17. James

17

JAMES

T he Parade of Lights was the best of all that I had experienced so far. Everything along the Promenade was lit up, and above us, a story was being acted out in holograms. This one was the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves . I was familiar with the story, but I had never seen it acted out on such a large stage.

The sky above us was transformed into a canvas of light and color. Enormous, shimmering figures danced across the heavens, their movements fluid and graceful. As the story unfolded before our eyes, each scene was more spectacular than the last, and I found myself completely lost in the familiar tale.

It lasted for over an hour, and by the end of it, my neck had a crick from looking up for so long.

Once the last picture faded from the sky, I turned to Adina. "What should we do next?" I asked—more like demanded.

Adina started to reply but ended up yawning instead. "Oof, sorry. Long day," she said, stretching her arms above her head.

"Oh, of course."

Naturally it had been a long day for her; she hadn't been sitting around a garden listening to someone else expound on statecraft that hardly even seemed to matter, she hadn’t knelt for half an hour in her father's audience chamber while the man made a point of ignoring her plea to break an engagement, and she hadn’t watched her mother flit about like one of her birds, never slowing down enough to actually be talked to.

"I should... let you go." Just saying it made me feel queasy.

Adina hopped off the wall she'd been sitting on for most of the show. "I'll walk you back to the palace," she said, dusting off her clothes. "It's not safe out here after dark."

I was embarrassed that this slip of a girl was offering to protect me because she thought me clueless and defenseless, and the truth was that she wasn't wrong.

I could fight off an unarmed opponent, but I couldn't defend myself against a vibro-blade. Still, I didn't see any weapons on her, and there was only so much she could do with her cutting tongue.

"It is I who should walk you home."

She chuckled. "I've been walking these alleys all of my life. I know how to take care of myself."

I believed her, but still, I couldn't let her see the secret entrance to the palace. As much as I liked her, I wouldn't betray the palace's security to a near stranger.

"You can walk with me part of the way, but then I will need to continue on my own. Security reasons."

"I figured as much. It's fine." She slipped her hand around my elbow again, and this time, I bent my arm and let her grip settle there. "C'mon, it should be a pretty clear path by this time of night."

She was right. There weren't nearly as many people out on the streets as there had been earlier, and the traffic had slowed somewhat too. We walked at a leisurely pace along the river, went back under the road the same way I'd come across it, then down another alley.

We were getting close.

The night air was cooler now, and a gentle breeze carried the scent of the river and the faint aroma of night-blooming flowers. The streets were bathed in the soft glow of streetlights, casting long shadows that danced as we walked. In the distance, I could hear the faint hum of the city's nightlife, a reminder of the vibrant and dangerous world beyond the palace walls.

"Did you have fun?" she asked as I began to slow. I was sure she could tell I was getting ready to pull away, even though I didn't want to.

"I did." More than I could express. The night had been a whirlwind of new experiences, each one more thrilling than the last. "I want to pay you back for all your kindness." I reached for one of my buttons and tugged on it.

"Don't." She put her hand on mine. "I didn't do it for payment. It was nice to spend a night not worrying about work for a change and having fun with a friend."

She called me her friend, and I didn't even know what she did for a living. "What is it you do for work?"

"Me?" Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "I'm a thief."

I laughed because she was jesting for sure. "Really? No way. Perhaps the thief of hearts," I teased.

"I'm a real thief," she said, her tone matter-of-fact. "A good one, too. If I hadn't met you, I would have spent my evening on the fringes of high society, watching rais and ranis play and carving off little pieces of their wealth whenever I got the chance."

"But that's immoral!" The words burst out of me before I could stop them.

She sighed, her expression turning serious. "You work for the wealthiest family in all of Londabad—probably one of the wealthiest families in the world. Do you really think they would even notice if they lost a piece of jewelry or if a thread was missing from their clothing? That's how they all are. They spend and spend and don't care if a little gets accidentally siphoned off as long as it doesn't interfere with their pleasure."

Well, that was probably true. I couldn't deny the extravagance I'd witnessed daily in the palace.

"Besides," she went on. "I don't think of it as stealing. It's more like scavenging if they don't even notice it. These people have so much, and so many of us have so little. I was orphaned at the age of eight, and I had to survive on my own. It was either steal or die. I chose to live."

Her words hit me like a physical blow. I knew that people outside the palace walls didn't live as lavishly as those residing inside of it, but I'd been under the impression that Londabad was a wealthy city and its citizenry was doing well. At least that was what my father and Jeffry had claimed.

From what I'd seen today, I realized that it wasn't true.

"I'm sorry for your loss. That must have been so hard, but I thought that orphans were taken care of by the city."

Adina sighed, her eyes distant. "I lasted in the orphanage until I was ten. Then the wrong sort of man came to adopt me, and I decided it was better if I adopted myself, so to speak?—"

"What?" I exclaimed, interrupting. "You were a child. What possibly—" I stopped when I saw her pitying expression.

She thought that I was naive, uninformed, ignorant in the ways of the world, and she was correct on all counts. I felt ashamed.

"The world is full of predators, and children are defenseless." Adina sighed. "Anyway, I knew that even at that age, so I left. It's been hard, but I've never regretted learning to take care of myself. If a rani loses a little gold or a diamond or two along the way? Eh." She let go of my arm. "But I understand if that makes you uncomfortable around me. I should go."

"No, please." I grabbed her arm again. "I'm not uncomfortable with you. Actually, I'd like to do this again sometime. If you are okay with that."

I didn't realize how true it was before I said it. I really did want to meet her again. My sojourn out of the palace had gone from feeling illicit to being a valuable lesson in humanity, and Adina was the perfect guide. Not to mention that I knew I'd be dreaming about her unveiled face.

"Really?" She seemed to brighten, her eyes widening with surprise. "That would be fun! When can you get away again?"

"I'm not sure." I couldn't vanish every night. The thought of trying to sneak out again both thrilled and terrified me. "But I'll try to get away at least once more this week. If I'm not here by an hour after dark, I won't be at all."

"I get it." She nodded. "You've got your work too, and I definitely don't want you to get in trouble. I'll look for you, here." She started to turn away.

"Wait." Reaching down to the hem of my tunic, I grabbed a section of gold threading and ripped the entire line of it free, then handed it over to her. "Here. Do you think you could get a good price for it?"

She stared at the gold, then back up at me, her expression a mix of reproach and gratitude. "I told you that I didn't want to be paid."

"Too late. It's already torn." I pressed it into her hand.

"Won't you get in trouble for that?"

"No," I said blithely, not entirely sure a servant wouldn't but not willing to give any other answer either. "Accidents happen in the palace all the time. It will be replaced."

"Well, in that case, I'll take it." She wrapped the threads around her hand so the wires twisted together like a bracelet. "Thank you. That's very kind."

It didn't sound like many people had bothered to be kind to her. I would have said more, but inside the wall I could hear the bells that announced the changing of the guard. I needed to be quick.

"I'll see you again soon," I promised, then turned and ran down the alley. I didn't look back to see if Adina was watching me. She wouldn't be able to get through the door even if she did find it, but I hoped she was making an effort to keep my secret.

I'll see her again soon. This time it was a promise to myself.