.

When she looked at him, he quickly averted his eyes and stared out at the sunset. She grinned, but didn’t say anything. And he thought maybe she was blushing too.

But he could’ve been imagining it.