Page 38 of The Sunbound Princess
Nikolas and Ezabell waited. The second I hit the ground, the three of us took off running.
Chapter
Ten
EZABELL
We sprinted from the brothel, sunlight slanting over the cobblestone street ahead of us.
“This way,” Nikolas said, grabbing my hand and pulling me down a narrow alley. Dain pounded behind us as we twisted and turned, racing past stray cats and the occasional clothesline. A man in an apron jumped out of our way, and Nikolas turned his head enough to call back to him.
“Sorry! Late for work!”
I shot him what I knew was an incredulous look. “Work?”
He flashed a roguish grin. “I’ve started more than one work day this way.”
Of course. Thief.
We continued down more alleys and twisting passageways. But after another fifteen minutes of flight, Nikolas stopped. He and Dain peered behind us, alertness hovering around them. They relaxed in unison, the tension draining from their shoulders.
“Free and clear,” Nikolas told me, releasing my hand. “But we should keep moving.”
Dain grunted his agreement. “We’re better off in the city’s center where we can blend in.”
It was hard to imagine Dain blending in anywhere. He towered over everyone, his blond head like a beacon. But I tucked my hair under my hood and nodded.
“Lead the way.”
The way, as it turned out, was a maze of ramshackle alleys and shadowy corridors. The buildings leaned over the street, many with boarded up windows. The occasional murmur of voices drifted from doorways, but no humans crossed our path. The pungent, slightly sweet scent of rotting garbage wrinkled my nose.
I lifted my skirts as I stepped over a brown puddle. “Are you sure this is safe?” I murmured to Nikolas.
His chuckle echoed off the buildings on either side of us. “We’re safer here than anywhere else. The castle guards don’t venture into these alleys. They don’t want to get their uniforms dirty.” He caught my elbow as he helped me sidestep a pile of animal bones.
At least, I hoped they were animal bones.
Dain snorted softly. “And the residents are all too willing to help by dumping their chamber pots without warning.”
Right on cue, shutters on a second-story window ahead of us swung open. A second later, a stream of yellow liquid arced through the opening and splashed onto the cobblestones.
I put a hand over my mouth. “Oh.” The stories I’d read about Saldu always described the city as a bustling, sun-drenched collection of temples, markets, and pleasure houses. Not…this.
Nikolas tucked my free hand through his elbow. As if he’d read my mind, he leaned close. “Come on. We’re almost outof this neighborhood. Then we’ll show you the brighter side of Saldu.”
Dain fell into step on my other side. As we gave the urine in the street a wide berth, he put a guiding hand in the small of my back.
The connection between us sparked, a jolt of energy heating my skin through my clothes. Dain and I jumped, our gazes colliding.
Nikolas slid a keen look between us. “Feel any tugs?”
I waited for the magic to pull me forward. But it merely pulsed, as if it hadn’t decided where to go. “Do you feel anything?” I asked Dain.
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
I swallowed a sigh. “Then we’ll continue into Saldu.”
We moved deeper into the city. As Nikolas promised, the shabby neighborhood faded behind us, the roads widening and the buildings becoming taller and more presentable. The streets grew busier. Humans bustled about, merchants pushing carts of vegetables and other goods. The rising sun cast broad swaths of gold and pink over the buildings, the bricks painted in every color of the rainbow.
