Chapter Twenty-one

"Don't wake him up."

"He'll be fine." The voices crept into my dreams, and a hand shook my right shoulder. Annoyed, I threw my arm over my face and hoped that whoever was bothering me would go away. The clearer of the two voices was Kassia's, and I assumed it was Baisan poking at me. They had found me the day before, stumbling down an alley near our home. In light of my condition, Baisan hadn't even found it necessary to lecture me about being late.

I was shaken again, and this time I groaned. "Go away."

"Get up."

"No," I argued weakly. "Leave me alone."

"Finagale."

My eyes flew open and I shot up into a sitting position. My back screamed out in protest, but I couldn't help it. "What are you doing here?" I asked Tannix, sounding more panicked than I'd intended. He looked so out of place, sitting cross-legged on the ground near my little makeshift bed. Kassia was crouched next to him; Baisan and Castin were off near the other side of the room. Everyone else was gone.

"I came to see if you had made it out," Tannix replied.

"You can't be here," I said. "You can't see this. Go away."

"I've already seen it," he said.

"You..." I hesitated, trying to figure out how best to put my feelings into words. "You're too good for this world."

Tannix smiled and shook his head slightly. "Don't be ridiculous. Let me see your back." He pulled a little jar from a pocket under his cloak. "I've brought the salve."

"We already have some," Kassia said.

"This will be better," Tannix said.

"Fine." Kassia slipped the jar from his hand and moved out of his reach. She unscrewed the lid to dip a finger into the cream. "Why would you use up expensive salve on a Native?" she asked.

"I bought it for him," Tannix said. Kassia still looked doubtful, so he added, "I told you where to find him, didn't I? Why would I help him escape just to hurt him?"

"He wasn't where you told us he'd be," Baisan said. "You said he'd be near the window."

"I couldn't make it through the window," I said. "Kassia, don't worry. He's already used that on me. It was fine."

Kassia hung back, looking at Tannix warily. After a moment, she returned to my side. This time, she gently pulled the loose tunic I'd struggled into the night before over my head. She scooped up some of the salve with her fingers. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," she said quietly, before beginning to rub it onto my back. I flinched, but she was gentle and her touch didn't hurt.

Tannix watched her for a moment before his gaze dropped to my bound wrist. "How does it feel?"

"Better since you wrapped it up. How did you get here?"

"Same way I did yesterday. I came down and stayed around the main gate until someone tried to pickpocket me. I grabbed his arm and asked about you, and when he nodded I insisted he bring me to your home."

"Who was it?" I asked. Tannix shrugged, so I glanced over his shoulder at Baisan.

"Leker."

"I hope you didn't scare him too badly, Tannix," I said. Kassia finished with my back and moved on to the brand. The numbing coolness spread over my back, making it easier to relax.

"No, I don't think so. He brought me to meet Baisan, but he didn't bring me here, and I explained how I had given you the key and told Baisan where the window was. This time, I stood near the gate again until I saw the same boy, and then I caught him and made him bring me back here." He reached under his cloak again to take out my dagger and the chain with my Order ring, both of which he held out to me. "I thought you might want these back."

"Thank you." I put the dagger on the ground, but I held the ring to fiddle with while I glanced back up at Tannix. "Thank you for getting me out."

"I wish I could have done it sooner," he said. He was close enough that he could reach out and touch my shoulder, near the brand. "I should have stopped this."

I shrugged. "I don't know if you could have. At least now I have something to show for being the greatest thief in Zianna. How many thieves do you think get branded and manage to escape?" My attempt to lighten the mood didn't work. Tannix dropped his hand and Kassia silently finished up with the salve.

"I didn't tell you the truth back in the cell," Tannix said. "You did say something while he was whipping you. Nothing about me, but right before you passed out you mumbled Malte's name. He was arrested on the spot."

"Why?"

"The director must have thought you were saying that Malte is the 'M' mentioned in the letter. I'm sure he'll be found innocent, unless of course he is guilty."

"I didn't mean to," I protested. "Can't you tell..." but I trailed off, knowing that he couldn't say anything. "Will he be hurt?"

"Potentially, but he has some rank to protect himself with. He might be able to avoid torture for a while." Tannix glanced around the room quickly. "Do you think you could take a walk?"

