Prince of Traitors

Jasper

"Me and my friends found a cave one summer," Nimia says. "The rain or something cleared it out."

"You made it a secret hideout, right?" I ask.

Nimia giggles. "Yes!"

"Good choice," I say with a laugh. "My brother and I only had broom closets for our hideouts. A cave is much better."

The young Navaarim girl grins up at me. "It was so fun!" she says. "But this one kid—Luc—kept following us and making fun of us." She scowls, her little face scrunching up. "He's only eleven, but he acts like he's so much better than me and my friends."

"Us boys are idiots at that age."

"Uh-huh. So we made it a girls-only hideout, and kicked him out!"

I laugh, praising Nimia's actions. She smiles up at me.

I sell my stolen bow and quiver for a small pouch of Astrian pounds at a shop, and look for a clothier along the boulevard of stores that line the streets. I keep a hand on Nimia's shoulder so she stays with me, doesn't get lost in the crowd of people milling about.

"Nim, stick close," I remind her as we push through the passersby to the clothier's shop that I spot across the way. Nimia takes my hand, and I duck inside the shop.

Inside, the man at the counter sells me four fluffy woolen scarves and pairs of gloves. He eyes Nimia suspiciously as she runs her fingers over some soft fabric. The man is about to say something when she returns her focus to me, her hand small in mine.

Back outside the clothier's shop, Nim dons one of the scarves. It's so fluffy that it puffs up to obscure her nose and mouth completely. She giggles behind the soft gray fabric.

I smile down at her, and catch the whiff of something sweet on the air. I scan the signs hanging above the shops, and confirm my suspicions. "Come on," I say, gently tugging her along.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"Patience. You'll see," I say, and walk with her to the sweets shop.

"Take a good long smell of that," I tell her inside the door. The scent of the sweets and chocolates is cloyingly sweet, but it makes my mouth water. She breathes it in heartily. Her face breaks into a grin, her eyes going wide.

"Have you ever had chocolate?" I ask. Nimia shakes her head. "Well, in that case—" I still have some pounds left in the pouch I got for the bow and quiver. I pay for some plain chocolates and the woman behind the counter scoops them into a small paper box.

When we exit the shop, Nimia and I pause at the side of the cobblestone street, under a shop's awning. I open the box and dig out a few chocolates. "They farm this stuff far to the south, where it's really warm," I explain. "And then it's mixed with sugar and milk to make sweets." I present a chocolate to her, and she pops it into her mouth.

Her eyes go wide and she makes a surprised little noise as she bites into it. I laugh. "What do you think?" I ask.

Nimia giggles and nods as she chews. "It's so yummy!"

I grin down at her. "Think Owin and Kieran would like some?" I ask. Nim nods enthusiastically. "Let's head back and find them, yeah?"

"Okay," she says. "Can I have another?" I smile and hand her another chocolate. She eats it excitedly.

I pop a chocolate into my own mouth and close up the box. I let it melt in my mouth, savoring the creamy sweetness before I bite into it. I can't remember the last time I had sweets.

Nimia takes my hand again so we don't get separated. We step out from under the awning, into the throng of people.

"Well, fuck me sideways," a voice says with a laugh. Nim and I stop and turn around.

Behind us, standing with his hands on his narrow hips, a smirk playing on his angular face, is Rahmi.