Page 21 of Thief of Hearts

Zain set his monster down and it came rushing toward me. I expected it to jump or claw at my legs, but he sat down at my feet. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and one of his eyeballs pointed in the wrong direction. His fur was wiry and in patches, and he wore a red leather collar around his neck that matched Zain’s tunic. I offered the rat-dog my hand and he sniffed it, then moved so that I could scratch him behind what I guessed were his ears.

“Dagger doesn’t like anyone but me.” He sounded surprised.

“And me, apparently,” I said as the quasi-dog leaned harder against my hand, wanting more. “I love animals. Always have. But I’m not sure Dagger is the right name for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s obviously not a dangerous weapon.”

“Sometimes looks can be deceiving,” he said.

I glanced down at the half-dog and his looks were not deceiving. If Dagger could manage to navigate the hallway without running into a wall, I would have been shocked. I, of course, already loved him, but he seemed to be a not very bright little monster.

“We’re not supposed to bring pets but I couldn’t leave him at home,” Zain said, trying to get Dagger to come back to him, but he was very happy right where he was.

Zain lounged on the bed and I wondered if that was calculated. Because it looked inviting and I found myself wanting to join him. I returned my attention to petting his dog.

“Are you going to the party tonight? The Sagari are throwing a massive celebration for the opening of the tournament. They expect the competitors to attend.”

I brushed the hem of my tunic. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“There’s no requirement to wear clothing. I’m sure no one would object if you showed up naked,” he teased.

A tiny voice in my head wondered what he would look like naked and I quickly hushed it. “Everything I own is dirty, and none of it is appropriate for a party.”

“You don’t strike me as the vain type,” he said.

“I’m not vain,” I shot back. “I’m just—I’m already going to stand out as the only female competitor. I don’t want there to be additional reasons for people to gossip about me.”

“They’ll gossip about you regardless. Why do you care?”

He wasn’t understanding what I was trying to convey, and so I decided to be more straightforward. “I hate being made fun of or being the butt of the joke. The only person I’ve ever let do that is my brother and I barely tolerate it from him.”

Zain lay there quietly for a few heartbeats before he finally said softly, “You’re more sensitive than you let on.”

“That’s not at all—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he stood up. “I might be able to help you.”

“How?”

“Leave it to me. You should rest—all that traveling must have made you tired. I’ll be back soon.”

I started to ask him what he was doing when he paused at the door.

“Basileia?” When he saw that he had my attention, he went on. “A woman as beautiful as you should be vain.”

My heart started pounding hard in my chest as he closed the door.

No one had ever called me beautiful before.

Thrax gave me his hand and I jumped up to grab it, and he helped me climb the rest of the way up the labyrinth wall. We had let the Carians into Troas deliberately and Xander had asked us to help defend the labyrinth.

My brother had already triggered multiple traps—doors that opened suddenly and crushed anyone who went inside, pits that appeared beneath the invaders and swallowed them whole. Thrax tripped another trap and a wall of arrows flew straight across the passageway, killing everyone in their path.

Other Ilionian soldiers ran along other walls, setting off their own traps. There were explosions and fire and smoke and the screams of the dying.

The Carians shot at us as we hurried along the top of the wall, but having the high ground gave us the advantage. We rained down arrows on them. So many died that I lost count.