“Why don’t you wait and see?” she said, looking up at the wall they’d arrived at.
Yamal craned his neck. It took him a moment to gain his bearings. Why were they here, of all places?
The traffic had thinned, and few people went in or out of the gate.
“Er, Maiya? I believe you might be lost. This is the Royal Quarter.”
Maiya’s grin widened. “Yes? And?”
Yamal’s brows furrowed further. Maiya flashed her badge at the guard—too quickly for Yamal to see—who admitted her as speedily as the other guards had.
Except something was wrong. The guard shouldn’t have allowed her in. Let alone Yamal and the Silent One.
Yamal looked up at the big man and found that he, too, was frowning.
That makes both of us, friend, Yamal thought.
The Royal Quarter was composed of several sub-districts. At the very core was the castle itself. Most had never laid eyes on its grounds, and they never would; only royalty and their guests could enter and exit at will.
Suffice it to say, Yamal hadn’t ever dreamed of seeing that place in this life.
Ringing the castle walls was the headquarters of the Balarian Garrison. While not large enough to house the entire Balarian army, a significant number were stationed at the Garrison at any time. It was where they trained and lived.
If Kin’jal were ever attacked, invaders would have to fight their way through the Garrison to make it to the castle—assuming the unending rings of walls didn’t stop them.
It was absolute overkill. It was thoroughly Kin’jal.
Outside the Garrison lay the outer Royal Quarter. Only the uppermost echelon of the Sawai aristocracy had their mansions in this district. It was considered a great honor—the highest.
Yamal had been here only once in his life, back when he’d been part of a large Merchant’s Guild trade deal with a dozen others. He was a small fry, brought along only by the whims of his friends.
He’d felt like a fish out of water back then, and he felt the same way now.
She’s not just Sawai. She’s someone incredibly high up.
The mystery surrounding Maiya continued to grow ever thicker. Why would such a high-ranking daughter eschew her silver—nay, golden—spoon? Yamal understood rebellious teenage streaks—he’d seen it many times in his career. But this? Who would give up all of this to fall in with blood cultists?
Perhaps Maiya was more far gone than she led them to believe.
Still, Maiya was clearly Sawai. Likely a nobleman’s daughter—on the fast track to becoming a prominent mejai within the Balarian military.
And then, when Maiya breezed past the opulent estates and arrived at the wall to the Balarian Garrison, Yamal’s understanding of Maiya shattered all over again.
She’s with the Kin’jal Military?
This changed everything. If Maiya was a Balarian Warrior, many things suddenly made sense. Her power—her confidence. Yet why would Kin’jal send a lone Balarian Warrior into the ranks of cultists? She didn’t have a chance in the Ash to destroy the Children on her own.
Unless she isn’t the only operative. Is she part of a larger initiative? Have the Children been seeded with Balarian warriors?
Chills ran down Yamal’s back at the implication. If Kin’jal was about to wage war with the Children of Ash, then Yamal was in a very precarious position. He could find his head on a pike for no reason other than being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The gears in Yamal’s head spun as he devised ways of extricating himself from the organization.
And then, against all odds, Maiya arrived at yet another wall.
“Oh no. Oh no-no-no. You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking, Maiya!” Yamal shouted in panic.
Even the Silent One was wringing his wrists.
This couldn’t be possible. Was this a dream? It had to be.
Maiya flashed her badge… and was once again admitted.
Into the castle grounds.
Yamal gazed up at the sky… and laughed helplessly.
Maiya wasn’t Sawai. She wasn’t part of the Balarian Guard.
She was royalty.
Yamal locked eyes with the Silent One.
We’ve been played. We’ve been thoroughly, splendidly, played.
21
HOME AGAIN (PART TWO) (MAIYA)
It took every ounce of training and every morsel of Maiya’s acting skills to maintain her composure. To clamp down on her facial muscles to avoid bursting into laughter at Yamal and the Silent One’s reactions as she led them closer and closer to Sonam’s castle. It was, perhaps, the greatest challenge she’d ever faced.
Maiya could vividly imagine their thoughts—or Yamal’s, at least. The Silent One, though he took in the surroundings with enlarged eyes, looked otherwise unaffected.
Whether his mind was truly at peace, or he was simply a master at hiding his emotions, Maiya couldn’t say. What she could say, though, was that Yamal should’ve gone into entertainment—people would’ve paid good money to witness the wealth of facial expressions he was making.
What had begun as skepticism had slowly evolved to brooding, and finally to outright shock as they passed each district in turn.
Now they were in the castle grounds—a place Maiya doubted either of her companions had ever dreamed of setting foot inside. Even the most prominent Sawai rarely ever got that honor.
Which, of course, prompted Maiya to consider why Ira wanted the two with her in the first place. Maiya had indeed vouched for them, but from Ira’s perspective, it was simply too much of a liability to let them in on her plans.
The reward for blabbing about Ira’s plans for a royal coup would be… enormous. Enough to shatter the loyalty of even the most devout allies.
The royal grounds consisted mainly of the keep and its gardens, but ringing the wall on the inside sat other structures belonging to persons of honor. Bodyguards, the royal priest… and Maiya’s abode.
It was both a point of honor and terror for her. Maiya knew little of how the rest of the royal family felt about her. Apparently, Ira had cleared Maiya’s house location with her family, but Maiya had yet to meet the emperor or the empress.
She genuinely hoped it stayed that way. Blood cults were enough to worry about. She didn’t want to add royal intrigue to the list.
Maiya turned a corner—away from the castle itself.
Yamal’s expression changed once again.
He must think I’m royalty or something… Let’s see what he thinks now!
“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Yamal asked after Maiya had led them around for ten minutes.
“I could swear it was one of these,” Maiya muttered under her breath. There were manors here, just that they were all far too large. Maiya’s would be smaller. And yet, she couldn’t just barge up to their doors asking them if they knew where her place was…
Maiya was saved the embarrassment by an old friend.
“Awoooo!”
A brown-and-white bandy rushed across the yard of one of those very manors, chased by an ever-growing number of frantic attendants who tried desperately to get him to come back.
Neel sailed over the wrought-iron fence and crashed into Maiya, sending them both onto the ground, tumbling, as he licked her face with glee.
“Neel!” Maiya giggled. “I’ve missed you so much!”
She wrestled with the bandy, before suddenly feeling the judging eyes of her bodyguards on her.
Coughing awkwardly, she disentangled herself from the dog and stood up, brushing off her skirt. Neel continued to run circles around her.
“My sincerest apologies, miss, I—!”
The attendants finally caught up, and at least one among them realized who Maiya was.