Prince of Traitors

Owin

Kieran and I wind our way to the outskirts of Oxgarde where we originally split up from Jasper and Nimia. I walk with my arms wrapped around my midsection under my fur cloak; I can hear Kieran's footsteps on the cobblestones behind me, but he doesn't speak.

We stand under a tree off of the road as we wait. I tuck my nose into my furs, blocking out the afternoon chill. I hear rapid footsteps and look up, seeing Nimia dashing toward us. I tense. Jasper isn't with her. As she gets closer, I see she's crying.

"Owin!" she cries, and crashes into me, wrapping her skinny arms around my waist. Her small shoulders shake with sobs. "They got him, Owin! They got Jasper!"

"Wh—Nim, who?" I ask. "What's going on?"

Nim's voice is muffled as she cries into my waist, her words tumbling out quickly. "We were walking with someone and then he had a knife and this lady showed up with a sword! A-and they said the king was after Jasper and they took him!"

I push Nimia away to look her in the eye. Her face is ruddy, tears running down her cheeks from wide, frightful eyes. "Who were they?" I ask.

She squeezes her eyes shut in thought. "The guy said he knew you—I think his name was R-Rahmi? Rahmi or something."

"What?" I exclaim. "You're sure his name was Rahmi?"

Nimia nods. "Yeah, it was Rahmi and some lady," she says. She wipes her nose on her sleeve. "They called him Your Highness, Owin. They called him a prince."

Kieran sets a hand on her shoulder. "A prince?" he repeats. She nods fervently.

I let go of Nimia to run my hands through my hair. "How did you get away?"

"They let me go," Nim says. She shakes her head. "Jasper said to leave him behind."

"Shit," I mutter. "Shit. We've got to find him." I take Nimia's hand and start to hurry back toward the city.

Kieran catches my arm. "Why?" he says. "If Jasper's really a prince with a bounty on his head, wouldn't we be better off without him?"

I turn to glare at him. "We're not leaving him." I shrug off Kieran's hand, and Nimia holds my hand tightly as we reenter the city. Kieran follows us, jogging a few steps to catch up with me.

"Why aren't you surprised by all this?" he asks. "Did you know he had a bounty on him?"

I bite my lip as I glance at Kieran. I lower my voice. "Of course I did. He's the Crown Prince of Odrend. What I didn't know was that Rahmi was after him too."

Kieran gapes at me, bewildered. I beckon him along, and Nimia leads us through the streets of Oxgarde to where she last saw Jasper. My heart pounds in my chest, and I try not to think about where Jasper might be, what his captors might have done to him by now.

I think back to the caravan, to the crates of weapons Rahmi had been transporting to the border. Had any of the sharp, wickedly curved blades been intended for the Odrendi soldiers? I feel a little sick, remembering sitting by the fire watching Rahmi and Jasper spar; Rahmi had been fast, nimble. Deadly.

The street Nimia leads us to is dark and narrow, away from the heavier traffic of the main thoroughfares. It's empty, save for Jasper's sword laying discarded on the cobblestones.