Shai

Shai was in the library, browsing and figuring out which books she’d like to read while on their long journey, when someone approached. Qiara sat at a nearby table, reading through a book about electromancing.

“Hi,” the pretty girl said, sitting on the edge of Qiara’s table and looking between her and Shai. “We’re all going to be working together, so we should get the tedious introductions out of the way.” She held out her hand to Shai first, her silky hair falling around her shoulders. “I’m Aladia, the darkmancer of our team.”

Shai shook her hand. “My name is Shaielle, but you can call me Shai.” How kind of this girl to introduce herself.

“And I’m Qiara. Q for short.” Shai’s friend only nodded, not shaking Aladia’s hand. Instead, Qiara gave her a suspicious once-over. Shai would scold her friend for her rudeness later.

“So you’re the electromancer, and you must be the unmancer,” Aladia said, turning all her attention on Shai. “Jistan told me all about you. Supposedly, you’re a valuable member of this team.”

“I mean…I think we’re all valuable in some way,” Shai said.

“But I’ve heard around the palace that you also have experience as a thief. How fascinating, having such skill to take something that doesn’t belong to you.” Her smile was wide and less than friendly.

Uh oh, Shai thought. She didn’t need anyone else giving her a hard time, since she already had Ed to contend with. Speaking of, she’d been wondering where he’d gone off to. Was he still in the palace?

“And judging by your lavish dress and fine shoes,” Qiara told Aladia, “you’re a highborn lady. How fascinating that you can get anything you want as well, whether you deserve it or not, just by flashing your wealth.” Qiara batted her eyelashes at the darkmancer.

Aladia shifted on the table, looking only mildly perturbed. “The three of us are the only girls on this team, so we should look out for one another. We may need to show these boys a thing or two. Anyway, see you outside in a half hour.” She got to her feet.

“Outside?” Shai asked. “Why?”

“Oh, did the prince not invite the two of you? Never mind then. He must not want you to come. It could be some messy business.” She shrugged. “But if you do want to come along, you should meet us in the courtyard soon. Ta-ta.” She fluttered her fingers at them before twirling away in her ridiculous glittery black dress and sauntering out of the library.

“Oh Goddess,” Qiara moaned. “I never thought I’d meet someone I look forward to trying to pickpocket.”

Shai chuckled. “She is…a lot. But where do you think she and Jistan are going?”

“Only one way to find out.” Qiara closed her book, and the two of them left the library to put on traveling clothes and boots. Then they traipsed down to the courtyard, where Jistan and Aladia stood next to two horses, chatting. The darkmancer had changed as well, into a black jumpsuit perfect for riding. Four RDP guards, in their chainmail and leather, already sat atop their own steeds. The smell of hay and horse sweat lingered in the air.

Jistan appeared startled when Shai and Qiara approached. “Oh…what are you two doing out here?”

“We want to come too,” Qiara said.

“Where are you going?” Shai asked him. “We didn’t want to miss out if the other members of our team are coming.”

“Uh…” He rubbed the back of his head. “You don’t have to go. It’s just a quick errand before we depart on our quest.”

“We don’t mind. It’ll be nice to get out of the palace for a while.”

Qiara flagged down a stable girl and asked her to bring out two more horses.

Jistan opened and closed his mouth, but then Aladia was at his side. Shai frowned at the way she draped herself all over him, her hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, I invited them to come along,” Aladia told him. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“I…no, not at all.” The prince’s smile seemed forced. “It’s good the three of you are getting acquainted. Let’s head out then.”

Everyone mounted their horses. When Aladia was on hers, she leaned over to say something to the prince, and when he responded, she laughed high and loud, batting her eyelashes.

“Someone is trying to emulate those prostitutes I see in brothels,” Qiara whispered, and Shai snickered. But she didn’t like that there seemed to be something between Aladia and Jistan.

What does it matter if there is? her brain reprimanded her. He’s a prince. He’s expected to court a highborn lady.

But did he want someone like Aladia? Or would he rather have someone like—

Shai shook her head to stop that line of thought. Then she urged her horse forward to follow behind Jistan and Aladia’s steeds. Qiara rode next to her, and the RDP guards came last.

As their procession followed the cobblestone road away from the palace, people on the street noticed the prince’s official colors and insignia on his uniform, and they quickly parted to make way for him. Some stopped to bow to Jistan, while others outright glared or pretended not to notice him. Shai’s mother wasn’t the only one who had a problem with the royals. Shai didn’t think Jistan was so bad, but his father, Emperor Akeil, barely lifted a finger to help those in severe poverty in this city. And that bore rise to gangs like The Cliq, who believed they deserved riches too, despite how they acquired them. Shai didn’t approve of their means, especially the killing, but she understood their motive.

