“I saw you splatter Lord Dourford across the cobbles about an hour ago.”
“That was his name?” the Privileged said. “I thought he looked familiar. That pompous prick was a member of the Kez Cabal. Bah, I’m surprised they let him in. Less talent than a Knacked.” He looked her up and down. “Now what can I do for you? Make it good, because I’ll have to kill you after.”
Kill her? Nila had no doubt he would, given the need. Members of the royal cabals were notoriously cruel. She cleared her throat and straightened her back. “Due to your duty as a member of the royal cabal, I will give into your protection Jakob Eldaminse, next in line for the crown of Adro.” She let out a sharp breath, only now realizing that she’d been holding it.
The Privileged’s eyebrow remained cocked. Slowly, as if realizing that she was serious, the eyebrow lowered. He threw his head back and laughed.
Nila felt a nervous smile dance upon her lips. Had she said something funny? “You’ll do it, then?”
“What? Oh, pit no. You think I want some noble brat hanging on my hip? That kid is, what, four?”
“Six.”
“Six. Right.” The Privileged stood up. “The Adran nobility is dead. They’re not coming back.” He paused and looked around. “Where is the boy, anyway?”
“Hiding.”
“Smart.”
“Sir,” Nila said. “My lord, you have to. He has no one else to protect him.”
“He seems to have you.”
“I’m just a laundress.”
“You dress like a waiter.”
“The apron? No, I’m a laundress.”
“I’m pretty sure that you’re a waiter,” the Privileged said.
It took her several moments to realize that she was being teased.
“My lord!” she said in a voice that she hoped was commanding, “you have to protect Jakob Eldaminse.”
“No, I don’t.” The Privileged sighed as if suddenly tired, and though he’d looked to be in his midtwenties just a moment ago, he suddenly seemed elderly. “I’m done with the Adran nobility.” He blinked and then seemed to look more closely at her. “Have we met before?”
She shook her head.
“Oh well. I should be off. This rug won’t keep all day.”
Nila felt a rising panic inside her. It hadn’t worked. The Privileged wouldn’t protect Jakob. It wasn’t as if she were trying to hand the boy off, she told herself. It was that he needed better protectors than she. “You’re not going to…”
“Kill you? No. You’re trying to hide one of the last living members of Manhouch’s extended family. You’re not going to tell anyone about me anytime soon.”
“I will,” Nila said.
“Excuse me?”
“I will tell them. Unless you swear to protect Jakob.”
“You’re adorable.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m sure you are.” The Privileged bent and lifted one edge of the rug, tipping it upward against the wall and examining it for a moment as if figuring out the best way to get it back on his shoulders.
Nila felt numb. What would she do now? Sure, she could get ahold of some money, but what then? “Your rug is bleeding.”
“So it is,” the Privileged said, glancing at the dark stain soaking through the fabric. “I thought I cauterized those wounds.”
A cold finger crept its way up Nila’s spine. “Who is that?” she asked.
“Him? Some idiot named Vetal or something.”
“Vetas?”
“Yeah. Him.”
Nila stormed over to the rug and kicked it. Then again, then again.
The Privileged grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away. “He’s unconscious,” he said, “and I want him alive so that I can torture him some more. For information,” he added.
Nila stumbled away from the rug and leaned up against the wall of the alley. She felt like she was going to be ill. Everything had been so clear in her mind as she’d escaped Vetas’s grasp. Now it was full of questions. Part of her wanted to cry. She quelled the feeling and stared at the wall, trying to come up with some kind of plan.
She was surprised to find the Privileged still standing there a few moments later.
“Don’t you have something to do with
The Privileged stepped closer. Nila refused to step back.
“My name’s Bo,” he said.
Nila sniffed.
“Look, I won’t keep the boy,” Bo said. “I’m not in any position to protect him. I’m a hunted man myself. But I can give you two a few days of safety while you figure out what to do.”
“Why?”
Bo chuckled. “Because you’re brave enough to demand things of a Privileged on your own, and from what I gather, you know this fellow” — he tapped the rug with his toe — ”and because you’re rather attractive. A few days is all, though.” He pulled a pencil and paper from his breast pocket and scribbled something on it. “I have to go put my rug into storage. Gather the boy and meet me at this address. For Kresimir’s sake, make sure you’re not followed.”
“You have to hold still, sir.”
