A strange pain shot through my chest at seeing her next to him.
“Latia?” I asked, not quite believing what I was seeing.
Her eyes went wide when she recognized me. “You brought her?” She tried to pull away from Cion, but he wouldn’t allow it.
“It’s okay,” he soothed, squeezing her hand and moving off to the side so she could get a better look at me.
There was something off about her. About the way she carried herself. Or maybe it was that she wasn’t backing down and was meeting my gaze. She was challenging me.
I took a step back. That couldn’t be right. This was demure little Latia, who wouldn’t even look at me in my gladiator gear because I frightened her so much. The intensity I’d seen in her eyes must’ve been a trick of the moonlight.
“Latia is my source in the palace,” Cion said. “She’s been trying to figure out where the water controls are and feeding me information about what Rodric and your father have been up to.”
I should’ve been pleased we had someone inside the palace who could help, but feelings of betrayal crept up my body. So did some vomit when I saw he still hadn’t let go of her hand.
I took a steadying breath. No, she hadn’t betrayed me. She’d betrayed my father, the same thing I’d done, and yet it still stung because I thought we’d been some version of friends.
I nodded, numb, taking in the way his hand grasped hers with such familiarity, such comfort. No, more than comfort. Affection.
I shook the word from my mind. That couldn’t be right. Could it?
Latia was in love with a soldier back in the palace. The one she drew little rendezvous maps for. The one she would sneak out at night to meet.
My stomach tightened.
Hadn’t I seen Cion pull out a crumpled parchment and head off into the desert the night Dimic and I had played Skips? Hadn’t he gone off on his own several times since then?
Maybe Latia hadn’t been writing notes to her lover. Maybe she’d been giving Cion detailed maps of the palace.
But did she really fake those small smiles and blushing cheeks whenever I asked her about her soldier?
No, even then I’d known she was in love. No wonder I’d never been able to get the name of the man from her. Because it wasn’t a soldier.
It was Cion.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. I took deep breaths of the frigid desert air in the hopes it would breathe life back into the parts of me that suddenly felt as if they were dissolving and numb the strangled feeling wrapping around me.
Even the small part of me that wanted to hope I was wrong knew I wasn’t. If she was out here helping him, there’s no way she’d let herself develop feelings for a soldier in the palace, for the enemy.
As if to prove my point, she glared at me and said, “Are you sure she can be trusted?”
I scoffed, as much in reply to her question as to hide that I needed a few more moments to be sure my voice wouldn’t betray any emotions. Besides, she was one to talk about trusting people.
She studied me from beneath long eyelashes. The kind of eyelashes any girl would be jealous of.
I’d never taken the time before to really look at her. She’d always seemed to dislike attention. But out here in the desert, she seemed to have bloomed like a cactus flower. Her large eyes stood out in the moonlight. In any setting, she’d be considered a beauty with her soft features, and standing next to Cion’s muscled body made her only look softer, more feminine.
I looked down at my own arms. Honed muscles stood out.
I couldn’t believe I thought Cion was going to kiss me. He must think I was a fool, sitting there staring at him with eyes as wide as moonstones. I wanted to grind my foot into the sand until all my anger drilled away. I wouldn’t let him, or her, know they’d had any effect on me. I had to be as cool as the desert. I straightened my shoulders and forced myself to look at her, face as stoic as my father’s as he waited for the accused to pick a door in the arena.
“We can trust her,” Cion replied. “She’s helped us with a raid and hasn’t run back to Rodric yet.”
“Only because she wouldn’t be able to find her way back,” Latia said.
I stiffened but stopped myself from going for my sword.
Cion must have sensed that. He sighed. “I was hoping you would get along for once. For all our sakes.”
“We’ve always gotten along,” I clarified, not taking my eyes from Latia.
“It’s easy to get along with someone when they have to do everything you say,” Latia spat.
“Now’s not the time,” Cion said, holding her back.
“Then when is?” She turned on him. “She doesn’t get to escape without paying for what she did.”
“For what I did?” I demanded. “What did I ever do to you?”
Her body stilled in Cion’s arms. Her eyes narrowed. “You took my mother from me.”
“The sun must have addled your brain,” I said. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You said scorpions killed your parents.”
“That was a lie to cover up what your family did to mine. Your father gave the order . . .”
I charged toward her. “My father did a lot of things I don’t approve of, like kill my mother. So if it’s him you want to go after, you’ll have to get in line. Don’t blame me.”
“As if you didn’t blame the Desert Boys for years and sit by while they died in the arena?” She lunged toward me, but Cion easily held her back.
