She shrugged. “Everyone has fear. It’s what keeps us alive. But you got to trust your mates. They keep you alive, too.”
I stared at her and then felt ashamed of myself. I hadn’t expected to hear such hard-hitting truths from a street urchin, but that just showed I’d forgotten. They had always been a canny bunch.
A sudden commotion erupted behind us, as an irate shopkeeper ordered someone away from his stall. Whitey’s cheerful voice swore back at him.
Reya went stiff beside me. “He’s here,” she said, somehow restraining herself from turning to look. I didn’t have the same self-restraint and glanced briefly backward. Dancer caught my eye and flicked her eyes upward. Following her gaze, I found Marcus on the roof of a nearby building, surveying the street. While I watched, he turned in my direction and met my gaze.
His eyes widened and then narrowed, and he vaulted from his roof to the neighboring one, moving in my direction.
“We need to run,” I said, looking around for somewhere safe to go.
“No,” said Reya, “best not to attract the attention.”
With a tug on my arm, she led me weaving through the traffic on the street at what felt like the pace of a snail. I forced myself to look as relaxed as possible as I followed her. Without showing any sign that she meant to do so, she abruptly ducked off the main street into a lane. Material spread between the houses on either side, forming a canopy over our heads and blocking us from view from overhead.
We picked up our pace, moving at a fast walk as children materialized around us. I soon had a visible guard of four.
“Don’t let him see you all,” I panted. “I don’t want him targeting you next.”
Lookout scoffed. “Whitey here got on his bad side less than a week after he arrived. We know how to keep our distance.”
I grimaced and said nothing more, promising myself silently that we would catch him this time and ensure he never had the chance to hurt anyone again.
Reya led us down another lane and then into an alley that smelled so bad, I had to cover my nose. When we reached a main street again, two of the children dashed forward as scouts, signaling when we were safe to emerge. We hurried down the thoroughfare, ducking off into another lane as soon as we could.
When we reached the next major road, all four children halted.
“There’s the mansion.” Lookout pointed. “You leg it as fast as you can in that direction, and there ain’t nothing he can do now, even if he do find you.”
I nodded and was surprised when Reya gave me a quick embrace. “You stay out of his way.” She winked at me. “I want that dress-making job.”
I grinned, thanked them all, and took off running. I hiked up my skirts and ignored the consternation of the people I elbowed past.
Fear for the children kept swirling in my head, but I forced myself to push it away. The streets held all sorts of dangers for a child—only the toughest joined the street urchins. And they knew the city better than anyone. Marcus, a newcomer to Largo, had no hope of tracking them back to their den, even if he could identify them in the first place.
I didn’t slow until I reached the front gate. But as I panted in front of the armed guard there, I looked back down the street and into the city. Marcus stood in the shadows five houses down, watching me with fire in his eyes. I drew myself tall and met his gaze without flinching.
His eyes narrowed and then he turned away. I looked back at the guard.
“Could you open the gate, please? I’m a little out of breath.”
He looked me up and down but must have recognized me because he shrugged and opened the gate without protest.
Chapter 27
The only person in the courtyard of the mansion who paid me any attention was a servant who looked at my ripped gown askance. I hurried inside, trying to remember how to get to Celine and my room. I needed a change of clothes before I sought out the royals.
But when I rounded a corner in one of the corridors, I found Celine just leaving a room.
“Evie!” she screamed as soon as she saw me, running in my direction. “Where have you been? The boys are back…” She slid to a halt in front of me, her eyes widening as she examined my dress. “Wait, what happened to you?” She grabbed my arm. “Never mind, hold on a minute, and you can tell us all.”
She dragged me to the door she had just closed and flung it wide again, pushing me into the room. The luxurious sitting room had been decorated with the same slightly extravagant and not very elegant taste as the rest of the mansion. Frederic stood by one window, looking out across the city, while Cassian sat on a low settee with Tillie beside him, talking softly.
The room looked very similar to the one attached to Celine and my bedchamber, so presumably it belonged to the princes. I had heard some of the nobles grumbling the day before that with the royals in the only two guest suites, the rest of them had been forced to make do with nothing more than a bedchamber. It had made me laugh at the time, considering they had all been reasonably happy living in tents during our recent trek across the desert. Tillie certainly seemed more than pleased with the room provided for her. But obviously Largo reminded the courtiers too much of their usual accommodations in Lanare, and their expectations had been raised.
Frederic turned at our entrance and smiled, but the gesture didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m afraid he got away from us. I’m sorry, Evie.”
“What happened to your dress?” asked Tillie, standing to come toward me.
I gestured for her to return to her seat and collapsed into a puffed armchair myself. My legs still trembled slightly from my mad flight through the city.
“Yes, I worked out you didn’t catch him,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Frederic crossed to sit on the chair beside mine. He leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees, all his attention on me. “Did you see him? Are you hurt in some way?” He glanced at his sister. “I was most displeased with the guard for abandoning you like that.”
Celine grinned. “I pleaded mercy on the poor fellow’s behalf. I provoked him most terribly, I’m afraid. I told Frederic not to worry, that you knew the city better than any of us. But perhaps…”
I nodded my head. “I do know the city, you’re right. And thank goodness for that. I’m afraid Marcus must have circled around because he managed to grab me.” I shivered. “He had a dagger, and he made all sorts of threats.”
Frederic leaped to his feet, his hands in fists. “I’m turning out the guard. We’ll find him if we have to tear the city apart.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I mean, yes, we need to find and arrest him, but that’s not the way to go about it.”
Frederic looked down at me, and I held his gaze, my own steady, until he at last sighed and dropped back into his seat. “I take it you have a plan, then?”
“Not a plan, exactly. But I do have some information.” I bit my cheek. “But first I think I need to give you some background as to how I came by it.”
All four of them watched me silently, and I reminded myself how well they had taken every other revelation about my past. There was no reason this one should be different.
“I was born in Largo. That’s what they think, anyway—I never actually knew either of my parents. No one even knew who they were.” I forced a quick smile onto my face, but I doubted I was fooling any of them. “So that’s who I am. An orphan without home or family, just like Monique said.”
Frederic frowned.