The hour gong rings, time slipping away too fast for my liking. I ask one of the vendors for directions to the teahouse district and he points me down a quiet side alley, assuring me it’s a shortcut.
The alley has only a handful of shops, then shuttered doorways. I hurry down the street, intent on my destination, until a skittering noise above distracts me. I slow down and look up, squinting past the curve of the high rooftops. But all I notice is the glare of the sun behind the tiles.
A shadow passes over me briefly.
Only a trick of the light, I try to assure myself.
I look up again. Still nothing. But the memory of the tussle with the masked thief flashes in my mind.
It’s not until I’m nearly at the end of the alley that I notice a figure watching me from behind a vendor.
Movement. A swath of black.
I take off running, hoping to catch a better glimpse. It’s not the thief. It can’t be.
When I run into the next street, it takes only a moment, then I catch sight of them again: the back of their head, moving quickly through the crowd. I slip between the passersby, but the figure keeps a few steps ahead of me, until I’ve forgotten the number of turns I’ve taken.
The figure is nowhere to be found.
And I’m completely and utterly lost.
Panic drums in my chest again. I shouldn’t have let my curiosity interfere. Quickly, I beg another person for new directions, committing them to memory. But as I turn the corner, a shadow falls over me again.
Don’t let the Banished Prince catch you in the dark.
I take a step back, retreating into a solid body … and an arm that encircles me from behind.
CHAPTER SIX
I react on instinct, stomping my heel onto my captor’s toes. The grip of my tunic is released, and I dart forward, suddenly free.
“Wait!” a voice calls out behind me. “Just a moment!”
I turn and see the young man from earlier—the rich boy who smiled at me in the marketplace—hopping on one foot.
“Please don’t make me run after you,” he says with a wincing laugh.
I take him in—his tousled dark hair brushing his shoulders, the golden warmth of his skin complementing the angles of his face, the glimmer in his eyes, that quirk of a grin. My mother would say he was yù shù lín fēng. The confidence of jade trees in the wind. Someone who takes your breath away.
“I doubt it’s broken,” I retort, not able to offer false sympathy. “Why are you following me?”
He sets his foot down gently and grimaces as he tests his weight. “I was trying to get your attention, but you were in your own world.”
“Where I come from, it’s customary not to grab girls in back alleys,” I tell him.
“Yes, I’m sorry for that.” He brushes the hair out of his eyes, looking contrite. “I … I saw what you did for the boy.”
I gauge his expression. He looks sincere. He looks … handsome. Like one of the boys Shu would flirt with in the village. But as I’ve learned, pretty faces cannot always be trusted, and the pain is his own fault entirely. “What do you want from me?”
“You lied on the boy’s behalf,” he says, stepping closer, his expression turning earnest. “It was … brave. Unexpected. You’re not from around here?”
“How can you tell?”
“You talk in the way of someone from the southern provinces, the words coming from the back of your throat. Somewhere upriver, perhaps? But also, the people of Jia don’t usually go out of their way to stand up for thieves. Too jaded for acts of kindness. You must be a new arrival. And, well … you seem lost. You’ve been wandering about for quite a while.”
Of course I look like a traveler, like I don’t belong. Are all the inhabitants in the city so eager to point out those who do not fit in?
He winces again. “I don’t mean it that way.”
I realize all my emotions must show on my face. Shu used to make fun of me. Tuck your chin in, she would say with a laugh, you look like an insulted rooster. She is the only one I would allow to tease me in such a way.
“I only want to offer my help.”
I look at him warily. “What could you possibly help me with?”
“I know this city. If you are looking to go somewhere or if you’re looking for something, I can lead you to the right place. Jia isn’t the safest for lone travelers. Haven’t you heard the tales? The Shadow could be on the loose, trying to catch you.”
I know he is joking, but a shiver shoots through me at the thought, remembering the secrets behind the mask.