She thought about Ed and the orders he’d given her from Madame Kalyssah. Why exactly did the gang leader want the Obsidian Chest? Did she know what was inside it? Did she just want to sell whatever treasure it held?

Shai had been stressing about it ever since her walk with Jistan. If she had to give the chest over to Madame Kalyssah, that meant she’d have to betray the prince and keep him from giving it to the Emperor of Casland. If Shai didn’t, Kalyssah would hurt her mother. So she didn’t see what choice she had. She would have to find some way to steal the chest from Jistan, after stealing it from the Emperor of Zanteos.

And here she thought she could turn away from a life of thievery.

Their party reached the market square and turned down a road with more broken cobblestones than the main road. On one corner, two black-skinned and two white-skinned men threw dice, crying out in fury or cheering. Coins exchanged hands or were thrown into the middle to gamble away.

Three more blocks down, Jistan’s party stopped in front of a wooden shop displaying an assortment of weapons in a large window, everything from swords to daggers to axes. Shai studied the glint of the blades and the polish of the handles. She needed to learn to use one of these someday and stop relying only on her magic. She hated undoing Ed’s fire magic, only for him to pull a knife on her.

Jistan and the others dismounted their horses, so Shai did the same. The prince whispered something to one of his RDP guards, who gave him a firm nod. Shai watched, wanting to ask what was happening, but figured it would be a waste of time since she was about to find out.

Jistan met her eyes for a moment, then quickly averted his. He nodded to everyone, then proceeded into the shop, where a sign over the door read Bahan’s Blacksmithing.

Shai followed everyone inside, and although it had been warm out, it was nothing compared to the stifling heat inside the shop, due to a fire burning in the forge at the back. Shai knew metamancers didn’t need to heat metal to bend it to their will; they had their magic for that. Still, to own a shop like this, it would exhaust too much mana to keep making weapons on a daily basis.

At the front of the shop, various weapons in different sizes filled almost every space of wall, so the blacksmith surely needed the forge. There were shelves of other items in the middle of the shop, such as whetstones and bottles of weapon polish. The air smelled of chemicals and burnt metal.

A middle-aged man with dark copper skin and greasy black hair that flopped into his eyes sat behind a counter, polishing a dagger with a handkerchief. Despite his age, he looked strong, his muscles bulging under his tunic. He also had small burns all over his hands. He looked up when they entered and sat up straighter, glowering.

Another person who doesn’t approve of the monarchy, Shai guessed.

As Jistan walked over to him, everyone else spread out, the RDP guards walking to the sides of the shop, and Aladia toward the back. Shai and Qiara remained close to the front door.

The blacksmith rose and stepped around the counter, hands in the pockets of the leather apron he wore.

“Prince Jistan,” he acknowledged without bowing his head.

“Leiam Bahan. I don’t think we’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking face to face.”

“No, we haven’t. You were just a wee boy when your father fired me. I used to be one of his best generals.”

Shai’s brow rose. So this man had the same experience her mother had. She immediately felt a kinship with the man.

Jistan hesitated. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“Of course not,” Leiam growled. “Nor the fact that your father taxes shopkeepers so much I can barely afford to put food on the table for my husband and three kids.”

Shai threw a glance at Jistan, who looked guilty for one brief moment, but grew stern as he said, “I’m not here to discuss my father’s policies. I’m here because I have a job for you.”

“Get out of my shop,” the blacksmith spat, flinging his hand toward the door.

“I’m going on a quest,” the prince continued as if the man hadn’t spoken. “And I need a metamancer with your skill. We need to acquire an item known as—”

“No,” Leiam interrupted. “I don’t care what you need.”

“But you would be rewarded handsomely.”

Leiam laughed, the sound dry and scratchy. “Offer me a home bigger than the palace, a feast fit for an emperor three times a day, and all the gold in Valizea. The answer is still no.”

Shai didn’t blame the man. He obviously hated Emperor Akeil and possibly Jistan too. Plus, he had a family who needed him. He shouldn’t have to go on a dangerous heist for some mysterious object inside a fancy chest.

Jistan blew out his breath, closing his eyes as if counting in his head.

“Now,” Leiam added, “if you would be so kind as to see your way out, Your Highness. I have work to do.” He turned to head toward the forge.