“Kateri isn’t the enemy,” he spoke softly into her ear. “Not anymore.”
Latia stopped fighting him, but she didn’t stop glaring.
After a few moments, he released her, and she stood with her arms crossed.
“And we won’t be able to stop the king and Rodric unless we all work together,” he said. “Why don’t you tell Kateri what we know about the controls so far?” He raised his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to speak.
Latia flipped her braid over her shoulder. With one last sigh, she said, “I’ve searched nearly the entire palace, and I can’t find them.” She glared at me in accusation, as if I had been the one to hide them somewhere.
I shook my head. “I don’t know where they are.” When Cion had suggested the water controls existed, I’d tried to think of where my father could hide something like that. But I’d come up empty.
She shot me a look laced with more poison than a scorpion sting. “Are you sure?”
“I didn’t know my father controlled the water levels until a few days ago,” I said, “so I have no idea where he’d control them from.”
Latia rolled her eyes.
I closed my eyes, trying to think. Once my mother was gone, I hadn’t spent much time exploring the palace. I’d been too busy training.
I opened my eyes and shook my head. “I don’t know where it could be.”
“She’s as useless out here as she is in the palace,” Latia said. “I’m better off searching more on my own.”
“Once I beat Rodric,” I supplied, “I’ll find the controls and destroy them.”
“We don’t have time for that,” Latia snapped. “Rodric’s going to cut off all access to the wells until you’re returned. Your father warned things would get worse, and now they have,” she said, her eyes burning like flames.
“Are you sure?” We’d heard that rumor days ago and nothing had appeared to come of it. Maybe she was wrong. She had to be wrong. I needed more time.
“He’s tired of his soldiers dying in the desert,” Latia intoned. “He knows Cion cares about these people. Your father’s counting on the fact he’d rather give you up than watch them all die of thirst.”
Cion was lost in thought. “We’ve been in worse situations before.”
“We’ve never had all access to the wells cut off like this,” Latia said.
“The people will revolt,” I said.
“It won’t do them any good,” Latia replied. “The wells will be empty unless we can break the controls.”
Cion paced back and forth, running his hand through his hair. “He’s flushing us out. It feels like a trap to me.”
“Of course it’s a trap,” Latia said. She pulled at the end of her braid, and for the first time since arriving that night she resembled the unsure girl I was used to. “Kateri should just give herself up now.”
Cion shook his head. “That won’t help anything. We need a plan.”
“We don’t have time for a plan,” Latia replied.
“Then we have to go tonight,” Cion said. He eyes swung to the sky, heavy with stars. “If we left now, we could break into the palace and search for the controls.”
“It’s suicidal,” Latia said. “You can’t get into the palace. It’s not like the city wall that’s unguarded. Its main gate is manned, and the only time the palace wall is fully patrolled is at night. I can get in, but I can’t get the rest of you in with me.”
Cion dug his foot into the sand.
I stared off toward the city lights and the arena that rose above them.
“The arena,” I whispered.
Cion and Latia turned their attention to me.
“What?” Cion said.
I pointed. “The arena has an access tunnel to the palace to transfer the tigers in and out. It’d be a lot easier than trying to make it over the wall. It would bring us in on the lower levels.”
Cion studied the shadow in the distance. “How many guards would we be facing?”
“There aren’t any soldiers guarding the arena.” No one was stupid enough to want to go in. “There are maybe one or two locked doors we’d have to pass through, and there might be some tiger trainers in the small prep room off to the side of their cage. Once we’re past that, it’ll be pretty quiet down there.”
Cion looked to Latia. “What do you think?”
“It’s too risky,” Latia said.
I stepped forward. “All we have to do is pick the lock and face a few soldiers.”
“We?” Latia asked. “I didn’t know you could pick locks too.”
“Dimic,” I said, remembering how he opened the lock on my shackles. He’d said he was the best lock picker out of all the boys. I switched my focus to Cion. “He could do it. I could take the Desert Boys through the tunnel in the arena.”
“You’re quick to volunteer others for a cause you’ve only been championing for a few days,” Latia snapped. She crossed her arms and leered up at me. “The Desert Boys aren’t just pawns you can use. They’re actual people. Dimic is Cion’s brother. Did you ever stop to think that he could get hurt? Or caught? Rodric won’t let him go again.” Her cheeks were aflame and her eyes bright with anger.
“I think Kateri is right,” Cion said. “We need to get in and destroy the controls once and for all.”
