The Heart of Betrayal (The Remnant Chronicles #2) - Mary E. Pearson Page 0,135

and his lips traced the kavah on my shoulder. I grabbed my shirt and trousers from the bed and turned, shoving them into his stomach.

He laughed. “Now, that’s the princess I know and love.”

“You’ve never loved anything in your life,” I said.

His expression softened for a brief moment. “How very wrong you are.” He turned to leave, but just before he closed the door behind him, he added, “I’ll be back in a few hours.” His lip lifted in distaste, and he whirled his hand in the air. “Do something with your hair.”

He shut the door, and I ruffled my hair into a ragged mess of frustration. And then I heard a growling thunk.

I ran to the door and tried the latch. It didn’t budge. I pounded with my fists. “You can’t lock me in! That’s not our agreement!” I pressed my ear to the door, but the only answer I got was the faint sound of his footsteps receding.

Agreement. I almost laughed at the word. Unlike Kaden, I knew the Komizar honored nothing unless it served him. I looked around the room for something that could pick the lock. I took a bone from my tether, used my knife to split it into a thin sliver, and prodded at the small keyhole to no avail. Every piece of metal in this wretched damp city was stiff with rust. I tried another bone and another, and heard the chants outside growing louder. Jezelia. When would first bell ring? I ran to the windows, but they were too small and too deep for me to call to anyone. And then I heard a light knock.

“Miz Lia?”

I ran to the door and fell against it. “Aster!” I said, relief flooding through me.

“They’re calling for you,” she said.

“I hear them. Can you unlock the door for me?”

I heard her jiggling keys in the lock. “None of these work.”

My mind raced, trying to think what would take the least time. Fetch Calantha? She had a key to everything in the Sanctum. But whose side would she be on today? I took a chance and told Aster to get her. She left and I sat on the floor, leaning back against the door. Time crept by in agonizing beats, marked by the calls of Jezelia, and then I heard first bell. My heart sank, but then the rush of footsteps clattered through the hall, and I heard Aster’s panting breaths at the door.

“I looked everywhere, Miz. I couldn’t find her. No one knows where she is.”

I tried to calm the panic rising in me. Time was slipping away. I’ll be waiting. Was he still there?

The Komizar’s room. There. “Search the Komizar’s room!” I yelled. It was just across the hall. “He’s gone to the Council Wing. Hurry, Aster!”

I grabbed the baldrick from the bed and slipped my knife into its sheath. Next I added my tether of bones and finally my cloak to conceal the knife. If I did get out of this room, I had to look as I always did to the guards who might see me. Minutes passed. I sat on the bed. Leave without me, Rafe. You promised.

“I got it!” Aster called through the door. I heard the heavy bolt slide and the door opened. Her face beamed with her accomplishment, and I kissed her forehead. “You are the saving angel Aster!”

She rubbed her clipped locks. “Hurry, Miz!” she said. “They’re still calling.”

“Stay here,” I told her. “It might not be safe.”

“Nothing’s safe around here. I’m going to see you get there!”

I couldn’t argue with her logic. It was true. The Sanctum was anything but a sanctuary. The only thing it harbored was constant threat. We ran down halls, steps, and little-used passages, up steps and down steps again. The short distance suddenly seemed like miles. It was not an easy terrace to get to. I prayed I wasn’t too late, but at the same time, I hoped Rafe had left without me and was already safe across the river. We passed no one, thankfully, and finally reached the portal that led to the terrace.

“I’ll wait here and whistle if anyone comes.”

“Aster, you can’t—”

“I can whistle loud,” she said, her chin set in the air.

I hugged her. “I’ll know if someone’s coming. Now, go. Get back to the jehendra and your bapa and stay safe there.” She reluctantly turned away, and I hurried through the long portal to the terrace. It was covered with a thick layer of snow, and I