Jistan looked to Aladia and nodded his head once. One corner of Aladia’s mouth rose, and the look in her eyes made a shiver ripple down Shai’s spine.

Aladia raised a hand, and shadows within the shop merged to form a solid wall of darkness, right in front of Leiam. The blacksmith halted in his tracks and whipped around to face Jistan, his face contorted in rage.

“You see,” Jistan said, walking over to admire the dagger Leiam had been cleaning, “when I said I need you, that wasn’t a question. It was a demand. You are going to come with us. You’re going to help us steal the Obsidian Chest of Zanteos.”

Shai stared at him in disbelief. What was he doing? He couldn’t force someone into his service!

Leiam sneered. “What are you going to do? Drag me all the way there?”

“No,” the prince said, his voice still low and calm as he ran a finger down the flat part of the dagger’s blade. “You’re going to come willingly.”

“Or what?”

Jistan looked over at one of the RDP guards, who gave the prince a subtle nod. Shai swallowed, the hairs on her neck standing on end. Something wasn’t right…

The prince walked over to a rack of shelves where bottles of weapon polish were displayed. He reached into one shelf and pulled out a scroll, holding it up.

“What’s this?” he asked. “It looks official. And it has a seal on it from the country of Estovia.”

Leiam’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I’ve never seen that before in my life.”

“Oh really?” Jistan unrolled the scroll and appeared to read over it. “By the Goddess. This looks like a letter plotting the assassination of my father. And it’s addressed to you.”

Shai blinked. It could be no coincidence he found that letter.

“What? That’s not mine!” Leiam shouted.

“It’s in your shop,” the prince went on. “With your name on it. It looks to me like we have a traitor in Valizea. And you know the punishment for treason.”

Leiam’s mouth fell open. Two RDP guards moved toward him, and in a couple of heartbeats, they seized the man, holding his muscled arms behind his back.

“Unhand me! That’s not mine—” The blacksmith finally started to realize as he gave Jistan a most lethal glare. “You bastard. You set me up.”

The prince looked around the room. “I don’t see how I could have placed this scroll over here. I was on the other side of the room the whole time.”

Leiam struggled, but the guards held him tight. “You got one of your guards to do it! You scheming, conniving, slimy—”

Jistan held up a finger. “I would watch what you say to me. After all, I have the power to make this go away. But you must agree to join our quest to Zanteos. Otherwise, you may find yourself at the guillotine by dawn tomorrow…”

Leiam clenched his teeth together so hard Shai thought they would crack. Finally, he closed his eyes, sighing. “I’ll go. Now, tell them to release me.”

The prince gestured, and the guards roughly let go of the metamancer.

Shai looked over at Qiara, whose eyes were just as incredulous, then glared at Jistan. What had he done? Surely this couldn’t be the person she might possibly have feelings for. Would he really have had the man killed for a crime he didn’t commit if Leiam had said no? Jistan couldn’t be that cruel. This was not the boy she grew up with and reminisced with earlier today.

Jistan looked relieved. “Good choice, Mr. Bahan. Please report to the palace in the morning. We’re going to have our first team meeting after breakfast. You won’t be returning home afterwards, so say your farewells to your family tonight.”

As the prince started to turn away, Leiam’s face fell, and he didn’t look angry anymore as he said, “Your Highness.”

Jistan turned back to him. “Yes?”

“I won’t tell anyone what you did here today, especially my husband or my younger sister, who is seventeen. My sister, especially, really admires you. And I don’t want to take away her hope.” He sighed. “Throughout the city, people talk of hope. Hope that when you take over leadership of this country from your father, things will get better. Some actually believe you will be a better, more compassionate emperor. But now I know the truth. And I refuse to take that hope away from them, so I won’t speak of how dishonorable you really are. I won’t tell them you’re becoming just like your cruel father.”

Jistan averted his eyes to the floor. He barely showed any reaction to Leiam’s statement as he continued out of the shop, but Shai saw his face as he walked by. He looked shaken, even more so than if Leiam had screamed insults at him.

When they got outside, Aladia put a hand on Jistan’s arm and said, “Don’t listen to him; he’s getting old and haggard. He doesn’t know the strength it takes to make decisions for your people. You did the right thing.”

Shai glared at her. But now she was starting to think Aladia and Jistan were more alike than she thought. Because he wasn’t who she thought he was at all.

However, despite the crack it placed in her heart, this worked to her advantage. Now she wouldn’t feel so guilty about betraying him.