Page 123 of Thief of Hearts

Win.

It was frustrating not to know what the dream meant. What else could I win? Was she referring to the Thracian concubines in Epirius? Did she want me to win their freedom?

Zain woke me up the next morning after his watch shift with a sweet kiss. I sleepily smiled up at him. While I didn’t enjoy being in the Wastelands, I did like being with him.

It was easy to pack up and get moving—both he and I had a lot of experience traveling. I wasn’t so worried about being attacked, given that we’d gone an entire day without seeing anything. So I didn’t object when he told me more stories about heists he’d performed and interspersed those tales with facts about himself.

Like that freshly baked bread was still his favorite thing to eat. That his proudest moment had been when he stole a sheepskin made of silver for a client, something everyone else said was unstealable. That he hated training but loved how much easier it made things like thieving and bedroom activities.

I might have blushed at that last revelation.

He also shared that the time he’d spent with me was the most he’d ever spent with one woman and he was surprised by how much he liked being with me. That did two contradictory things to me—it made me concerned that he would never have an actual relationship because he didn’t seem interested in commitment, and it also made me want to preen that I was the one woman who had caught his attention.

It was another long day that felt practically identical to the first. Stop, water and rest, start up again, stop, water and rest, start up again . . .

The one difference was that we talked most of the time.

Traveling confirmed what I’d already decided—that we were safe—because I hadn’t seen anything to indicate there were giant monsters ready to eat us. No tracks, no bones. The Wastelands were dead.

It was strange not to hear insects buzzing or any kind of animal sound.

Just total and complete silence surrounding us.

Which was another reason why the talking was nice—because it kept that unnatural quiet at bay.

The Epirians had provided special ointments to protect our skin from the sun and I was glad for it because I burned so easily. We also had hats that looked ridiculous but managed to cover our faces and necks.

It amazed me that he could still look so desirable, rugged, and handsome even with the silly hat.

“Do you think the Daemonian guard can see us?” I asked him at one point.

“They might have a Carian glass that allows them to see this far,” he said.

The idea that two men were constantly watching and following us bothered me. If Daemonians were less capable, I might have considered hiding somewhere and attacking them, tying them to their horses, and sending them back to Epirius.

But there was too much of a risk of failing, so I did my best to ignore them.

Hours later, we had settled into another cove of rocks to sleep for the night. I had just finished off my dried meat when I heard a strange sound.

It reminded me of a small arrow hitting the ground.

“Did you hear that?” I asked.

The sound happened again.

And again.

Then there were more.

Zain quickly stood and picked up Dagger, sticking the dog down the front of his tunic.

“What are you—”

“We have to get to high ground, right now!” He started yanking bags off the horses and put them over his shoulders.

I wanted to question this, but instead I did the same as him, grabbing everything important that I would need from my horse.

Zain untied them and then slapped them both on their rears so that they would run off.