"Yes." I started to get to my feet, but Baisan motioned for me to sit down.

"Last time he went anywhere with you, he got arrested and tortured. You're not taking him anywhere."

Tannix sighed and stood up. Though he wasn't trying to look menacing, Baisan took a nervous step backwards. When Tannix reached under his cloak, I could see Castin grip his knife, ready to jump to Baisan's aid if need be. Instead of a knife, Tannix pulled out a bulging pouch, which he placed in Baisan's hands. Baisan stared down at it with wide eyes before slowly nodding.

Kassia helped me stand up. "Did you just buy me?" I tried again to lighten the mood with a joke.

"No, I just bribed your guard," Tannix said. "Let's go."

Tannix was wearing one of the sand coloured cloaks from the Order, but it didn't help him blend in. It was the way he held himself, and the way he acted. Luckily, there weren't many people around to see us. We stayed off the main roads and walked slowly to accommodate my injuries. At first we didn't speak, just enjoying each other's company—and in my case, enjoying freedom.

Tannix broke the silence. "That girl, she seems to like you."

"Kassia?" As much as I appreciated not having to think about what had happened for a moment, his comment surprised me.

He nodded. "I think so. She was pretty protective; she didn't want me waking you up."

"I didn't want you to wake me up, either," I said.

"She likes you."

"Well, maybe." I shrugged uncomfortably. "So, what am I supposed to do?"

"Why would I know?"

"You're the son of West Draulin," I said. "You must know how to deal with girls."

Tannix laughed and shook his head. "Hardly. I'm engaged."

I stopped walking suddenly, and he took another step before noticing. The information had taken me off guard. I was shocked it hadn't come up before.

He turned around to look at me. "What?"

"You're engaged?" I wasn't sure why the idea bothered me so much.

"Yes, technically. It's a political arrangement." He started walking again, and I followed. "Lord East Draulin only has one child, a daughter. It will put my family in control of both sides of the Straits of Draulin. Tandrin will inherit West Draulin, as he should, but I will marry Lady Mayah and take the east. We've been engaged as long as I can remember, although I don't know her all that well. She's a year younger than me, and very pretty."

"You've always said you're going to be a soldier."

"Well, I won't rule East Draulin," Tannix said. "It belongs to the Macreds, Mayah's family. She'll always have more power than me, leaving me to gallivant around as a soldier. I've just never had to think about girls before, and even if I did, getting involved with someone would be shameful for both of our families. Not to mention that if I ruined the arrangement, my father would be tempted to disown me."

"Can he disown you?"

"Yes, but he wouldn't. I was joking. We're close, compared to other high class families."

"Are most not close?" I asked. Since our reunion, I'd answered countless questions about my life. It was nice to have a chance to question him for once, and he didn't seem to mind.

"It depends on the family," Tannix replied. "Some are distant, and the children are raised by servants and never really get a chance to interact with their parents. Mine weren't like that. My father would ride or practice fighting with Tandrin and me. My mother taught my younger sister how to be diplomatic, and how to hold her own."

"What's her name?" I asked. "How do girl names work?"

"Work?"

"Telts give their children similar names. Natives don't do that."

"Oh, right." He nodded. "Her name is Tairia. It's my mother's name, Clairia, combined with the first letter of my father's name. Tandrael."

"And you have a family name? Like the Macreds?" I asked.

"The Tandrans," Tannix said. "Every family is named after their founder. Lord Tandran the First landed on New Teltar with the first king."

"With your first king," I said.

Tannix looked at me. Maybe it had never occurred to him that there were Zian kings before the Telts had arrived. He let the idea sit for a moment before nodding. "You're right, that was insensitive. I apologize."

It was such an easy apology. He'd done it once before, apologizing for Telts as a whole, shouldering responsibility for the wrongs his people had done. He didn't say it to appease me, he meant it. He kept poking holes in my idea of a typical Telt, cracking it apart piece by piece almost every time we spoke. I was beginning to wonder how long it would take before he shattered it completely.

I was suddenly aware of the way he was still looking at me. For whatever reason, it made me nervous. I glanced down at my bound wrist, and fiddled with the lacing on the bracer. "So do the names ever get confusing? All those similar siblings?"

"Rarely, and not within our family. Sometimes other families can be confusing. But I had to learn the names of all the major nobility, and much of the lesser. Well, the lesser on New Teltar, at least."

