Petra of the Shazastar is a thief on the run from an unforgettable past. But, like all thieves, her luck cannot last forever. When she is caught, she's given a choice: either face execution or become the fortune teller to the Mad Queen.
Not surpri...
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I WALK THROUGH THE CARNIVAL, strategically avoiding Giovanni. I want to tell him what I discovered but a meeting with the captain of the guard will mean all work and no play - and I had worked enough. Instead, I follow the aroma of warm baked goods and find myself at a busy stall. There I order a pastry - sweet and flaky - and sigh with pure happiness, no Giovanni and a much earned dessert? It can't get any better. I pay the baker and turn to enjoy my treat -
"I'm glad you decided to pay for that, thief. Unlike the turkey leg."
And my blissful moment is destroyed.
I look up and there he stands, a stern, frowning shadow, dressed in his black guard uniform, his eyes as striking as the blade of his saber. For a moment I am lost at the image of him. An annoyed narrowing of his eyes and I know that I have stared for too long. I swallow a sudden cough. Not knowing what has come over me, I grab a random ragtag child of the streets and give him my food.
"Enjoy it for me little one. I have lost my appetite."
The snot nosed boy shrugs and devours the honeyed bread in one gulp. He then makes an ugly face at me and Giovanni and runs away.
Giovanni stands unfazed and motions for me to follow him. "Tell me your pretending has gotten you some useful information."
I follow him through the crowds. I want to desperately escape and join the others - enjoy the music and games and shows, to escape Giovanni and the frustrating lingering feelings that pester me whenever he is near, but alas he does not give me the opportunity.
"Or have I been proven correct about you - that you are nothing more than a charlatan -"
Infuriating, annoying, idiot. I quicken my pace and walk beside him. "Oh, I have found some information milord De Luca. But I do not think I want to share them with you."
There. That is what he gets for calling me a charlatan. Who has the upper hand now?
Giovanni smiles back in return - a strained grin that mimics my own. "Holding out information when you are under the protection of the queen. Sounds like treason to me. And treason is ..."
"A capital offense in Florentia," I finish and sigh, caught in my own trap.
We pass numerous taverns and yet Giovanni does not stop.
"Can we please just go in there?" I point to a semi respectable place. "And get this discussion over with. I too wish to enjoy the festivities."
