Without a King (Greatest Thief 1, mxm)

Part Three - The Associate - Chapter Twenty-five

"Finn, wake up." Baisan shook my shoulder and I lazily waved at him to try to ward him off. It didn't work, and he shook me again. "Get up."

I groaned and opened my eyes to glare at him. "What?"

"I need you to go out with Ninavi."

"Why me?"

"Kassia and Stria left earlier. I'm taking out the boys, and Castin's staying here to guard. That leaves you." He poked me. "So? You were complaining about not being let out."

"I wasn't asleep when I was complaining," I muttered, but I sat up anyway and stretched. After a moment, I rotated my wrist experimentally. It was feeling better, probably due to Baisan making sure I didn't do anything with it. "You know, I think I might be able to climb soon."

"And if you try, you'll fall to your death," he said. He walked away and returned with a piece of bread from the night before, which he held out to me. It was so unusual for us to have extra food that I rarely ever ate in the morning, so I dug in eagerly.

"If Tannix's money is lasting so long, why do we even need to go out?" I asked through a mouthful of bread.

"What else are you going to do with your time? Besides, you don't want to get out of practice, do you? Someone else might become the best thief in Zianna."

"Unlikely." I got to my feet. "No other thief brings in as much money as I do."

"You don't steal it, it's given to you," Baisan said.

"But stealing led to me becoming friends with Tannix which led to the money."

He pointed towards the door. "Go."

I laughed and did what I was told. Outside, I ripped another piece off the bread and looked around. "Ninavi?"

Ninavi landed lightly beside me. I glanced up to see where she'd come from. There was a boarded-up window just above me, but the sill left more than enough room for climbing. She grinned at me. "I've been practicing. I'll never be as good as you, but," she shrugged, "I'm much better at acting."

"I stand no chance at beating you there," I agreed.

"And really, I'm more a beggar than a thief." Ninavi started walking ahead of me, and I followed her, still eating my bread. "Finn?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Lord Tandrix..."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you called him Tannix."

Ninavi walked backwards a few steps just so that she could give me an annoyed look. "Do you think Lord Tandrix meant what he said about me fitting in at his ceremony?"

I regarded her carefully, wondering what kind of answer she was looking for. "I think you could easily fit in, given the right clothing."

She spun around, so I caught up with her. We walked in silence for a while, weaving through the streets we knew so well to reach one of the busier ones. As usual, the bigger streets were crowded with people and merchant carts. I glanced up and down the road, taking in the different stalls and what they were selling.

Ninavi's voice broke into my planning. "Why are you and I better at blending in than the others?"

I sighed. "Ninavi, you know why."

"But Castin was born in a brothel too," she said.

"Maybe his father was a Native," I replied with a shrug. I went back to trying to plan which stalls to go for. "Or a foreigner. Or maybe he was a Telt and Castin just doesn't look like him."