"You have to know everyone by name?"

He shrugged. "To an extent. I need to know the people I'll be interacting with, and I need to know the people who are more important than I am."

"Who is more important than you?"

Tannix hesitated, for once seeming a little uncomfortable. "Truthfully, not many people. There's the royal family, as well as my father, brother, and mother. Some of the more higher-up generals and ministers..."

"That's it?"

He nodded after another thoughtful pause. "Yes."

For a moment, I couldn't think of what to tell him. How was it possible that we had become friends when we were so far apart? "You know that you're as close to the king as I am to the lowest person in the city?"

"That's not true."

"No, you're right. I'm probably closer. Can you get any lower than being a wanted criminal?" I asked.

Tannix looked away. "I suppose not."

The topic clearly made him uneasy, so I changed it. "Is there anything we can do about Malte?"

He gave his right wrist a distracted rub. "I'm not sure yet, but I'm trying to think of something. There's only so much I can do without incriminating myself, and you need to stay out of the upper city entirely until this blows over. If it ever does."

I nodded—no argument there. It would take some time before I would be able to go back there, let alone feel comfortable doing it. "Will you come meet me then?"

"How often do you think I can get away from the Order without people being suspicious?" Tannix asked. "I've managed it twice now, but it won't be a frequent thing. Most people don't question me, but the guards might report it if I'm leaving every week. Or even every second week."

"Then you need to become better at climbing over walls," I said.

"I don't think that will work." He sighed. "I haven't done it for years."

"Why would you stop? You were good."

"I wasn't."

"You were," I repeated. "For someone who hadn't been doing it since they were young."

Tannix reached over to give me a very gentle shove. By then, we were heading back towards my old building. I was guiding us, and since Lothian Dusk would be falling soon, I assumed he would want to go home. As we walked, I eyed him again.

"You really don't blend in down here."

"I know," he admitted. "You're better at blending in, even with that hair. I really should have known you weren't a Teltan."

I quickly ran my hand through my hair. "You probably should have," I agreed. Stepping into the entrance to my home, we could hear voices up ahead; Baisan, Castin and Kassia were talking. The other four had returned. They were sitting around a small fire, sharing some meat and bread that was probably bought with Tannix's money. They all looked up when we entered.

The younger four were obviously startled to see Tannix. Baisan got to his feet and approached us. "Glad to see you still alive, Finn."

"We just walked around." I brushed by him and approached the fire. Kassia offered me a piece of bread, which I gratefully took. In the doorway, Tannix and Baisan were warily looking at each other. There were similarities between them that I doubted either of them had recognized. A sort of boldness that came with power. It made sense in Tannix, who could have people scrambling to obey him just by saying his name. I wasn't sure where it came from in Baisan, but I admired it.

I ripped off some bread with my teeth and walked back over to the pair. "Tannix, I think you make Baisan nervous."

"I understand," Tannix replied, with the same sincerity as when he had apologized.

"Do you need help finding the gate?" I asked him.

"No," Baisan said. "You're hurt, Finn. You're staying here. Cast?"

Castin shoved a chunk of meat in his mouth and got to his feet. "I'm injured too."

"You're better off than Finn."

"Maybe if he learned how to hold a knife he would be able to avoid getting arrested," Castin said, coming to join us.

"That's a lost cause," Tannix said.

He and Castin shared a surprised glance, shocked that they had agreed on something. It only lasted a moment before Castin's quiet distrust came back. He motioned for Tannix to follow him and ducked out of the room. Tannix flashed me a smile before following him.

Kassia smiled as I settled down beside her, and slipped some more food into my hands. "Good walk?"

I nodded, too busy eating to reply verbally.

She started picking at her own food. "You seem close for being so different."

I swallowed. "I know."

"Isn't it strange?"

"A bit, maybe, but we met when we were young, when he didn't know who I was. Are you going to finish that?"

Kassia looked down at the bit of meat in her hand. It was some sort of bird, chicken or duck, I thought. She handed it over with a smile. Our hands brushed together and she gripped my fingers lightly for a moment. "Do you want more salve?"

I nodded.

She pulled it out from her pocket. "I'll let you finish eating first."

I ate the rest of my food and carefully pulled off my tunic.