Latia opened her mouth to interject, but Cion silenced her by continuing on. “But I do think it’s too dangerous for all the boys to come. We need a small group. It’ll be just us and Dimic.”
“No,” Latia said. “He’s not coming.”
Cion sighed. “He’s the best lock picker, and you know it.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “He can’t come.” She chewed the side of her cheek so violently I thought she’d bite through.
“Latia . . .” Cion started.
“Don’t,” she said. “You weren’t there when he was caught last time. You didn’t have to hear him screaming. I won’t go through that again. I won’t let him go through that again.” Her voice broke. She turned away to stare back at the city.
Cion moved toward her and pulled her into a hug.
She melted into his arms, burying her face against his chest.
I couldn’t help but shiver at the memory of how much warmth that embrace brought. I shoved the thought away. He clearly had feelings for Latia. I’d been stupid for mistaking kindness for affection, but I guess when you’re not used to either, it’s easy to mistake the two.
“We’re not going to lose him,” Cion said. He stroked her hair.
“I don’t think I could take it again. Not after Remy . . .” She trailed off. “The only reason Rodric let him go last time is because he knows Dimic is reckless and would likely lead him to the hideout. He won’t release him again.”
He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I won’t let anything happen to Dimic.”
She wiped her eyes and nodded, renewed by the conviction in his voice. “What do you need me to do?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I want you out of harm’s way. You should go back to the hideout. You’ll be safe there.”
She shook her head. “If I don’t go back, Rodric might get suspicious. We can’t risk that.”
“If anything went wrong, Rodric might suspect you since you went out tonight.” Cion pressed his lips together.
“I just hope you know what you’re doing then.”
“It’s the best chance we have.” He stared down at her.
They seemed to have forgotten I was there. I cleared my throat.
Cion had the decency to look a little sheepish as he took a step away from Latia.
“I still don’t like this, Cion,” Latia said.
“They’ll suspect something tomorrow if we don’t turn Kateri in and don’t attack the wells. It has to be tonight.”
“Please be careful,” she said.
“You too,” he replied. He stared down at her for a moment, then something sparked in his eyes. “Oh.” He reached into his pocket. “I know you refused to leave on the last caravan, but I think it’s finally time you have this.” He pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth.
She looked questioningly up at him.
“Please,” he said. He pushed it toward her.
Reluctantly, she took it in her hands. She unwrapped the cloth, but I couldn’t see what it hid.
Her eyes went wide. She looked up at Cion. Her hands were shaking.
The cloth that had been concealing the object fell back. Gold glinted in the moonlight.
It took me a moment to recognize what I was seeing. A bracelet. And not just any bracelet. An engagement bracelet.
My heart dropped.
“It’s time for you to leave the palace,” he said.
She shook her head in disbelief and appeared to be blinking back tears.
“Just keep it for now,” he continued. He curled her fingers gently around the bracelet. “We can talk about it later, after we destroy the water controls. Things will be different after that.”
She looked up at him. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to speak. Finally, she said, “I hope you’re right.” She tucked the bracelet into her pocket and wiped her eyes. “But I still don’t want you to do this.”
“I know,” he said gently, “but Kateri is offering us our best chance yet.”
Latia shot me a hard, studying glare, like she was reliving every moment we’d spent together, weighing if I would be up for the task. Then she turned back to Cion. “I only hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I do.”
They stared at each other for a few moments. Finally, Latia lowered her gaze and nodded. “All right.”
He pulled her into one last hug.
I turned away, offering them what little privacy I could while ignoring the tightening in my stomach. It’s not like I had any claims on Cion. He was my trainer, nothing more. Besides, I had bigger things to worry about.
I never even wanted to wear one of those engagement bracelets. Shackles, I had called them.
Only, maybe I was wrong. Maybe they didn’t chain you down. Maybe they chained you to someone. Someone you never wanted to lose.
Cion released Latia, and she wiped away a tear, pulled up her hood, and to her credit, walked with her shoulders thrown back until she faded into the desert shadows.
Cion watched her go for a long time. Eventually, he turned to me. “I wanted to tell you about Latia,” he said, “but—”
“I get it,” I said. I didn’t need him to explain. I didn’t want him to explain.
Just like my father kept the location of the water controls secret, Cion had kept her a secret. You did that to protect the things you cared about most, the things you couldn’t afford to lose.
“Let’s go before we lose any more time,” I said as I cut a path across the desert, revealing along the way everything I knew about the arena tunnel and tiger cages to drown out the aching in my chest.